October 26th

I Had A Great Sense Of Being At The Very Lowest Point Of My Life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Alan Johnston - (Special Report) October 26, 2007 - 5:52pm It had begun out in the spring sunshine, on the streets of Gaza City. A saloon car had suddenly surged past mine, and then pulled up, forcing me to stop. A young man emerged from the passenger side and pointed a pistol at me. The figure with the pistol and another gunman forced me into their car, and as we sped off I was made to lie on the back seat. A hood had been shoved over my face, but through it I could see the sun flickering between the tower blocks. I could tell that we were heading south and east, towards the city’s rougher neighbourhoods. » Read more

Inside Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Clancy Chassay - (Special Report) October 26, 2007 - 5:50pm In the long shadows of early dusk, a large black Mercedes with blacked-out windows picked me up from my hotel and whisked me through Gaza City's dusty, sullied streets. The roads, strewn with rubbish, were largely empty: Gaza was preparing for an Israeli incursion and the routine was familiar. » Read more

Gaza Christians Fear 'those More Extreme Than Hamas' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) October 26, 2007 - 5:48pm The kidnapping and killing of Rami Ayyad, manager of the Gaza Strip's only Christian bookstore, sent shudders through the Palestinian coastal enclave's tiny Christian community. Spared by the summer's fierce factional clashes in which the Islamist Hamas movement seized power by routing their secular Fatah party rivals, Christians began to worry they too might be driven from the volatile coastal strip. » Read more

The Good Guys Come Out To Play ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:46pm One of the comments about Middle East policy that one hears from Senators, House Members and staff with ever-growing frequency is: "Why are obstructionist hawks so forceful a presence on Capitol Hill when they represent only a minority of the community?”  One can hardly exaggerate how often this question is posed to us -- albeit only by those who feel confident that we will not "blow the whistle" on them by publicizing their doubts about the long-standing U.S. approach to the Middle East.   » Read more

Lebanon: Palestinian Refugees Face Systematic Discrimination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Simba Russeau - October 26, 2007 - 5:45pm Denied access to social services, education, adequate housing and employment, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon continue to suffer discrimination and marginalisation. More than half of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been forced to live in segregated ghettos since they were forced to flee their lands and homes after the creation of Israel in 1948. » Read more

Israel Oks Gaza Electricity Cutoffs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times October 26, 2007 - 5:43pm Israel approved Thursday a plan to start punitive disruptions of the Gaza Strip's scarce supplies of electricity in response to rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials, noting that Palestinian militants fire rockets across the border almost daily, said the sanctions could start anytime. The plan calls for initial power cutoffs of 15 minutes, followed by increasingly longer ones each time more rockets fall. » Read more

Realizing God's Dream For The Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe by Desmond Tutu - (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:42pm WHENEVER I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify optimism. » Read more

‘israel Lobby’ Writers Miss The Real Jewish Conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:40pm Among the (many) things that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt get wrong in their controversial book, “The Israel Lobby,” is their characterization of the American Jewish community. According to their understanding, there’s a substantial contrast between the policies “the lobby” espouses and the more dovish views of the community at large. For the most part, as they see it, the lobby opposes a two-state solution to the chronic conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, while most American Jews very much favor such a solution. » Read more

Olmert Pledges Gaza Won't Face Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press October 26, 2007 - 5:36pm Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised the Palestinian president Friday that Israel would not cause a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip despite his government's intention to cut power to the territory in hopes of curbing rocket attacks He made the pledge during a working lunch with Mahmoud Abbas at the Israeli leader's Jerusalem residence, responding to Abbas' concern that electricity stoppages could hit hospitals and other essential services, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. » Read more

Chaotic Nablus: Testing Ground For Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press October 26, 2007 - 5:35pm The Palestinian president has chosen the West Bank's most chaotic city to show he's in control, winning U.S. praise Thursday for beefing up his security forces here as part of an attempt to reassure Israel that he can implement a future peace deal. However, Mahmoud Abbas' campaign to disarm hundreds of militants in Nablus has had mixed results. » Read more