Barak Is The Wrong Man ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Israel Harel - (Opinion) February 7, 2008 - 7:34pm The main reason given by Defense Minister Ehud Barak for remaining in the government is to contend with the state's grave security threats, from both near and far. To be prepared, he said, our operational capabilities must be restored and a moral change must be implemented. Barak is thus telling the public he is the right man in the right place, and if he were to step down now there would be no one to carry out these tasks as well as he can. » Read more

Hamas: Egypt Should Voice Its Anger Against Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews February 7, 2008 - 7:33pm Egypt has warned Palestinians against trying to break through its resealed Gaza border about two weeks after Hamas militants blew it open to defy an Israeli-led blockade.   After allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to cross into the Sinai peninsula last month, Egypt on Sunday closed the border to Palestinians seeking entry.      » Read more

Shas Leader: Early Elections Possible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Neta Sela - February 7, 2008 - 7:30pm Shas Chairman Eli Yishai said Thursday that general elections may be held as early as this year. Speaking at a convention in northern Israel, Yishai said: "I don't know how long this government will last. I estimate that soon we will have elections."   » Read more

Abbas: Fatah Ready To Control Crossings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Etgar Lefkovits - February 7, 2008 - 7:29pm Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that his security officials are ready to take responsibility for the border crossings in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as part of a moribund international border agreement that was scrapped after the Islamic group seized control over the coastal strip last year. "We are ready to take over responsibility of the crossing points together with the European Union, the Egyptians and the Israelis," Abbas told a group of European parliamentarians in his West Bank headquarters. » Read more

Israel Can Expect More Suicide Attacks - Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News February 7, 2008 - 7:28pm Gaza: Hamas' representative in Iran said Israel can expect a wave of suicide bombings inside its 1967 borders, not just the West Bank. The announcement of more attacks came as Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip launched at least 10 Qassam rockets into Israel, lightly wounding a two-year-old girl and 12-year-old girl. » Read more

Israel Must Stop Changing Facts On The Ground - Fm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times February 7, 2008 - 7:26pm Jordan on Wednesday warned against Israeli measures “to alter facts on the ground” in the occupied Palestinian lands in a way that affects final status talks. During a meeting with US Undersecretary for Middle East Affairs David Walsh, Foreign Minister Salah Bashir called on Israel to stop its settlement activities, stressing the need to ease the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people through softening the restrictions on their movement. » Read more

Politics Of Illusions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) February 7, 2008 - 7:24pm I have just returned from an extended trip to the Middle East, hoping that I would come back feeling recharged by the progress made in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, especially in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference. To my dismay, not in Israel or in Jordan or in talking to Palestinian and Egyptian officials, have I felt or seen much optimism. Those who still believe that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is possible by the end of 2008 – U.S. President George W. Bush's stated desire – are few and far between. » Read more

Gazan Students In Limbo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Mel Frykberg - February 7, 2008 - 7:23pm The future of hundreds of Gazan students, trapped in el-Arish in the Egyptian Sinai and in the Gaza Strip, hangs in the balance as they wait in a state of uncertainty for permission to leave Egypt and Gaza to continue their studies abroad. » Read more

Arab Charity Is Blooming – No Thanks To America ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Iam Wilhelm - (Opinion) February 7, 2008 - 7:22pm Oil and conflict. These are the two topics that dominate news coverage of the Middle East. But there are signs that amid headlines that scream of suicide bombings and surging energy costs, a quiet social movement is under way – one that could help alleviate some deep-rooted problems of the Arab world. » Read more

Mideast Envoy Blair Says Pa Starting To Abide By 'road Map' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters February 7, 2008 - 7:21pm The Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair said Thursday that Palestinian security forces had significantly improved and were starting to carry out their part in the long-stalled "road map" peace plan. The former British prime minister, now the envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators which include the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations, urged Israel to respond by easing travel and trade restrictions imposed on the Palestinians in the West Bank. » Read more