This Is Not a Test ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) January 24, 2009 - 1:00am Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “Guy walks into a bar ...” No, not that one — this one: “This is the most critical year ever for Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy. It is five minutes to midnight. If we don’t get diplomacy back on track soon, it will be the end of the two-state solution.” I’ve heard that line almost every year for the last 20, and I’ve never bought it. Well, today, I’m buying it. » Read more

Martyrs vs. Traitors myth gains currency in Gaza war's wake ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 25, 2009 - 1:00am The conflict in Gaza has the potential of becoming a transformative political event in the Middle East that allows Islamists to capture the Arab political imagination for at least a generation. Along with familiar appeals to religious and cultural "authenticity," and dubious claims regarding good governance and democracy, Islamists are beginning to consolidate an exclusive claim to the most powerful Arab political symbols: Palestine and nationalism. » Read more

The Bullets in My In-Box ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 24, 2009 - 1:00am Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian leader who died at the start of this decade, used to tell a story about his first visit to Israel. The 1967 war had just ended, borders were suddenly opened and he took a drive to Tel Aviv, where at some point he found himself detained by an Israeli policeman. Questions and answers ensued. At one point the policeman said to him, “As a proud Zionist, I must tell you ....” At which Mr. Husseini burst out laughing. » Read more

A Flurry of Tunnel Repairs Is Underway in Gaza's South ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jonathan Finer - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am While the neighborhoods of Gaza remain in ruins, and tens of thousands of residents still lack water and power, reconstruction of its more illicit infrastructure was well underway Saturday in this bustling town on the Egyptian border. A Caterpillar backhoe bored into the sandy earth. Generators rumbled under the cover of tattered white tents. And above and below ground, teams of workers set about restoring the warren of smuggling tunnels that the Israeli air assault had sought to destroy. » Read more