May 2nd

Mideast Quartet Presses Arab States, Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
May 2, 2008 - 5:49pm

Key world powers called Friday on Arab states to fulfil their promises of aid for the Palestinians and voiced deep concern over the humanitarian impact of a nine-month-old Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement issued after the Middle East Quartet held talks in London, the powers also urged Israel to stop building or extending settlements in the West Bank.

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Life Inside Gaza City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Kim Sengupta - May 2, 2008 - 5:46pm

The home where Miyasar Abu Muatak died with her children is now just a pile of rubble. A mourning tent has been put up outside with photographs of the family. A steady stream of relatives, friends and neighbours come in to express their condolences. The home where Miyasar Abu Muatak died with her children is now just a pile of rubble. A mourning tent has been put up outside with photographs of the family. A steady stream of relatives, friends and neighbours come in to express their condolences.

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War And Remembrance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) May 2, 2008 - 5:45pm

Yesterday Israelis commemorated Yom Ha'Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Next week is Israel’s 60th Independence Day. That Independence Day immediately follows Yom Ha'Shoah is appropriate. Together these two days encapsulate the message: Never Again.

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May 1st

ATFP President Ziad Asali concludes his week-long guest spot in Rosner’s Domain (1). MJ Rosenberg discusses the tragedy of the Holocaust and its relation to the current conflict (2). Kim Sengupta of the Independent offers an glimpse into Gaza City (3). ATFP Senior Fellow Ghaith al-Omari dissects the question of engaging Hamas (4). YNet News reports on a new deployment of Palestinian Policemen in Jenin (8). Haaretz’s Akiva Eldar questions the authenticity of Israeli-Syrian negotiations (10).

The Moment Before The Respite
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 1, 2008 - 5:25pm

The Egyptian effort to achieve a cease-fire on the Israeli-Palestinian front seemed close to success yesterday, at least in terms of achieving the consent of the Palestinian side. This assessment must be made with reservations, because negotiations on such complex issues, and with a dozen Palestinian factions, are liable to fail even at the last moment. In any case, it looks as though we can already now praise the seriousness of the Egyptian activity, designed to mediate between the Palestinians and Israel.

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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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