May 28th

Farmers Under Qassam Fire Stop Shipments Of Food To Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yonat Atlas - May 28, 2008 - 6:13pm

A large group of farmers from communities in southern Israel under constant bombardment from Gaza's terror groups arrived at the Sufa border crossing and prevented the transfer of provisions into the Strip. Ailing Aid     The farmers said they were demonstrating against Israel's policy of continuing to ship aid into Gaza while rocket attacks continue to emanate from the territory.

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Report: Israel, Syria Agree On 85% Of Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - May 28, 2008 - 6:12pm

A senior Israeli source, who took part in unofficial Turkey-mediated talks between Israel and Syria, has said that the two sides are discussing a border line which will be based on the June 4 1967 borders and the future of the Golan Heights' residents, the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday. The source confirmed that "serious progress has been made in the talks."

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More Than 3,000 Israeli Demolition Orders Pending
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
May 28, 2008 - 6:10pm

More than 3,000 Israeli demolition orders are pending against Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank and 10 small communities are at risk of being almost entirely displaced by demolitions, a UN agency said in a report Tuesday. From 2000 to 2007, Israel demolished more than 1,600 Palestinian-owned structures, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). During the same period, Israel denied 94 per cent of Palestinian requests for building permits, the agency said, citing Israeli government figures.

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An Unmentionable Truce?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - (Opinion) May 28, 2008 - 6:09pm

A Hamas-Israel ceasefire could be on its way, but you wouldn't know it. No press conference will be held to announce it. Instead, quiet on Gaza's borders – no rockets going out, no Israeli fire going in – will serve as the declaration that the ceasefire has begun. But this quiet will come with a tension that at any moment the ceasefire could end. And once that happens, major confrontation can be expected. The Ceasefire That Shall Not Be Mentioned

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Syria: Olmert's Political Weakness May Affect Recently Renewed Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 28, 2008 - 6:09pm

The recently revived peace talks between Syria and Israel may be hindered by the weakness of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, beleaguered by a political crisis, Syrian analysts said Wednesday. The Syrian comment came shortly after Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged Olmert to step down or face early elections in light of the corruption investigation currently underway against him.

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Ehud Olmert Given Ultimatum: Quit Or Lose Power
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Jenny Booth - May 28, 2008 - 6:08pm

The fate of the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hung in the balance today as his defence minister called on him to resign over corruption allegations or face the collapse of his coalition government. A day after an American businessman told an Israeli court how he handed Mr Olmert envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash, Ehud Barak held a news conference to lay out the position of his Labour party, the junior partner in Mr Olmert’s coalition.

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Deal Imminent Between Israel And Hezbollah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Der Spiegel
by Ulrike Putz - May 28, 2008 - 6:06pm

It was an impressive scene, though hardly a new one: Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered in south Beirut on Monday night to celebrate -- as they do every year -- the "Day of Resistance" against Israel. Above the crowd a sea of yellow Hezbollah flags waved and the voice of the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, thundered above them.

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Jerusalem Is The Key
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Quarterly
by Uri Dromi - (Opinion) May 28, 2008 - 6:03pm

Whenever Israeli politicians want to generate applause, all they need do is speak passionately about ‘united Jerusalem’, and a standing ovation is guaranteed. Yet as indicated by Dr. Moshe Amirav, in his book The Jerusalem Syndrome (Carmel, Jerusalem, 2007, Hebrew), the purported ‘united city’ is a myth. Nine new neighbourhoods have been built in the Eastern side of the city since 1967, billions of Shekels have been invested, and still ‘this forty-year policy has only generated disappointments and failures.

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Palestinian Cell Service Still On Hold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - May 28, 2008 - 6:02pm

After getting Iraq's first post-invasion cellular phone network operational in four months, Allan Richardson expected that launching the second Palestinian mobile service would be easy. But nearly a year and a half after arriving here, the chief executive officer of Wataniya Palestine Telecom is still waiting for Israel to release cellular frequencies. The delay has held up a $650 million investment in the Palestinian economy and the creation of 2,500 jobs in the midst of double-digit unemployment.

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May 27th

An article in the Christian Science Monitor examines how the delay in establishing an operational cellular phone network is holding back the Palestinian economy (1). The Jewish Quarterly highlights the importance of Jerusalem for Israel and the peace process (2). The current Israeli political crisis around Ehud Olmert continues to grow (4) (5). A tentative truce between Hamas and Israel is brokered in Egypt (6). Coverage continues of the recent Palestine Investment Conference (11).

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