December 11th

Just Another Forgotten Peace Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tamar Hermann, Ephraim Yaar - December 11, 2007 - 1:49pm Many assume that if the Israeli decision-makers were to openly change their position on the conflict and its resolution, the public would throng after them en masse and support an agreement. The present survey, like earlier surveys we conducted, shows that this assumption is very flimsy and that people are not hurrying to get on the Olmert government's peace train. » Read more

Hamas Builds Separate Courts In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - December 11, 2007 - 1:48pm While all eyes were turned to the meeting at Annapolis late last month, Hamas' government in the Gaza Strip tightened its grip on three important civilian institutions: the court system, the municipality and the Central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. In taking over these branches of governance, Hamas deepened the institutional rift between its dominion and the Fatah-led West Bank. The fact that these institutions are now under Hamas' auspices add to the Strip's character as a separate entity. » Read more

Hamas Asks Us To Free Gaza 'ghetto' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian by Martin Chulov - December 11, 2007 - 1:45pm THE Hamas rulers of Gaza have implored the US to bring an end to the crippling boycott of the Gaza Strip, which they have likened to the World War II siege of Warsaw's Jewish Ghetto. » Read more

The Grim Reality In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Statesman by Mohammed Omer - December 11, 2007 - 1:43pm Traffic in the Gaza Strip slowed to a trickle last week, and this week medical centres have scaled back treatment in the medicines and sustenance-destitute Strip. "Israel’s decision is a death penalty: our reserve of fuel is almost zero and it may very likely run out by the end of today," said Khaled Radi, Ministry of Health spokesman for the dismissed Hamas government. » Read more

U.s. Jews Must Be Ready ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Kenneth Bob - (Opinion) December 11, 2007 - 1:41pm My first visit to Israel was in 1969, only two years after the Six-Day War, and soon after my arrival I was walking through narrow Jerusalem streets on my way to the Western Wall. » Read more

Utility Cuts Increase Misery In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from World Peace Herald by Erica Silverman - December 11, 2007 - 1:39pm Israeli cuts in fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip are hitting home, affecting schools, hospitals and businesses as officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority exchange blame for the suffering. Utility cuts are intended to pressure Hamas to halt rocket fire into Israel. Filling stations across this seaside territory have shut down, crippling public transportation systems. » Read more

The Pro-israel Consensus Shifts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) December 11, 2007 - 1:36pm Good news. Some of the more conservative American Jewish institutions are coming around to acceptance of the two-state solution, ending the occupation, and sharing Jerusalem. It’s about time. The overwhelming majority of Israelis and Jewish Americans favor those positions and eventually the more status quo-oriented organizations had to catch up—especially now that the Israeli government asserts that it finally has a genuine Palestinian partner. » Read more

Palestinians To Urge Settlement Freeze At Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Wafa Amr - December 11, 2007 - 1:34pm Palestinians will attend peace talks this week despite a plan by Israel to build new homes on occupied land, but will focus on demanding a settlement freeze, senior Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are due to meet on Wednesday two weeks after their leaders relaunched long-stalled peace talks at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland. » Read more

Starting The Peace Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) December 11, 2007 - 1:33pm Israelis and Palestinians are supposed to begin serious negotiations tomorrow after last month’s long-on-optics, short-on-specifics Annapolis peace meeting. Despite all the smiles and handshakes, both sides went home and fell back into some familiar, counterproductive patterns.   If this effort has any chance of success, everyone who attended Annapolis — including the Americans and Arab leaders — are going to have to work a lot harder at breaking those patterns. » Read more

Gazans’ Passage To Mecca Seen As An Insult To Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 11, 2007 - 1:33pm What appeared to have been a decision by Egypt and Saudi Arabia to cooperate with Hamas rather than with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in allowing 2,000 people to leave Gaza last week for a pilgrimage to Mecca is causing friction in Palestinian, Israeli and Western circles. Some officials said the move was an insult to Mr. Abbas, a moderate. Only two weeks ago, Egyptian, Saudi and other international representatives gathered in Annapolis, Md., to support him and the embryonic Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. » Read more