April 6th

In the Washington Post, Jackson Diehl discusses the potential or Israeli action in Gaza (1).The Agence France Presse reports on the meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (4). A MJ Rosenberg opinion in the Israel Policy Forum examines what the Israeli-Arab debate will look like after current US President George W. Bush leaves office (5). In BitterLemons, Nimrod Novik suggests relaxing restrictions on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and letting him negotiate with Hamas (6). Lawrence Pintak warns readers to ignore Al-Jazeera at their own peril in The Daily Star (8).

April 4th

With Friends Like These
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) April 4, 2008 - 6:30pm

The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, has called for non-cooperation with the Christian Zionists, a movement of millions of Americans who ardently support Israel. Yoffie represents a movement that supports Israel for very different reasons from those of the Christian Zionists, who identify largely with the most right-wing sectors of Israeli society. His call on Wednesday reawakens the controversy over Israel's practical approach toward its supporters in the United States.

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The Lie Of Peace And The Nonsense Of Security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) April 4, 2008 - 6:29pm

Presumably there is a strange but legitimate dispute between a leader who comes from the right, who believes that if Israel continues to hold on to the territories the Jewish state will be in danger, and a leader who comes from the left, who claims that if Israel stops holding on to the territories Jewish lives will be in danger. Ostensibly one proposes a reaching a quick solution to the conflict by negotiating with Fatah, and the other prefers long-term resolution via a military struggle with Hamas.

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'marching Toward Total Ruin'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Interview) April 4, 2008 - 6:28pm

"When you see Zakariya, maybe you'll be surprised, but he looks like just any other Palestinian man now. Without armed men, without a weapon, just an ordinary guy," related an acquaintance of Zakariya Zubeidi, until not long ago the commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin.

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U.k. Foreign Sec.: Israel's Future Depends On Palestinian Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 4, 2008 - 6:25pm

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Wednesday praised Israel's achievements over the 60 years of its existence, but said the "small country's" future depends above all on "the creation of a new and viable Palestinian state, alongside a secure Israel." Addressing the annual Easter Banquet at Mansion House, London on Wednesday, the foreign secretary said that Israel's 60th anniversary was "an opportunity for us all to recognize the achievements - in democratic governance, science, culture and business."

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Settlement Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) April 4, 2008 - 6:21pm

A rash of reports coming out of Israel indicates that a spurt of new construction is under way in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The development should be alarming to anyone who cares about Israel’s welfare. It’s a violation of Israel’s public commitments, most of all to the Bush administration. It’s damaging to Israel’s international standing and harmful to its security, both short and long term.

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Israel Tries To Cool Predictions Of Impending War With Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Charly Wegman - April 4, 2008 - 6:18pm

Israel on Thursday played down media reports of heightened tension along the Syrian border, insisting there was little likelihood of military confrontation between the two countries. "Israel has no intention of attacking Syria, and the latter says only it is ready to respond to any attack, so the risk of a military confrontation is very low," said Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon.

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Israel Claims To Remove 50 Roadblocks In West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 4, 2008 - 6:16pm

Israel on Thursday said  it had removed 50 roadblocks in the West Bank as part of promises made to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but US and Palestinian officials could not confirm their removal. A senior US official said "it is hard to assess" the impact of the roadblocks' removal, let alone confirm they were scrapped, because Israel had yet to give Washington or the Palestinians a map showing where the dirt-mound obstacles were.

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Arab Home Razed In Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Star-telegram
by Karin Laub - April 4, 2008 - 6:13pm

An Israeli wrecking crew knocked down Shadi Hamdan's home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem in just a couple of hours, reducing the upholsterer's savings to a pile of gray rubble. The demolition of the home, which Israel claims was illegally built, vividly illustrate the toughest issue facing negotiators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks: conflicting claims over Jerusalem.

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Rice's Roadmap Achievement & Ipf Letter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - April 4, 2008 - 6:11pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have brokered the first tangible achievement in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process since the Annapolis peace conference four months ago.

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