February 28th

Still Building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
by Hagit Ofran - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:39pm

Every few days, Israel's prime minister repeats his commitment to freeze West Bank settlements and remove illegal outposts. Such commitments and statements from successive Israeli governments have been a part of our lives since the 1993 Oslo agreement.

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The Fading Jihadists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:38pm

Politicians who talk about the terrorism threat -- and it's already clear that this will be a polarizing issue in the 2008 campaign -- should be required to read a new book by a former CIA officer named Marc Sageman. It stands what you think you know about terrorism on its head and helps you see the topic in a different light.

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Obama Rebuffs Challenges On His Israel Stance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jonathan Weisman - February 28, 2008 - 4:38pm

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is engaged in a concerted effort to reassure Jewish leaders in the face of an increasingly aggressive Republican campaign to question his tolerance and his commitment to supporting Israel. In a typical attack, the Tennessee Republican Party, under the headline "Anti-Semites for Obama," said Monday that it was joining "a growing chorus of Americans concerned about the future of the nation of Israel, the only stable democracy in the Middle East, if Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is elected president of the United States."

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February 27th

The Washington Post repots on US Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s support of Israel (1). A Baltimore Sun opinion by Hagit Ofran discusses ongoing settlement building despite assurances of a settlement freeze (3). Reuters reports comments made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concerning the suffering of Gaza civilians (5). A report compiled by the Global Investment House suggests growth in the Palestinian economy (7). An opinion by George Hishmeh in the Gulf News urges Israel to look to the mistakes of others (8). Yoav Stern reports for Haaretz that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not ruled out armed conflict in the future (12).

A Poll That Disproves Western Myths About Muslims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - February 27, 2008 - 6:52pm

Every few years a book is published that has the potential to change perceptions of millions of people, and, by doing so, perhaps to change policies of governments for the better. I believe that just such a book is the one that will be published in a few weeks titled: "Who Speaks for Islam," by John L. Esposito of Georgetown University and Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.

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Israeli Army Accused Of Turning A Blind Eye
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Sydney Morning Herald
by Ed Oloughlin - February 27, 2008 - 6:51pm

AN ISRAELI rights group yesterday claimed there was a "culture of impunity" in the Israeli security forces after the army decided not to order a disciplinary investigation into the killing of 21 Palestinian civilians in November 2006. The dead men, women and children included at least 13 members of the Athamneh family, among them a one-year-old girl. Another 35 people were injured as a dozen 155-mm heavy artillery shells struck the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

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Drifting Further From The Path Of Common Sense, Realism And Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hasan Abu Nimah - (Opinion) February 27, 2008 - 6:50pm

Israel seems to be concerned by the slow pace of the peace negotiations jump-started by the US-sponsored meeting in Annapolis last November. Months have passed since that “historic” gathering was concluded, and yet there is no sign of any movement. Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continue to meet regularly, but only “like two old men at the doctor’s office who meet up to chat before returning home to their afternoon nap”, as a Haaretz columnist recently put it.

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Mideast: Gaza Border In Political Limbo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Khaled Moussa Al-omrani, Adam Morrow - February 27, 2008 - 6:49pm

One month after throngs of Palestinians flooded into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from the Gaza Strip, the flashpoint Rafah border crossing remains tightly shut. But according to some opposition figures, the breach -- viewed by many as a victory for Palestinian resistance faction Hamas -- signalled the need for new border protocols consistent with shifting political realities.

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Officials: Egypt Boosts Border Troops To Double Agreed Number
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 27, 2008 - 6:48pm

Egypt has discreetly boosted the number of troops deployed along the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, beyond those set in a 30-year-old peace accord with Israel, Israeli officials said Tuesday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said reinforcements started arriving after Hamas Islamists in Gaza blasted open the Egyptian border at Rafah on Jan. 23 in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the coastal territory.

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Un Report Calls Palestinian Terrorism Result Of Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Bradley S. Klapper - February 27, 2008 - 6:46pm

A report commissioned by the United Nations says Palestinian terrorism is the inevitable result of Israeli occupation, an assertion that Israel rejected yesterday as inflammatory. more stories like this The report, posted on the UN Human Rights Council's website, says that while Palestinian terrorist acts are deplorable, "they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid, or occupation." The report accuses the Jewish state of acts and policies consistent with all three.

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