April 23rd

Israeli Restrictions Behind ‘modest’ Jordan-pa Trade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Omar Obeidat - April 23, 2008 - 6:11pm

Stringent Israeli restrictions have hindered Jordan-Palestine efforts to increase trade volume, officials from the two sides said on Tuesday. "Strict Israeli measures are impeding the flow of goods between the two countries because Israel is trying to control the Palestinian economy," Jawad Naji, an adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said.

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Why Palestinian Unity Is Not An Option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ramzy Baroud - (Opinion) April 23, 2008 - 5:57pm

Just days after the Hamas-Fateh clash last June in Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas looked firm and composed as he shook hands with members of his new emergency government. He made sure his move appeared as legitimate as possible, issuing decrees that outlawed the armed militias of Hamas, and also suspended consequential clauses in the Palestinian Basic Law, which had thus far served as a constitution. The Basic Law stipulates that the Palestinian parliament must approve of any government for it to be constitutional.

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Abbas To Ask Bush To Jump Start Mideast Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 23, 2008 - 5:56pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will call for urgent international action to jump start Middle East peace talks when he meets US leader George W. Bush this week, a senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki said Israel and Palestine last year agreed to try to reach a peace deal in 2008 and international pressure is needed if both sides are to meet objectives on the way to that goal.

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Israel Braces For Fallout From U.s. Spy Case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - April 23, 2008 - 5:55pm

Israel was tightlipped on Wednesday over the arrest in the United States of an 84-year-old American suspected of providing it with U.S. military secrets in the 1980s, a new case that has opened old wounds. "We received an official update from the Americans. We are following the developments," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said, a day after suspect Ben-Ami Kadish made an initial appearance in a federal court in New York.

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Middle East Talks In Moscow Get Scant Support
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Nicholas Kralev - April 23, 2008 - 5:54pm

A planned follow-up to November's highly-touted Middle East peace conference in Annapolis will likely be postponed or even canceled because of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' reluctance to take part, Western and Palestinian diplomats said yesterday. The diplomats said Mr. Abbas, who meets with President Bush at the White House tomorrow, is doubtful that anything of value would be accomplished at the conference, set to take place in Moscow in June.

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American Accused Of Spying For Israel In 1980s
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard B. Schmitt And Richard Boudreaux - April 23, 2008 - 5:53pm

Federal authorities arrested an 84-year-old former Army engineer Tuesday on charges of passing American military secrets to an Israeli agent in the 1980s, accusations that suggest that one of the most famous spy cases in U.S. history may have been more widespread than previously known.

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Israel Resumes Gaza Fuel Supplies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
April 23, 2008 - 5:52pm

Israel has allowed fuel to be delivered to the Gaza Strip's main power plant, averting the possibility that it would be forced to shut down within hours. Palestinian officials had warned it would run out of fuel on Wednesday, plunging large areas into darkness. The temporary resumption of deliveries followed mediation by the European Union, which pays for the fuel. The UN has meanwhile warned it may have to suspend relief operations in Gaza unless vehicle fuel is let through too.

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April 22nd

Fuel begins flowing to Gaza (1) as the United Nations warns of the effects of collective punishment (10). Reuter’s Jeffrey Heller analyzes the effect of accused spy Ben-Ami Kadish on U.S. Israeli relations (4). The Associated Press previews Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ upcoming visit to the United States (5). In Haaretz, Uzi Benziman points out the critical nature of U.S./Palestinian talks(11).

Hamas For Mccain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amir Oren - April 22, 2008 - 6:12pm

The battle for Gaza wil not be won at Kerem Shalom, but in Washington. Hamas' attack on IDF forces a few hours before the start of the Pesach holiday contributed to putting the Democrats on the defensive, as well as reminding us of the futility of American attempts to promote a peace agreement between two powerless leaders: Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas, whose real influence is not much greater than that of retiree volunteer Jimmy Carter.

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Hamas: We'll Give Final Response To Truce Proposal On Thursday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Amos Harel And Barak Ravid, Haare And News Agencies - April 22, 2008 - 6:10pm

Hamas plans to give its final response on Thursday to a proposed Egyptian-mediated truce, a senior official from the Islamist group said on Tuesday. Hamas lawmaker Salah Bardawil also said that Hamas is considering whether to accept a truce with Israel which would take effect just in the Gaza Strip. The move would mark a significant concession by Hamas in dropping a demand that the truce immediately include the West Bank as well, as Egyptian mediators try to halt the fighting between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza and southern Israel.

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