Date
Type

August 12th

Israel To Close Gaza Crossings After Rocket Attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
August 12, 2008 - 4:27pm

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it would shut its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to a rocket attack that further strained a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Gaza fighters. The rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday struck near the centre of Sderot, a town in southern Israel often targeted by militants, causing no damage or injuries, Israeli police said. Israel’s defence ministry said in a statement later crossings between Israel and the Hamas-controlled territory would be closed on Tuesday in response to the attack.

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Three-in-ten Israelis Want Netanyahu As Pm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor
August 12, 2008 - 4:25pm

Three-in-ten Israelis would like to see former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu return to power, according to a poll by Dialog published in Haaretz. 29 per cent of respondents think the right-leaning Likud leader is the most appropriate candidate to become head of government. Foreign minister Tzipi Livni of Kadima is second with 22 per cent, followed by Labour leader and defence minister Ehud Barak and transportation minister Shaul Mofaz both with eight per cent. 29 per cent of respondents say none of these four candidates is fit to be prime minister.

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Israel 'proposes West Bank Deal'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
August 12, 2008 - 4:24pm

Israel has offered a peace deal to the Palestinians which would annex 7.3% of the West Bank and keep the largest settlements, Israeli reports say. In return the Palestinians would be given land equivalent to 5.4% of the West Bank in the Negev desert, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Palestinian officials confirmed that such a plan had been put forward, but called it totally unacceptable. The two sides have been in peace talks sponsored by the US since November.

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August 11th

Israel proposes ideas for the West Bank, the terms of which the Palestinians find unacceptable (1). A recent poll of Israeli citizens finds that three in ten would like former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to power after Ehud Olmert steps down (2). Israel announces that it will close its Gaza border crossings with Gaza after a recent rocket attack (3). The impoverished Gaza strip faces a serious cash shortage (4). Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank intensifies (6) (8).

Barak Questions If Livni Would Be 'wise' Choice For Premiership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 11, 2008 - 4:57pm

The atmosphere of the approaching September primary election within the Kadima party prompted even Defense Minister and Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak to break his media silence and hint that Kadima front-runner Tzipi Livni would not be a wise choice to lead the country.

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On Borrowed Time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) August 11, 2008 - 4:56pm

No peace agreement between Israel and its neighbors will be signed before the end of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's term of office. The most far-reaching move imaginable would be some sort of agreements in principle between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Syrians. The chances of that happening don't appear very good, but it's not impossible.

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Counterproductive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) August 11, 2008 - 4:54pm

An Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement between PM Ehud Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas is not likely. The two leaders are weak, Olmert's days as leader are numbered, Abbas too may not last long and the two sides are too far apart on the core issues of Jerusalem and refugees/right of return. But let's assume they surprise us and produce an agreement "in principle" while they are both still in office, i.e., in the coming months and perhaps even weeks.

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Serious But Inconclusive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 11, 2008 - 4:53pm

Because the 1993 declaration of principles (Oslo agreement) took everybody by surprise by arriving in the middle of the overwhelming pessimism that surrounded the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Washington at the time, analysts have since become very alert to possible similar sudden breakthroughs.

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Eu: Settlements Undermine Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 11, 2008 - 4:51pm

French EU Presidency expresses deep concern over Israel's intention to build 447 new housing units Israel's decision to approve the building of hundreds of new housing units in the Jerusalem area undermines the credibility of the Middle East peace process, the European Union said on Friday. A statement from the French EU Presidency said it was deeply concerned by the Israeli move.

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Hamas Bans Use Of Cooking Gas-run Cars Citing Shortage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
August 11, 2008 - 4:49pm

Gaza City: Gaza's Hamas-run government banned the use of cooking gas to fuel cars in the territory on Saturday, citing expected shortages ahead of Ramadan. Earlier this year, Israel slashed fuel shipments in response to attacks from the Gaza Strip, leading to a severe shortage. As a result, around 8,000 Gaza residents converted their vehicles to run on cooking gas, said Ahmad Ali, of the Palestinian Petroleum Commission.

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