March 19th

Hamas Refuses Fatah Demand It Cede Gaza Control For Reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 19, 2008 - 7:23pm

Hamas voiced willingness on Wednesday to talk to Fatah as part of a Yemeni reconciliation initiative but said the secular faction must drop its demand the Islamist group first give up control of the Gaza Strip. "We do not accept it as a condition to restore dialogue," Hamas spokesmanAyman Taha said. "[The Gaza Strip] is only an item that can be discussed within the agenda of the talks."

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Mubarak: 'no Occupation Lasts Forever'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 19, 2008 - 7:21pm

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Israel on Tuesday that history shows no occupation lasts forever. "Your people's security cannot be attained by exercising a policy of collective punishment, aggression, siege, walls and building settlements," he said in comments broadcast live on state television. Mubarak added that for their part, the Palestinians needed to unify their ranks and consider their actions for the sake of their suffering children.

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Israel Bars Access From W. Bank, Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 19, 2008 - 7:19pm

Israel declared a heightened security alert on Wednesday and barred Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering the country, fearing Hezbollah guerrillas may try to carry out a major attack during holiday celebrations this week. The Purim holiday coincides with the end of a 40-day mourning period for Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bombing in Syria last month. Israel has denied involvement, but the Lebanese guerrilla group has blamed Israel and vowed revenge.

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U.s. To Transfer $150 Million In Aid To The Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 19, 2008 - 7:07pm

The U.S. is transferring $150 million in aid to the Palestinian government in coming days, the Palestinian Prime Minister announced Wednesday. The payment is part of a total of $550 million the U.S. pledged to pay to the Palestinians over three years, part of a total of $7.7 billion in pledges from international donors made at a conference in Paris in December.

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Jerusalem's First Palestinian Latin Patriarch To Retire This Year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 19, 2008 - 7:03pm

Michel Sabbah, the Holy Land's top Roman Catholic clergyman, is to retire this year. The Latin Patriach is turning 75 on Wednesday - the traditional retirement age of church officials. Sabbah is the first Palestinian to hold his position. Throughout his tenure, he has been a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause. At the same time, he has been an outspoken critic of violence.

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The Final Straw
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Elie Fawaz - (Opinion) March 19, 2008 - 7:01pm

America is always looking for ways to weaken Hezbollah and end its violent operations. The good news is that Hezbollah may now finally be undermining itself from within. Trapped between Israel's wrath and the disillusionment of the Lebanese people, the "Party of God" is bringing about its own destruction and damaging its credibility by openly taking on the world.

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March 18th

An opinion in the International Herald Tribune by Elie Fawaz suggests that the Lebanese government should take advantage of Hezbollah’s current weakened position (1). Reuters reports that Hamas has refused Fatah’s demand it cede Gaza control for reconciliation (6) while the Media Line reports that jailed Fatah leader Marwan Al-Barghouthi has not ruled out his candidacy for chairmanship of the Palestinian Authority (7). An Alon Ben-Meir article in the Middle East Times focuses on the bitter cycle of violence that has developed since the seminary attack (9). Rami Khouri argues in the Daily Star that stalemate between Israel and the Palestinian Authority only increases the popularity of Hamas (10).

An Unwelcome Welcome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yehuda Lankri - (Opinion) March 18, 2008 - 7:02pm

Maariv recently wrote about "disappointment in the Foreign Ministry" concerning the new U.S. ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, whose appointment is described by Israeli "diplomatic sources" as a weak and strange choice of "a diplomatic bureaucrat" who lacks understanding of, and diplomatic background in, the Middle East.

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Wait For A New Us Administration Before Panicking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) March 18, 2008 - 7:00pm

Before everyone starts considering closing down the Palestinian Authority (PA), ending peace talks, unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state or deciding to opt for a one-state solution, we should all calm down and wait another 10 months until January 2009, when a new administration takes office in the United States.

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Fanatics Taking Over
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yehuda Litani - (Opinion) March 18, 2008 - 6:58pm

Three days after the murder of the eight Mercaz Harav yeshiva students, I traveled to the only place in Jerusalem where Jews and Arabs meet every evening – the Abu-Leil family’s falafel stand in the French Hill neighborhood. On Saturday nights, the commotion here is usually at its peak: Groups of Jews and Arabs, each intermingling with its own, using its own language. 

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