April 16th

An Ominous Rift Grows In The Arab World
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) April 16, 2008 - 6:05pm

  As oil income to Arab producers continues to rise, we are witnessing sharper polarization between the wealthy, energy-producing states of the Gulf with their small populations on the one hand, and the more populous, energy-importing Arab countries in the Levant, the Nile Valley, and North Africa on the other.

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Israeli Police Raid Peace Radio Station
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - April 16, 2008 - 6:04pm

Israeli police raided the Jerusalem studio of Ram FM – an English-language peace radio station, based in the West Bank, which aims to find common ground between Israelis and Palestinians – on the grounds the station was operating without a license. Seven of the station's employees, including Palestinians, Israelis and South-Africans, were arrested and imprisoned during the raid last week. The employees had their cell phones confiscated while the police seized office equipment, shut down the transmitter and closed the studio before taking the staff in for questioning

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Eighteen Dead As Gaza Erupts In Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Allegra Stratton - April 16, 2008 - 6:03pm

Fifteen Palestinians, including at least four members of Hamas, and three Israeli soldiers have been killed in separate clashes inside the Gaza Strip today. According to Hamas, eight Palestinians were killed this afternoon when Israeli helicopters fired four missiles into central Gaza. Different accounts by Palestinian witnesses said they heard separate explosions. The Israeli army confirms a helicopter fired at a group of armed Palestinians. Earlier today, three Israeli soldiers and 4 Hamas gunmen were killed in clashes near Gaza's main fuel terminal.

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Complex Regional Rivalry Muddying The Waters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 16, 2008 - 6:01pm

The tension between Israel, Syria and Lebanon has carried indirect negative consequences for Palestinians. Even though it is correct to say that at the moment there is no serious or promising peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis to be disrupted, the tension, on the one hand, and Syria and its regional alliances on the other, can play an important role in influencing the domestic Palestinian situation as well as Palestinian-Israeli relations.

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Un Calls For Disarming Of Hezbollah, Israel-lebanon Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 16, 2008 - 6:00pm

The UN Security Council called Tuesday for the disarming of Hezbollah and all other militias in Lebanon and greater progress toward a permanent ceasefire and long-term solution to the conflict between Lebanon and Israel. A statement adopted by consensus by the 15-member council reiterates its commitment to the full implementation of all provisions of Resolution 1701 which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in August 2006.

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Obama Slams Carter For Meeting Hamas, Tries To Reassure Jewish Voters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
April 16, 2008 - 5:58pm

U.S. Senator Barack Obama on Wednesday criticized former U.S. President Jimmy Carter for meeting with leaders of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas as he tried to reassure Jewish voters that his presidential candidacy is not a threat to them or U.S. support for Israel. The Democratic presidential candidate's comments, made to a group of Jewish leaders in Philadelphia, were his first on Carter's controversial meeting scheduled this week in Egypt. Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain called on Obama to repudiate Carter in a speech Monday.

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Legitimizing Hamas: Carter's Visit Sends The Wrong Message
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Weekly Standard
by Matthew Levitt - (Opinion) April 16, 2008 - 5:57pm

Imagine the Alice in Wonderland scene that will take place later this week, when U.S. Secret Service agents entrusted with protecting former president Jimmy Carter stand guard over a meeting with the head of a designated terrorist group responsible for near daily attacks targeting civilians, including numerous attacks in which American citizens have been injured and killed. The former president may have altruistic motives, but his meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mishal is both imprudent and dangerous.

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How Many West Bank Barriers Will Israel Forgo?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 16, 2008 - 5:55pm

This crossroads used to be a daily battle for Palestinian motorists, with traffic stretching a half-mile and wait time before inspection by Israeli soldiers longer than an hour. Now, as a small step toward peace that included Israel's removal of 60 security barriers throughout the Palestinian territories, soldiers are gone from the road, and traffic between the northern West Bank and Jericho glides through the junction.

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April 10th

Joshua Mitnick reports in the Washington Times concerning Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s reaction to former US President Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas (1). In the Israel Policy Forum, M.J. Rosenberg presents an argument for land distribution regarding current settlements goalposts (2). Moran Banai and Mara Rudman examine the strategy that the US must utilize post-Annapolis in Middle East Progress (3). In the Arab News, Mohammed Mar’i reports that the expected year end peace agreement will not include an agreement on Jerusalem or refugees (8). Gulf News reports that the White House has urged former US President Jimmy Carter to not meet with Hamas leadership (10).

The Settlements Are The Biggest Impediment To Security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 10, 2008 - 2:01pm

At the very heart of the roadmap phase I issues that dominated US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit a week ago are security and settlements. The West Bank-based Palestinian leadership that Israel is negotiating with has little to brag about in terms of improving security. But at least it is sincerely trying. The Olmert government is not trying as hard, particularly with regard to settlements. And settlements are the biggest impediment to security.

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