May 1st

Rice Is Right: Palestinian-israeli Peace Talks Are Losing Credibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) May 1, 2008 - 5:25pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice unwittingly demonstrated much of what ails the Palestinian-Israeli peace process on Tuesday. In a speech to the American Jewish Committee in Washington, she proffered a laundry list of reasons why time is running out for a two-state solution - and each of them is a direct result of failed US policy.

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British Government Urges Israel To Lift Gaza Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
May 1, 2008 - 5:24pm

The British Government Thursday urged Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza and abide by international humanitarian law. Opening a House of Commons debate on the Middle East ahead of tomorrow's major international meeting on the peace process in London, Britains Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells warned that Israeli action was having a "grave impact" on life in the territory.

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Abdallah Meets Olmert, Urges Peace Pact In 2008
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Abdul Jalil Mustafa - May 1, 2008 - 5:24pm

Jordan’s King Abdallah conferred yesterday in Amman with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and urged the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach a peace treaty before the end of the year, an official statement said. Olmert paid a whirlwind visit to Jordan as part of Abdallah’s endeavors aimed at pushing Israel and the Palestinians to speed up their stalled negotiations on core issues, Jerusalem, the settlements, the frontiers and refugees, according to the statement from the royal court.

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Journalists In The Line Of Fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - May 1, 2008 - 5:23pm

While Palestinian journalists staged a sit-in in Gaza city to protest the killing of 23-year-old Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana and Lebanese journalists protested the killing in Beirut, Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger called for an investigation. Shana was the latest victim of nine journalists killed by the Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza in the last decade. The cameraman was killed several weeks ago in central Gaza as he filmed Israeli forces exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen.

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To Trust The Us Is To Take A Big Risk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) May 1, 2008 - 5:22pm

Frankly, so far nothing has been achieved." This was the startling yet straightforward statement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after his failure in Washington last week to have the US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exercise some arms-twisting in the stalled Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

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Condoleezza Rice Returns To The Mideast On Saturday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 1, 2008 - 5:21pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this weekend makes her fourth visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories since the November Annapolis peace conference with little to show for the U.S. effort. Traveling ahead of President George W. Bush's May 13-18 trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Rice left Washington on Thursday and will see officials on both sides - including in three-way sessions - to assess a peace negotiation with no visible sign of progress.

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Egypt Brings Gaza-truce Offer To Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Media Line Staff - May 1, 2008 - 5:20pm

Egyptian Intelligence Chief ‘Umar Suleiman is arriving in Israel soon to hear Israel’s official response to Egypt’s cease-fire proposal for Gaza.   Cairo wants Israel to accept a deal that was agreed upon by 12 Palestinian factions, including Hamas.   Israel is being cautious about its response to the truce idea.

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The Mideast Editing Wars
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Prospect
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) May 1, 2008 - 5:19pm

"We will go to war," reads the ungrammatical email, "after we have build our army, equipped it, trained… so if you want to win this war help us build our army."

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April 30th

ATFP President fields a question on the nuances between Palestinian and U.S. positions on the peace process (1). Reuters previews U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice return trip to the Middle East (4) as the Daily Star opines on the fading credibility of the peace process (10). The British Government urges Israel to lift the Gaza Blockade (9). ATFP Board Member George Hishmeh pens a column on the current state of the negotiations (5). Finally, Gershom Gorenber looks at the online war of words to define narrative in the American Prospect.

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