March 25th

So You Wanna Be A Hizballah Fighter?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Andrew Lee Butters - March 25, 2008 - 5:45pm

Hizballah's state-within-the-Lebanese-state -- its hospitals, schools, banking system and even its consumer goods stores -- is a closed society that's off-limits to outsiders. But no part of the structure is more closed and more secret than the military wing, access to which is extremely limited for an American journalist such as myself.

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March 24th

In a Time Magazine Blog, Andrew Lee Butters described the process of Hizzballah recruitment (1). A poll in the Angus Reid Global Monitor reveals that most Israelis oppose a withdrawal from the West Bank (5). Ghassan Khatib discusses the impact of the declining US economy on peace in BitterLemons (6). The Daily Star reports on comments made by US Vice President Dick Cheney that Syria and Iran are undermining the renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace process (7). An opinion by Yoav Stern in Haaretz discusses the current state of the Arab world with respect to the upcoming Damascus meeting (12).

Olmert's Agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 6:05pm

Who says that our prime minister does not have an agenda? It is true that on occasion Olmert has said that there is no need for the prime minister to have an agenda - he simply needs to do his job. It is also true that since he came into office, Olmert has adopted and discarded agendas whenever it suited him. First there was "convergence," then victory over Hezbollah, and then Annapolis. He feels that the mantle of the man dedicated to bringing peace to Israel suits him, and that he will not let anything, no matter what, get in his way.

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The Vision Of An Arab-free Knesset
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shahar Ilan - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 6:03pm

MK Zevulun Orlev's rage was not provoked by last week's pogrom at Jabel Mukkaber, where right-wing protesters attempted to storm the house of the terrorist behind the Mercaz Harav attack; rather, the National Religious Party lawmaker's anger was sparked by a remark made by Balad chairman MK Jamal Zahalka, who claimed Jerusalem was occupied land and that he refused to recognize a law stating otherwise.

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Apply Merkel's Lesson In The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 6:02pm

It has been a busy week - the fifth anniversary of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq, Osama bin Laden's resurfacing with another audio tape threatening Western targets, sort-of elections in Iran, see-sawing global stock and commodity markets, a dramatic presidential primary contest in the United States, Egyptian-facilitated diplomacy on the Palestinian front, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's official visit to Israel.

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Top Palestinian Official Says Fatah Signed Deal Due To Mixup
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
March 24, 2008 - 6:00pm

Fatah signed the Yemeni-sponsored proposal for reconciliation with Hamas because of a mixup, a top Palestinian official said on Monday. The terms of the Yemeni deal, which was signed on Sunday, include rival factions Fatah and Hamas agreeing on the goal of uniting in a single Palestinian government. Senior Fatah official, former Palestinian Prime Minister Azzam Al Ahmad, signed the proposal on Fatah’s behalf, but top Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qureia suggested on Monday that this decision was hasty.

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Minister (of Interior) Al Yahya And General Dayton Inspect Palestinian Security Training At The International Centre Near Amman And Witness A Field Exercise With Weapons And Live Ammunition.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Quds
by Amman – Abdulla Al Qaq - March 24, 2008 - 5:59pm

The Minster of Interior Abdul Razzaq Al Yahya and the American General Dayton inspected the almost 1000 members of the Palestinian Police (National Security Force) and the Presidential Guard battalions that are currently training at the Jordanian International Police Training Center (JIPTC).  Their training includes security apparatus, human rights, riot control and civil disturbance.

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‘painful Concessions’ Needed, Says Cheney
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Mohammed Mar’i - March 24, 2008 - 5:55pm

US Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday that a Mideast peace agreement will require “painful concessions” by Israelis and Palestinians who must work together to defeat those “committed to violence.” After meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Cheney stressed the US commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, saying it was “long overdue.”

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Currency Pressures Add To Economic And Political Despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Sam Bahour - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 5:54pm

As if the Palestinian economic reality was not complicated enough, the rapid drop in the value of the dollar has put many Palestinians between a rock and a hard place, not knowing how to make ends meet and not seeing an end to this perplexing situation. The Palestinian market uses four main currencies. The Israeli shekel is traded in daily purchases; the Jordanian dinar, euro and US dollar are used for business and real estate transactions. The JD is pegged to the dollar at 0.709 so any devaluation of the dollar directly devalues the JD.

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Only In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 5:53pm

The past two weeks witnessed a familiar pattern of events. Israel retaliated against Palestinian terrorists firing rockets from Gaza at Israeli civilians. This produced an escalation, in the course of which the city of Ashkelon with its 100,000 inhabitants was brought into the circle of hostile rocket fire. Israel responded with a modest ground and air operation that took a heavy toll in Palestinian lives, mainly Hamas combatants. Egypt intervened with a proposal for a tahdiya, or pause in the fighting.

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