March 5th

Rice: Israeli-palestinian Talks On Again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Nicholas Kralev - March 5, 2008 - 7:45pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today, before departing Jerusalem at the end of a two-day trip, that Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to resume peace talks. “The parties have just informed me that they intend to resume negotiations and that they are in contact with one another as to how to bring this about,” Miss Rice told reporters at a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Afterward, Miss Rice boarded a plane and headed back to Washington. She gave no indication when talks would resume.

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Vanity's Fair?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Blog) March 5, 2008 - 7:44pm

A well-timed Vanity Fair expose caused a flap on the first day of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to the Middle East. The article, "The Gaza Bombshell," by David Rose, cited confidential documents and interviews to allege that the Hamas takeover stemmed from a secret Bush administration plan to use Fatah security forces to confront Hamas. Hamas, the article said, caught wind of the plan and acted before Fatah could, seizing the Gaza Strip.

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Let's Help The Good Guys In The West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Walter Isaacson - (Opinion) March 5, 2008 - 7:43pm

The rocket attacks on Israel launched by Hamas militants in Gaza, coupled with Israel's retaliation, have disrupted peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. This is a great victory for the radicals in Hamas, who never wanted such talks. While visiting the region this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to remind everyone that the real goal is to weaken Hamas.

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March 4th

In the Washington Post, an opinion by Walter Isaacson reemphasizes the need to strengthen the Fatah leadership in the West Bank (1) while a blog response by Glenn Kessler examines claims made in a recently published Vanity Fair article (2). The Media Line reports that Hamas has rejected an Arab-League proposal for truce with Israel (6). An interview with former ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer in Middle East Progress sheds light on how the US can lead forward from gaza (10). An editorial in the Daily Star examines how effective US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can be in making peace talks work (12).

The Cynicism Of Shas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 4, 2008 - 6:36pm

One might be able to understand the clearly political reasons that led Eli Yishai - Shas chairman and minister of industry, trade and labor - to call for a national unity government yesterday at the Shas faction meeting. After all, he has repeatedly threatened that his party would vote no-confidence in the government if it continued the peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Kosovo Raises Some Relevant Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 4, 2008 - 6:35pm

If the current Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations fail--at the time of writing they have been suspended by the Palestinian side in protest at Israel's military response to rocket fire from Gaza--the Palestinian leaders in Ramallah ostensibly have a number of options. They can launch a third intifada in the West Bank. They can petition the international community to compel Israel to accept a single bi-national state solution. And they can declare independence.

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Seeking Alternatives
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) March 4, 2008 - 6:31pm

Most Palestinians, from the general public to officials, have already concluded that the current negotiations, initiated at the Annapolis conference, have very little or no chance of success. For that reason, several debates have been held and initiatives offered to find an alternative strategy for the Palestinian leadership to pursue.

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Abbas Calls For Middle East Truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
March 4, 2008 - 6:30pm

After meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ramallah, he urged Israel to "halt its aggression so the necessary environment can be created" Mr Abbas suspended the talks in protest at Israel's offensive in Gaza, in which more than 110 Palestinians have died. Ms Rice insisted she still believed a peace deal could be achieved this year. Before flying to the West Bank, Ms Rice held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and other senior government officials.

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New Israeli Gaza Incursion Overshadows Rice Peace Push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 4, 2008 - 6:29pm

Israel launched a brief incursion into Gaza on Tuesday, overshadowing a new peace push by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who held talks at the time in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Palestinian medics said the Israelis shot dead a 20-day-old baby girl during exchanges of fire with gunmen, and that 10 people had been wounded, including at least three gunmen.

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Israel Says Will Take Further Action In Gaza Despite Pullout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 4, 2008 - 6:27pm

Hamas declared victory after Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday following a US appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said despite the culmination of the five-day operation, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, Israel would take further action in the Gaza Strip until cross-border rocket fire was cut significantly.

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