Date
Type

October 22nd

A New History Lesson In Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Rami G. Khouri - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 9:59am

BEIRUT: Here's a little event that may have big implications. The Israeli education ministry has approved a textbook for Arab third graders in Israel that for the first time describes the 1948 war that gave birth to the state of Israel as a "catastrophe" for the indigenous Palestinians and their society. The Palestinians have always referred to 1948 as their nakba, or catastrophic national shattering, dispersal, exile, occupation and disenfranchisement.

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Saudis Courted For Proposed Mideast Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 22, 2007 - 9:47am

As the Bush administration begins pushing aggressively for a new Middle East peace conference this fall, there is already a significant gap among Arab, Israeli and American diplomats about what the conference should attempt to achieve.

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Israel Pushing Gaza Toward Starvation - Abbas Aide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Muklis Ali - October 22, 2007 - 9:46am

Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip is pushing Palestinians toward starvation, a close aide of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday. Nabil Shaath, who is visiting Indonesia as a special envoy for Abbas, said Gaza needed humanitarian assistance and appealed to the international community to help end Israel's siege.

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Murdoch, Son Differ Sharply Over Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Sun
by Josh Gerstein - October 22, 2007 - 9:40am

The pro-Israel outlook of the Wall Street Journal and many News Corp. outlets could waver if one of Rupert Murdoch's sons, James Murdoch, takes the helm of the publishing and broadcasting company, a new book suggests.

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Secretary Rice's Mideast Mission: Contain Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Rasheed Abou-alsamh, Dan Murphy - October 22, 2007 - 9:36am

US secretaries of Defense and State are using their high-profile meetings this week with Arab and Israeli leaders, in part to herald a new Bush administration strategy toward Iran: cold war-style containment. The trip comes on the heels of a US proposal to offer $20 billion in military aid to Arab Gulf states (mostly Saudi Arabia) and a $30 billion package for Israel. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not mask the purpose of the deal when she called Iran “the single most important single-country challenge to ... US interests in the Middle East.”

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Rice: Israel Ready For Palestinian Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan - October 22, 2007 - 9:33am

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Israel is ready to discuss "fundamental issues" with Palestinians who are now governed by leaders accepted by the Jewish state and the West. Still, she left the agenda for any peace talks vague. The top U.S. diplomat, making her first visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank since Palestinian leadership was cleaved into rival governments, also promised that a proposed U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference this fall would be a serious push toward a peace agreement.

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Saudi Arabia Says It May Meet Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David S. Cloud, Helene Cooper - October 22, 2007 - 9:31am

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that his country would consider attending President Bush’s planned Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in the fall, which would put Saudi officials publicly at the same table as their Israeli counterparts for the first time since 1991.

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October 21st

The Washington Post reports from the occupied West Bank on how Israel's separation barrier has decimated Palestinian businesses and the economy (1.) The Associated Press examines differences in the hardline and pragmatic forces within Hamas concerning the Gaza takeover, that surfaced in a letter from the former Hamas government spokesperson calling the takeover a mistake (3.) In Middle East Progress, ATFP president Asali identifies the measures for success at the fall Annapolis Mideast meeting and the critical role of the United States in pushing all parties to meet these measures (5.) The Guardian (UK) looks at the debate in Israel over the release of a report on the abuse of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers (7.) An Arab News (Saudi Arabia ) editorial offers a critical assessment of the effectiveness of the Middle East Quartet to-date (10.) In BitterLemons (Israel/Palestine), former Palestinian minister of planning Ghassan Khatib argues for the lowering of expectations regarding the fall meeting (11.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar takes the Israeli Left to task for not insisting that Israeli PM Olmert follow up his statements in favor of peace with actions on the ground (13.)

October 19th

Back To A Corrupt Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - October 19, 2007 - 8:42pm

In one of the alarming news items of the past week, it was reported that Israel has green-lighted the transfer of 1,000 rifles from Jordan to the security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

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Time Does Not Take Orders From Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 19, 2007 - 8:40pm

The Palestinian partner was born in Oslo in the summer of 1993, and died seven years later at Camp David. Following seven more years of violence, diplomatic stalemate and renewed settlement - and following the disillusionment from the misconception of unilateral moves - the word "partner" is slowly making a comeback.

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