May 1st

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.

Moving On To 'stage-two Zionism'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sarah Kreimer - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:34pm

'Make a decision - are you citizens of Israel, or of the Palestinian Authority?" Yisrael Beitenu MK David Rotem challenged the Arab citizens of Israel in a recent Israeli news interview. Sadly, on the eve of Israel's 60th celebration of independence, ongoing Israeli policy is pushing almost one-fifth of our citizenry - the Arab Israelis, or Palestinian citizens of Israel - into the corner of choosing between being Israelis or being Palestinians; when, in fact, they are both.

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Spare Your Explanations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
(Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:33pm

  Let’s assume, for a moment, that the Israeli version of Monday’s incident in Gaza is accurate, real, and honest. Let’s assume, just for a moment, that a gunship hit a group of terrorists, and they happened to be right next to a Gaza mother and her four children, and the gunship hit the terrorists’ explosives, which ended up killing the mother and children. So what?

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Things Are Moving, But The Us Is Absent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:31pm

One of the important developments in Middle Eastern diplomacy that becomes more obvious with every passing month is the continued marginalization of the United States. As the Bush administration and the American presidential candidates find themselves focusing most of their Middle East-related attention on the complex challenges the US invasion of Iraq has created, other important regional issues seem to be moving into the hands of local players and mediators.

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Middle East Peace Must Include Solution For Palestinian Refugees, Ban Ki-moon Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations News Service
April 30, 2008 - 6:30pm

A sustainable peace in the Middle East will have to factor in a viable and just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a United Nations meeting convened in Paris to assess the condition of the refugees and examine the role of the world body in alleviating their plight.

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Israeli Ex-generals, Palestinian Officials Say Israel Can Remove 10 Key Checkpoints
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 30, 2008 - 6:29pm

Israel should remove 10 major West Bank checkpoints to give a badly needed boost to the Palestinian economy and can do so without compromising security, a group of Israeli ex-generals and Palestinian officials said in a joint report Wednesday. The 10 checkpoints cause major disruptions to Palestinian trade and movement, said the report, whose authors include two former chiefs of Israel's military government in the West Bank.

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Palestinians 'losing Hope' For Peace Deal - Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 30, 2008 - 6:27pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told an American Jewish group that young Palestinians are losing hope for a peace agreement with Israel. Her comments came during a sobering speech on Tuesday evening to the American Jewish Committee at their 102nd annual meeting in Washington. Rice is set to leave early on Thursday for more Middle East peace talks with Arab and Israeli leaders, after a meeting in London designed to raise more economic support for the Palestinians.

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