April 10th

U.s. Wants To Hold Summit At Sharm During Bush Visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) April 10, 2008 - 2:00pm The United States is keen on holding a summit at the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to coincide with President George Bush's visit to Israel next month for the country's 60th anniversary celebrations. Bush would like to use the event as a way station in the diplomatic process, following November's Annapolis conference, so as to provide another boost to efforts to reach an agreement by the end of the year over the core issues for a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. » Read more

Egypt Makes Gaza Border Warning ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News April 10, 2008 - 1:59pm Egypt has warned that it will not accept any further violation of its border with the Gaza Strip. A government official said Egypt's borders were a red line that could not be crossed. It came after Hamas said it was prepared to take action to break the Israeli blockade of the territory. Militants destroyed parts of the Gaza border with Egypt in January, allowing hundreds of thousands of people stock up on much-needed supplies. » Read more

Empty Gestures Destroy Credibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 10, 2008 - 1:58pm There would appear to be two strands of interaction between Palestinians and Israelis in the current negotiations process. One deals with final status issues and involves the top political leadership on both sides, Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmed Qurei and Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni. The other deals with day-to-day practicalities and is led by Salam Fayyad and Ehud Barak. » Read more

Gazans Grapple With Fuel Shortages, Turn To Black Market ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters April 10, 2008 - 1:56pm Sleeping in their cars outside petrol stations, Palestinians are feeling the pinch of a fuel crisis in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where black market gasoline sells for about $7.50 a litre. Station owners, decrying Israel's reduction of shipments since Hamas took over the territory in June, and accusing the armed group of siphoning off fuel for its own use, declared a protest at the pumps this week. » Read more

Jitters At A West Bank Junction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Week by Joshua Mitnick - April 10, 2008 - 1:55pm Rimonim Junction, West Bank — The crossroads is set among idyllic hilltops that feed herds of sheep on the edge of the Judean desert. There is a steady rhythm of Palestinian minivan taxis shuttling between the West Bank’s northern half and the center. Occasionally, the sedan of an Israeli settler swooshes by. At the side of the road leading toward the Christian village of Taiybeh, a booth of concrete cubes sits empty. » Read more

Olmert A Failure As Prime Minister, Say Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor April 10, 2008 - 1:53pm Most people in Israel express disappointment over the performance of Ehud Olmert, according to a poll by the Dahaf Institute published in Yediot Ahronot. 59 per cent of respondents think the prime minister did not succeed in his role as head of government, and 49 per cent acknowledge that their support for Olmert has declined since he was sworn in. » Read more

Palestinian Children Forced Onto Street ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Mel Frykberg - April 10, 2008 - 1:25pm The deteriorating economic situation in the Palestinian territories has forced many Palestinian children to leave school and take up menial work in an effort to try and help their families survive economically. This Middle East Times journalist has traveled through both the West Bank and Gaza and is regularly accosted by young children at checkpoints hawking a variety of goods from food and refreshments to plastic toys and kitchen implements. » Read more

Who Will Take The First Step? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times (Editorial) April 10, 2008 - 1:22pm Throughout the 60 years of percolating Arab-Israeli conflict both sides have found it easier to declare war – or as the case may be, to wage war without bothering to declare it – rather than to declare peace. Yet recently, amid renewed fears of the possibility that Israel and Syria could resort to open warfare, fears heightened by the unprecedented military exercises carried out by Israel along its northern frontier, both countries have continued to make statements that they seek peace and not war. » Read more

April 9th

Evangelist To Yoffie: 'i'm Not Trying To Undermine Peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shmuel Rosner - (Blog) April 9, 2008 - 8:55am Televangelist John Hagee sounded a bit irate when he read his response to the accusations leveled at him and the organization he founded, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Union for Reform Judaism. » Read more

The Palestinians Are Under Inner And Outer Siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Bassem Eid - (Opinion) April 9, 2008 - 8:54am Before Oslo, Palestinians primarily desired unity and an end to the occupation. But as soon as the first intifada began to fade, divisions among Palestinians emerged. Throughout the Oslo years, these rifts continued to widen. While scores of Palestinians took to the streets, armed with stones and kitchen appliances, during the first intifada, the present uprising is increasingly characterized by the deadly firepower of small arms. » Read more