'Re-education' for West Bank mosque preachers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Last Friday's sermon in one of the mosques near Ramallah, the sheikh opened with the words, "Today we won't talk politics; we will talk about issues of religion." As basic as this comment may seem to an outsider, those familiar with internal Palestinian politics understood that this was a veiled attack aimed at Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government and his policy on religion, sermons, mosques, and the way they are run. » Read more

Report: U.S. to open permanent Jerusalem office for envoy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoav Stern - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am The United States is planning to open a permanent office in Jerusalem for its special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Tuesday. Mitchell has been tasked with advancing stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He is set to make his second visit to Israel in his current capacity in the last week of February. Last week, Mitchell told the heads of several U.S. Jewish groups that while the issue of Israeli settlements comes up in every conversation with Arab leaders, "it is not the only issue." Advertisement » Read more

Avigdor Lieberman's ChutzpahThe right to return cannot confer the right to expel. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Christopher Hitchens - February 23, 2009 - 1:00am A reliable friend and colleague swears that he saw the following incident in the Israeli-occupied territories a couple of years ago. A Palestinian physician, in urgent need of permission to travel, was trying to persuade a soldier at a roadblock to allow him to hurry on to the next town. He first tried the stone-faced guard in Hebrew, in which many Arabs are fluent, but he received no response. He then made an attempt in English, which is something of a local lingua franca, yet he fared no better. » Read more

U.S. to give $900 million in aid to Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Helene Cooper - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am The Obama administration intends to provide some $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after the Israeli incursion that ended last month, administration officials said Monday. In an early sign of how the administration plans to deal with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, an official said that the aid would not go to Hamas but would be funneled through nongovernmental organizations. » Read more

Netanyahu Rebuffed Again in Efforts to Form Coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Ehud Barak, the leader of Israel’s center-left Labor Party, turned down a proposal on Monday by the prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu of the conservative Likud Party, to join a broad governing coalition. The refusal dealt a further blow to Mr. Netanyahu’s efforts to forge a unity government. His meeting on Sunday with Tzipi Livni, the leader of the centrist Kadima Party, ended without agreement. » Read more

Abbas: Hamas must recognize Israel to gain world legitimacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday a new national unity government that includes rival Hamas must be in place and internationally recognized to manage humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank. Abbas said he hopes the upcoming round of reconciliation talks would lead Hamas to accept deals with Israel agreed to by previous Palestinian administrations even if they are not in line with the group's own political platform. » Read more

An Intra-Arab Calm before the Dialogue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Mohammad Salah - (Opinion) February 22, 2009 - 1:00am Postponing the intra-Palestinian dialogue came as no surprise, as all indications have shown that the Palestinians are not yet ready for dialogue. However, the real surprise was when Egypt announced a few weeks ago that the Palestinian factions would embark on dialogue on February 22nd. At that time, dialogue seemed illogical in light of the conflicting interests, clashing positions and different agendas. Also, it was not logical for the "brother enemies" to hold a dialogue before Egypt secures a truce between Israel and Hamas. » Read more

Syria has more need to talk than the US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National February 24, 2009 - 1:00am With two congressional delegations having visited Damascus since the US presidential election, Barack Obama appears to be keeping his promise to engage with Syria as part of his regional diplomacy strategy. The heads of the foreign relations committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate met the Syrian president, Bashir al Assad, purportedly to gauge the country’s openness to negotiation. » Read more

Peace With Syria Could Catalyze Middle East Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Cesar Chelala - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Benjamin Netanyahu plants trees in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with his family and friends from his political party such as Moshe Bugi Yealon (Former IDF Chief of Staff-pictured L). ... (Rapport via Newscom) » Read more

Obama's goad to Damascus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor February 24, 2009 - 1:00am As a Middle East way station for terrorists, Syria can't be ignored. Candidate Barack Obama pledged during the campaign to engage Syria in contrast to President Bush's attempt to isolate it. Now a limited engagement has begun and it's time to ask what President Obama will give up as he tiptoes toward the likelihood of bazaar-like haggling with Damascus. » Read more