November 14th

Volatile City Tests Palestinian Police, And Peace Hopes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 14, 2007 - 12:39pm

This lawless city in the northern West Bank is ruled by rival militias and criminal gangs, an especially gritty illustration of why a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank, as expected under a future peace deal, gives Israelis pause.

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Economic Woes Behind New Unrest In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - November 14, 2007 - 12:38pm

The backdrop to the latest explosion of violence in the Gaza Strip: skeletons of unfinished apartment towers, shuttered factories, empty store shelves and skyrocketing prices for bread and cigarettes. Five months of rule by the Islamic militants of Hamas and isolation from the world have taken a heavy toll on the already impoverished territory, and frustration over the hardship helped drive this week's mass rally by the rival Fatah movement that ended in mayhem.

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November 13th

The New York Times examines how the Palestinian campaign to bring law and order to the West Bank city of Nablus is caught up in the larger picture of an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and U.S. attempts to strengthen the Abbas/Fayyad government (2.) The Christian Century looks at the recent banning of Archbishop Desmond Tutu from speaking at the University of St. Thomas based on his criticism of Israeli occupation policies (4.) The Forward reports on the groundbreaking statement of support or current Mideast peacemaking efforts by the top ranking Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land (6.) The LA Times reports from Gaza on the arrests of hundreds of Fatah members by Hamas in recent days (8.) The Guardian (UK) reports on a possible partial Israeli settlement freeze in the lead-up to the Annapolis meeting (10.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Amira Haas analyzes growing indications of Palestinian disapproval of Hamas rule in Gaza (12.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Oxford University M. Phil. candidate Seth Anziska examines the growing uncertainty with two-state solution prospects (13.) Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) interviews Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (16.)

What The Palestinians Must Do
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) November 13, 2007 - 3:58pm

It is essential that the impending regional meeting in Annapolis be successful. Failure at Annapolis would translate into a victory for the extremist elements in Israel, Palestine and throughout the region. Without success at Annapolis the next phase of the Palestinian-Israeli relationship will find a far less forthcoming Israeli government squaring off against an implacable Hamas.

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Analysis: Hamas Losing Grip On Gaza, Fatah Gaining Support
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel And Avi Issacharoff - November 13, 2007 - 3:57pm

The Hamas gunmen who sought to disperse the crowd at the rally Monday in Gaza marking the third anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat did not use rubber-coated bullets or tear gas; they simply opened fire on the crowd, leaving seven dead and dozens injured. In so doing, they added to the pressure under which the Islamic organization is laboring five months after it took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah forces.

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The Prime Minister Vs. Public Opinion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Caelum Moffatt - (Opinion) November 13, 2007 - 3:54pm

Most commentaries inundating the press at the moment meticulously analyze the consequences of a failed summit and center on the probable break out of another Intifada, as highlighted by Ahmad Qurei. This may well be the case but it is important to recognize that a successful summit could also cause uproar amongst Israelis which in turn could affect the Palestinians and hinder any positive steps taken.

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Editorial: Black Mark On Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 13, 2007 - 3:52pm

The death of at least six people at a rally in Gaza organized by Fatah to mark the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death is a black mark against Hamas. It could well prove fatal for the movement. There was no reason for Hamas security forces to open fire on the crowd — other than, of course, the fact they could not stomach the fact that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had gathered in the center of Gaza, waving Fatah flags and carrying pictures of the late Palestinian leader. A more potent sign of Hamas losing the support of Gazans could hardly be imagined.

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Hamas And Fatah Are Betraying Arafat's Legacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 13, 2007 - 3:51pm

 Yasser Arafat has been dead for three years, harried to an early death by the Israeli siege of his battered presidential compound in Ramallah. Two camps - his own secular Fatah faction and the Islamist group Hamas - that claim to carry on his struggle for Palestinian rights have effectively been at war for months. In so doing, they have undermined their shared goal of justice for the Palestinian people and trampled a principle of ideological inclusiveness that was perhaps the most important hallmark of Arafat's leadership.

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Gaza Violence Shows Worsening Divide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Martin Patience - November 13, 2007 - 3:50pm

The violence during a rally to mark the third anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death illustrates the deadly tensions between the two main Palestinian political factions. Six Palestinians were killed and dozens other injured as clashes broke out between Hamas and Fatah supporters at the Gaza memorial. Both sides laid the blame for the violence at each other's door.

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Adam Lebor Looks Forward To Israel’s Sixtieth Birthday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Quarterly
by Adam Lebor - (Commentary) November 13, 2007 - 3:49pm

Sitting in a cafe on Shenkin street in Tel Aviv, reading the letters page of the Jerusalem Post, I much enjoyed an exchange between two American Zionist machers. M. J. Rosenberg, of the doveish Israel Policy Forum, opined that a true Zionist lives in Tel Aviv.

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