December 28th

They Do Not Exist, And That Is Official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mona Alami - December 28, 2007 - 2:34pm

In the maze of dirty streets that spreads from Beirut's revamped Sport City to the shabby Halabi quarters, 20,000 refugees are clustered in what is known as the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian camp. In a town plagued by poverty, many families live in complete destitution.

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With Shalit On Table, Israel Weighs Ceasefire With Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - December 28, 2007 - 2:32pm

Although they are not talking to each other directly, Israel and Hamas may be about to strike a deal that would include a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the abducted Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

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Rice\'s History Lessons
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) December 28, 2007 - 2:29pm

With the Annapolis conference and the Paris fund-raising effort to aid the Palestinians behind us, the Middle East peace process is now in need of constant vigilance. President George W. Bush will visit the region in January, but it is Condoleezza Rice who will be looked upon to provide a guiding hand. The new peace effort is very much her baby. A look at the war in Lebanon last summer, and Rice's management of it, provides some clues to the challenges ahead.

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Mideast Peace Talks Go Nowhere
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ken Ellingwood - December 28, 2007 - 2:27pm

Meeting for the second time this month as part of a new U.S.-launched peace effort, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators Monday bogged down again over familiar issues: proposed Israeli construction in areas the Palestinians claim for a future state and Israel's demand that the Palestinians crack down on armed groups.

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Addressing Atfp Gala, Undersecretary Of State Burns Stresses U.s. Interest In Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Washington Report On Middle East Affairs
December 28, 2007 - 2:26pm

THE AMERICAN TASK Force on Palestine (ATFP) held its second annual gala Oct. 17 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. The theme was a hopeful one: “Choosing Peace, Embracing Hope: Honoring the Contributions of Palestinian Americans.”

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Israel Rejects Hamas Overture, And Presses Housing Construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 28, 2007 - 2:18pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel on Sunday rejected overtures by Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, for discussions about a temporary cease-fire. At the same time, Mr. Olmert’s government raised the ire of Palestinian representatives from the West Bank, with whom Israel is embarking on negotiations for a permanent peace, by seeking budget approval to build more housing for Jewish residents in areas that the Palestinians claim for their future state.

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Settlement Dispute Stalls Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - December 28, 2007 - 2:16pm

Israel is considering easing criteria for freeing Palestinian prisoners, a move one Israeli official said on Monday could pave the way for the release of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi. Israel's deputy defense minister, Matan Vilnai, said Barghouthi, a Palestinian uprising leader from Fatah and a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, could be a candidate for release. Also on Monday, a second round of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams were bogged down in a dispute over settlement building near Jerusalem.

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Bethlehem Basks In Calm And Cheer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Dalia Nammari - December 28, 2007 - 2:15pm

Encouraged by renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Christian pilgrims from around the world converged on Jesus's traditional birthplace Monday to celebrate Christmas -- a palpable contrast to the sparse crowds of recent years. The diverse crowd included festive American tourists, clergymen in brown flowing robes and Palestinian scouts wearing kilts and playing bagpipes.

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December 27th

The Associated Press reports on the decision by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to continue working towards a final peace settlement despite the dispute over the Har Homa settlement (2.) The Forward examines efforts by right-wing Jewish American groups and their allies in Congress to abrogate the language of an old Palestinian document despite Israeli and mainstream Jewish American opposition to these efforts (4.) Time Magazine uses the example of the closed soft drinks factory in Gaza to illustrate how the continuing Israeli blockage of the territory is driving moderate Palestinians into the arms of Hamas (5.) A Middle East Times editorial is critical of Israeli settlement activity and checkpoints for side-tracking Israeli-Palestinian negotiations (7.) BBC (UK) reports on efforts by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to revive peace talks (8.) A Miftah (Palestine) opinion by Ferris professor of journalism at Princeton university Daoud Kuttab analyzes how the recent weakening of the Christian Zionist movement in the United States and its effect on policy towards Israel/Palestine (10.) In Haaretz (Israel) Akiva Eldar is critical of Israeli PM Olmert's reluctance to address the Palestinian prisoner issue in any meaningful way, particularly as the issue is one of great sensitivity to all Palestinians (12.) Also in Haaretz, Shmuel Rosner and Aluf Benn examines how the Annapolis meeting and consequent efforts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process have exacerbated tensions between U.S. Secretary of State Rice and Israeli PM Olmert (13.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by David Kimche hopes that 2008 will prove to be a year where Israeli leaders will rise as statesmen to make peace with the Palestinians (14.)

December 26th

The Christian Science Monitor examines the various stumbling blocks facing Israeli and Palestinian leaders as they attempt to launch a post-Annapolis peace process (1), while the Associated Press looks at how the planned Israeli expansion of the Har Homa settlement remains the largest of these stumbling blocks (3.) A Washington Post editorial urges Israeli PM Olmert and Palestinian president Abbas to seize control over the process of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and not allow themselves to be sidetracked by issues that arise (6.) A Forward editorial equates the lobbying of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem against any sharing of Jerusalem in a final peace settlement with the Palestinians, with opposition against any emerging Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement (7.) The Los Angeles Times looks at one Palestinian landowner's attempt to resist Israeli settlers' attempts to seize his land, emblematic of the larger picture of Israeli expropriation of Palestinian land for the settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank (8.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) editorial urges Israel to re-assess its long-standing policies towards achieving security and replace them with serious engagement with the Palestinians (11.) A Jordan Times (Jordan) editorial offers mixed reviews of the Palestinian negotiating team's response to post-Annapolis Israeli settlement expansion (12.) In Miftah (Palestine), Joharah Baker analyzes the significance of the issue of Israeli settlements to both Israelis and Palestinians (13.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Amira Hass ponders whether the continued dispossession of Palestinian land will lead to another round of Israeli-Palestinian violence (15.)

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