November 11th

Foreign troops could deploy in West Bank after peace deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm After an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories within the framework of an overall peace agreement, foreign forces could be stationed there for a specific period, the secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, told Haaretz in an interview over the weekend in Brussels. » Read more

At Arafat memorial rally, Abbas blames Hamas for continued rift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday blamed political rival Hamas for another failed reconciliation attempt. Abbas spoke during a rally marking the fourth anniversary of the death of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Over the weekend, Hamas pulled out of planned reconciliation talks at the last minute. It demanded that Abbas first release Hamas prisoners in the West Bank. » Read more

Israeli police evict Palestinian couple from home of 52 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy - November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm Israeli police have evicted a disabled Palestinian man and his wife from the home where they had lived for 52 years, in a Palestinian district of east Jerusalem which is now surrounded by hardline Jewish settlers. The eviction came after years of litigation which culminated in an Israeli supreme court ruling in July ordering them out of the house. Several foreign governments, including the US and Britain, had tried to intervene on behalf of Muhammad and Fawzieh al-Kurd, but without success. » Read more

Israeli troops shoot worker on border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm A foreign farm worker was wounded on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire near the border with Lebanon, a military spokesman said. Soldiers on patrol in the area near the kibbutz of Manara spotted men acting "suspiciously" and opened fire, reportedly thinking they may be people trying to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon. The troops subsequently discovered that they were farm workers employed in northern Israel, the spokesman said, adding that an inquiry had been opened into the incident. Israel's Army Radio reported that the wounded worker was from Thailand. » Read more

Gaza: Power Station Shuts Down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm A fuel shortage forced the Gaza Strip’s main power station to shut down on Monday, leaving about half the residents of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory without electricity, a power plant official said. Israel, which had blocked deliveries of fuel to the enclave for a week in response to a surge in cross-border rocket attacks, said it would allow resumption of fuel shipments on Tuesday.

Olmert: We must cede parts of Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Greer Fay Cashman - November 10, 2008 - 8:00pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday used a Jerusalem memorial ceremony for former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to reiterate that Israel must be willing to cede parts of the capital. "If we want to keep Israel Jewish and democratic, we need to give up parts of the homeland we have dreamed about for generations and [mentioned] in our prayers, even Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to return to a 1967 Israel with certain amendments," he said, at the state ceremony on Mount Herzl, where Rabin is buried. » Read more

Wilson Center Briefing Summary and Video Available Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - November 9, 2008 - 1:00am On October 20th, ATPF Senior Fellow Dr. Hussein Ibish participated in a panel entitled “McCain, Obama, and the Middle East: The influence of Domestic Politics on U.S. Policy” at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Panelists included Graeme Bannerman, Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute and Former Chief of Staff, Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Aaron David Miller, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center and former U.S. Middle East Negotiator; and Richard Straus, Editor, Middle East Policy Survey and Former Staff, House Foreign Affairs Committee. Read more

November 10th

'We are running out of time for a two-state solution' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - August 15, 2008 - 8:00pm At the end of my conversation with Sari Nusseibeh at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, the highly respected president of Al-Quds University - and cosignatory of "The People's Choice," a peace plan that he formulated with former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon - told me he wouldn't be surprised if one of the Palestinian residents of the city ran for mayor in the municipal elections in November. The candidate would not run as a representative of Jerusalem per se, Nusseibeh stressed. Rather, he would be running on behalf of all Palestinians in the occupied territories. » Read more

Palestinian PM: Israel should free more than just 200 prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Shahar Ilan, Barak Ravid - August 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to release close to 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority, but said Israel should release even larger numbers of prisoners. The cabinet approved the release of the Palestinian prisoners, including two prisoners "with blood on their hands," meaning they were directly involved in the killing of Israelis, during the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning. » Read more

Olmert: Barak blocking cabinet debate on defense issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tal Levy - August 16, 2008 - 8:00pm Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of blocking cabinet debate on issues of security. "Because of you, it is impossible to conduct a serious discussion on the defense establishment," Olmert told Barak during the cabinet's weekly meeting in Jerusalem. The criticism came amid debate on the 2009 defense budget, which according to Olmert, was never even raised for cabinet discussion, after National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer attacked the Treasury's proposal the cabinet decides whether to invest in defense or welfare. » Read more