November 2nd

Palestinian Force Enters Nablus In Security Drive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Atef Saad - November 2, 2007 - 4:40pm

Hundreds of Palestinian security officers arrived in Nablus on Friday in the first stage of a Western-backed drive to crack down on gunmen in the occupied West Bank ahead of a peace conference with Israel. Israel, which is trying to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against his Hamas rivals, approved the deployment in the flashpoint West Bank city. Israeli government spokesman David Baker said the move would improve security and could be repeated elsewhere in the West Bank if it worked well.

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November 1st

Reuters reports on the new Palestinian security drive in the occupied territories starting with the town of Nablus (1.) In Israel Policy Forum, MJ Rosenberg is critical of Palestinian rocket attacks out of Gaza into southern Israel, yet takes issue with Israel's strategy in preventing them (4.) A Forward opinion by Leonard Fein rejects the proposition that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict necessitates choosing sides (6.) A Daily Star opinion by Israeli professor Moshe Amirav, published in collaboration with Common Ground News Service, draws lessons from the failed 2000 Camp David summit for the upcoming Annapolis meeting (9.) In Miftah (Palestine) Caelum Moffatt analyzes the latest signs of disunity within the ranks of Hamas over their military takeover of Gaza and their current policies (10.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by David Kimche takes Israelis to task for their growing apathy and inwardness (12.)

You Can Learn It In A Negotiations Course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - November 1, 2007 - 2:49pm

It is not easy to discuss the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in a practical manner, without past grudges. Too many emotions, historical memories and political interests are involved, turning every discussion of a solution to the conflict into a slogan contest: "diplomatic horizon," "partition of Jerusalem," "right of return."

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Reaping The Occupation's Fruit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - November 1, 2007 - 2:48pm

If the plot of land belonging to Dr. Salam Fayad, the Palestinian prime minister, were located 50 meters west of its present location, in the level part of the village of Deir al-Ghusun, it would now be growing thorns and thistles. If it were located 50, or at most 100 meters, to the west, Fayad's plot would have found itself on the other side of the separation fence, on the other side of Gate 609, which soldiers open and close three times a day to allow entrance to those who have managed, after investing considerable efforts, to get permits in order to get to their land.

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'fence Driving Christians Out Of Holy Land'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Matthew Wagner - (Blog) November 1, 2007 - 2:47pm

Socioeconomic hardships caused by the West Bank security barrier are contributing to the decline in the Christian population in the Holy Land, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "I recently met with Christians in Bethlehem, people by no means extreme, and they told of the daily burdens driving in and out of the city that were created by the wall," Williams said by telephone during a break in his 24-hour visit to these parts.

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From Payer To Player In The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by El - Hassan Bin Talal - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:45pm

The European Union's policy in the Middle East is the litmus test of its common foreign and security policy. Many Europeans share this belief, but, as the EU considers entering the fray of Middle East peace talks, it must respond to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's jibe that in the region "you are payers, not players."

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America And Gaza In Darkness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - November 1, 2007 - 2:43pm

Although the Bush administration may be on the verge of taking a big leap forward in paving the way for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, brewing for nearly 60 years, none of the US presidential candidates have yet bothered to make any noteworthy comment about the upcoming Mideast peace meeting in Annapolis at the end of November.

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Old Rivals Team Up To Win Saudi Backing For Peace Talks On The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Richard Beeston - (Editorial) November 1, 2007 - 2:42pm

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair teamed up yesterday to try to salvage a planned Middle East peace conference in America by clinching Saudi Arabia’s attendance. According to British officials, first the Prime Minister and then his predecessor met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia yesterday. It was made clear at the meetings that the country’s participation was crucial for what is being billed as the best chance for peace in the region for seven years.

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Middle Eastern Links: In Place Of A Boycott...
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
November 1, 2007 - 2:41pm

When the university and college lecturers' union, the UCU, voted at its conference in May this year to have a debate on an academic boycott of Israel, all hell broke loose. British academia was criticised by many commentators in the UK, and by professors around the world, for anti-Semitism and for inhibiting the free flow of ideas.

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The Siege Of Gaza Is Going To Lead To A Violent Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seumas Milne - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:40pm

There is, it seems, an unbridgeable gap between the western world's apparent recognition of the dangers of Palestinian suffering and its commitment to do anything whatever to stop it. This week the collective punishment of the people of Gaza reached a new level, as Israel began to choke off essential fuel supplies to its one and a half million people in retaliation for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups. A plan to cut power supplies has only been put on hold till the end of the week by the intervention of Israel's attorney general.

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