American Intervention Now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 17, 2008 - 6:52pm A senior American official quoted yesterday in Haaretz predicted that despite the upcoming presidential elections, and in advance of his visit to Israel in May, President George W. Bush will increase the pressure on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to achieve significant diplomatic progress. The American intervention will be evident already at the end of the week, with the arrival of Vice President Dick Cheney for talks in the region. Immediately after him, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to arrive here. Recently, Rice has not concealed the U.S. » Read more

Talking Like Meretz, Behaving Like The Likud ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 17, 2008 - 6:50pm Judging by his declarations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could have run tomorrow for the Meretz party's leadership. Judging by the behavior of his government in the territories, he could return to Likud. » Read more

Right-wing Israelis Storm Arab Area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times March 17, 2008 - 6:49pm Dozens of right-wing Jewish activists on Sunday stormed the Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem of a Palestinian gunman who killed eight Israelis at a Jewish seminary earlier this month, police and witnesses said. Dozens of protesters broke through police barriers and hurled stones at cars and houses in the neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber, where the family of the seminary attacker lives. About 200 people had gathered outside the village and a number of protesters broke through the police barrier, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. » Read more

Take Off The Masks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Gadi Gvaryahu - (Opinion) March 17, 2008 - 6:48pm  One cannot but recall that Jewish murderers who massacred others with a machinegun at the Cave of the Patriarchs and in the Islamic College in Hebron. » Read more

Rendering The Pa Irrelevant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) March 17, 2008 - 6:45pm Although the calm in Gaza did not last for more than a few days it marks a very significant development in the ongoing power struggle between Israel, Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. » Read more

Shifting Towards Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Star by Oakland Ross - (Opinion) March 17, 2008 - 6:43pm A United Nations panel voted overwhelmingly this month to condemn Israel for a recent armed incursion in the Gaza Strip that claimed more than 120 lives, many of them civilian. Thirty-three member countries of the 47-seat UN Human Rights Council endorsed the resolution, which accused Israel of war crimes in its ongoing battles against Palestinian militants in Gaza. Those in favour of censuring the Jewish state included China, India and Russia. Thirteen countries abstained, among them seven European governments. » Read more

Uncritical Merkel Gets Red Carpet Treatment In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Speigel International by Ralf Beste, Ralf Neukirch And Christoph Schult - March 17, 2008 - 6:42pm German Chancellor Angela Merkel has become Israel's staunchest ally in Europe. This week, the country has pulled out all the stops to welcome the German leader. Back home, though, many wish Merkel would finally speak up about Israeli excesses in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israel, Palestinians Resume Suspended Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 17, 2008 - 6:41pm Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held undisclosed peace talks after a deadly Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip led to their brief suspension and are to meet again on Monday, Israeli officials said. Despite growing tensions over colony expansion on occupied land, Israeli Prime Ehud Olmert said the construction would continue in occupied Jerusalem and in colony blocs the Jewish state wants to keep as part of any deal with the Palestinians. » Read more

Diplomatic 'surge' To Boost Middle East Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - March 17, 2008 - 6:39pm With the Middle East peace process at its lowest ebb since being revived last year, a diplomatic “surge” is to take place in the coming months, culminating in President Bush's return for a second visit to join the May celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. » Read more

What The Middle East Needs Most ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by John Cooley - (Opinion) March 17, 2008 - 6:38pm Torn by perennial conflicts, the Middle East has long been on the receiving end of great pessimism. But today, buoyed by cash from $100-plus a barrel oil prices and stirred by the region's tech-savvy and politically impatient young residents, it's also the subject of a spirit of possibility. The big question is this: Is the kind of independent thinking that can breed peace and the gradual spread of democracy likely to grow? » Read more