February 24th

The Right Move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The release scheduled for today of 198 Palestinian prisoners, many of them convicted of serious terrorist offenses--including two who were directly involved in the murder of Israelis prior to the Oslo accord of 1993--is a smart and courageous move by the otherwise highly problematic Olmert government. If it introduces some logic into criteria for future prisoner release by Israel it could have a positive strategic effect beyond its immediate confidence-building impact on Israeli-Palestinian relations. » Read more

Partial Process Of Prisoner Releases Is Devoid Of Context ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Walid Salem - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am In the fifteen years that have passed since the Oslo process began, several partial releases of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons have occurred even while the number of Palestinian prisoners continued to increase. How can one understand the seeming paradox that partial releases take place, but the number of prisoners increases because of new Israeli arrests? » Read more

As Rice Arrives In Region, Israel And Pa Far From Peace Accord ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Analysis) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The visit of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will seek to determine whether it will be possible to present an Israeli-Palestinian accord to the world, or even a partial document of agreement, before the end of the current year. Nine months have passed since the Annapolis conference, which was held at the behest of Rice and where the participants promised to "make every effort" to reach a settlement by the end of 2008. Any attempt to redeem that promise will take place in the shadow of a political crisis in Israel. » Read more

Let Them Stay In Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The question Kadima voters must ask themselves on the way to the polls is not which candidate is most qualified to order the army chief of staff, at 3 A.M., to launch strikes against Iran. That decision will in any event be made at the White House. The question they face is tenfold more difficult and no less fateful: Which candidate is capable of instructing the chief of staff, at 3 P.M., to evacuate 110 settlements in the West Bank. After all, this was Kadima's major promise to its voters. » Read more

Israel Group Reports Sharp Increases In Settlement Activity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - August 26, 2008 - 12:00am Peace Now, the Israeli advocacy group, said in a report released Tuesday that in the last year Israel has nearly doubled its settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, in violation of its obligations under an American-backed peace plan. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Jerusalem on a short visit to help Israeli and Palestinian leaders in their negotiations, said when asked about the report that she has told Israeli officials that such building does not advance the cause of peace. » Read more

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad: Palestinian factions should unite and make peace with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by Sadie Goldman - (Interview) February 24, 2009 - 1:00am In an interview released yesterday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, called for a united Palestinian government that includes Fatah and Hamas, and would continue the peace process with Israel. The following are key excerpts: On Palestinian reconciliation, » Read more

Hillary Clinton said to be planning Middle East trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Israel and the West Bank next week for her first trip to the region as America's top diplomat, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday. The Israeli officials said Clinton would arrive in Israel on March 2 for two days of meetings with leaders. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not been announced by the State Department, which had not released Clinton's schedule for next week. » Read more

Israeli paralysis calls for Arab action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by James J. Zogby - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Some elections serve as clarifying moments in a nation’s history, others resolve little and serve only as a reflection of internal division. The former provide direction, the latter create paralysis. The recently completed Israeli elections and ongoing deliberations over to the shape of the next government serve to demonstrate the profound divisions that exist in Israel and the dysfunctional state of its political system. » Read more

Israel is blind to its own Arab citizens ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Fareed Zakaria - (Opinion) February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Even before a new coalition could emerge, Israel's latest election was historic. It marked the collapse of Labor, the party that can plausibly claim to have founded Israel and produced its most celebrated prime ministers, from David Ben-Gurion (as head of Labor's predecessor, Mapai), through Golda Meir to Yitzhak Rabin. » Read more

'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