February 23rd

Defence chiefs urge hawk Netanyahu to strike deal with Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Uzi Mahnaimi - February 22, 2009 - 1:00am

ISRAEL’S next prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will face an early test when he finally takes office in the next few weeks: should he ditch an election pledge and follow his defence chiefs’ strategic advice to explore a peace treaty with Syria? During his campaign Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud party, had struck a belligerent note and pledged he would never agree to Syria’s main demand that the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 war, should be returned.

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Hamas: Welcoming the Americans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) February 21, 2009 - 1:00am

Hamas considered the visit of a US delegation to Gaza a step in the right direction and it asked the delegation to convey a true image of Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip to the US administration.

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February 20th

President Shimon Peres invites Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new Israeli government (1) (2), while Kadima leader Tzipi Livni expresses her reservations about some of the extremist parties that may be included (3). The three U.S. legislators who visited Gaza yesterday issue statements about the destruction and reiterate the American position on conditions for engaging Hamas (4) (8). An editorial in Haaretz warns against allowing a place for ultra-rightist Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman in the new government (5). An editorial in the Boston Globe speculates on John Kerry's upcoming visit to Syria (7). In Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria expresses concern over the rightward and intolerant direction of Israeli politics (10). Mideast envoy George Mitchell voices his support for Egyptian mediated Palestinian unity talks (13).

Critics aside, Israeli officials see successes in Gaza operation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

A month after the Gaza war, with Kassam rockets continuing to fall in southern Israel, many skeptical Israelis are questioning whether the war achieved anything. Since the cease-fire on Jan. 18, militiamen have fired nearly 50 rockets and mortars at civilian targets in the Gaza periphery. Israel has retaliated with targeted assassinations and airstrikes against smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egyptian border.

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The Cleanser: Lobby Whistles Up Cordesman to "Prove" Israel Waged a Clean War in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch
by Norman Finkelstein - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Anthony H. Cordesman, a leading military analyst from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has published a “strategic analysis” of the Gaza massacre.(1) He reaches the remarkable conclusion that “Israel did not violate the laws of war.” The report is based on “briefings in Israeli [sic] during and immediately after the fighting made possible by a visit sponsored by Project Interchange, and using day-to-day reporting issued by the Israeli Defense Spokesman.” Cordesman omits mention that Project Interchange is funded by the American Jewish Committee.

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Mitchell could support PA unity gov't
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch
by Alexander Cockburn, Hilary Leila Krieger - (Editorial) February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell expressed support for Egyptian efforts to forge a Palestinian national unity government, indicating that America could take a new tack on Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, during a conference call Thursday with Jewish leaders.

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Egypt's strategy toward Gaza is incremental, long-term
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Gamal A. G. Soltan - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The Gaza war was seemingly an inevitable conflict. The pre-war reality was unacceptable to any of the concerned parties. Hamas was not satisfied with a ceasefire that kept the tiny Gaza Strip isolated from the world. Palestinian suffering in besieged Gaza challenged Hamas' claim of effectiveness as an elected government capable of providing for the wellbeing of its people. Nor did the terms of the ceasefire allow Hamas to pursue the program of resilient resistance that is so central to the movement's identity. The war was Hamas' way out of this entrapment.

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Israel’s biggest danger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Fareed Zakaria - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Even before a new coalition could emerge, Israel’s latest election was historic. It marked the collapse of Labour, the party that can plausibly claim to have founded Israel and produced its most celebrated prime ministers, from David Ben-Gurion (as head of Labour’s predecessor, Mapai), through Golda Meir to Yitzhak Rabin.

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Unlocking Palestinian politics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Jan Künzl, Michael Meyer-Resende - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

With the world's focus on the recent war, a less-noticed aspect of the current Palestinian malaise is the expiry of President Mahmoud Abbas’ term this January. While the two-state peace solution with Israel is premised on an emerging Palestinian state with functioning institutions, the constitutional legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority is dwindling. Without a political process between Hamas and Fatah, the territories will become two statelets run by de-facto rulers.

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Kerry shuns Hamas during Gaza visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
February 20, 2009 - 1:00am

The US will not change its stance towards Hamas, John Kerry, the former democratic US presidential candidate, has said during a tour of Gaza. His comments came on Thursday during the highest-level visit by a US official to the territory since Hamas seized control two years ago. "I am here to listen with the UN personnel on the ground to hear ... the things we need to do is to improve the situation in the region," he said.

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