February 10th

Few Good Options for U.S. on Palestinian Violence
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The New York Times - June 14, 2007 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON, June 13 — For two years, the United States has tried to choke off Hamas, the militant Islamic group that has been ascendant in Gaza and the West Bank, while throwing limited aid and support to Fatah, its more moderate Palestinian rival.

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The Geneva Initiative
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In - June 3, 2007 - 12:00am

The Geneva Initiative came about soon after the breakdown of official Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations in early 2001. A group of former negotiators and public figures from both sides drafted a model peace agreement to show that there remained wide support among both Israelis and Palestinians for a solution based on two states for two peoples.

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Ten Commandments for Mideast Peace
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The American Prospect - June 1, 2007 - 12:00am

  Three Former Peace Negotiators for Israel, the U.S., and Palestine Lay Out a Common Plan for an Israeli-Palestinian Final Settlement   By Daniel Levy, Ghaith al-Omari, New America Foundation   with Robert Malley, Middle East Program Director, International Crisis Group

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Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The New York Times - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON — When President-elect Barack Obama went to Israel in July — to the very town, in fact, whose repeated shelling culminated in this weekend’s new fighting in

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As Obama Visits State Dept., Clinton Announces Two Special Envoys
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Washington Post - January 23, 2009 - 1:00am

By Karen DeYoung and Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, January 23, 2009; A05 President Obama traveled to the State Department yesterday afternoon for a visit that was as rich in symbolism as in substance, underscoring his pledge to give top priority to diplomacy as he outlined an activist policy in the Middle East and warned that "difficult days lie ahead" in Afghanistan.

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The race between Israel’s main political parties, led by Livni and Netanyahu, is too close to call as Israelis head to the polls today (1). Even on the eve of elections violence continues between Gaza and Israel (2) (9). The Palestinian Authority stops paying Israeli hospitals for the treatment of West Bank and Gaza patients (3). An op-ed by Israeli President Shimon Peres urges support of the two-state solution (4). An original ATFP translation of an article by Hassan Al Battal in Al-Ayyam daily criticizes Hamas’ claims to “victory” (5). Amnesty International accuses Hamas of using violence to eliminate opponents in Gaza (7). The UN expresses frustration over Israel’s refusal to allow paper into Gaza, where it is needed for new school textbooks (8).

Elections 2009 / Fatah rooting for Livni, says Netanyahu win will boost Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority will work with any government Israel elects, as long as it is committed to the peace process, President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said in a press statement Monday. Off the record, however, senior PA officials said they are worried by the apparent strengthening of the Israeli right. If, as seems likely, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime minister and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu greatly increases its representation, this would bolster Hamas, which opposes negotiations with Israel, they argued.

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Netanyahu: No Return of Golan Heights to Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
February 9, 2009 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, (AP) – Benjamin Netanyahu, the front-runner in polls ahead of Israel's election this week, declared Sunday he would not give up the strategic Golan Heights for peace with Syria, an apparent attempt to toughen his right-wing credentials after a last-minute charge by a hardline party. Israelis go to the polls Tuesday after one of the calmest campaigns in the nation's history, despite the vital issues facing Israel — war, peace, terrorism and economic recession. The electorate has appeared fatigued after Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers last month.

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Israelis Go to the Polls - At Stake: Future Relations With Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

These are troubled times for Israel as it faces new threats from new enemies in wars which have proven to be harder to combat than the traditional armies and traditional wars it faced in the past, as in the 1948 War of Independence, the June 1967 Six-Day War, or the 1973 October War. In retrospect, fighting conventional armies has been far less complicated than fighting asymmetric wars, or small wars, as has been the case with battling Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south.

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Palestinian killed by Israeli troops
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
February 9, 2009 - 1:00am

Dubai: On the eve of Israeli parliamentary elections, a Palestinian fighter belonging to Islamic Jihad was killed by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hannoun. The fighter was on a mission to attack Israeli patrol on the border with Israel, according to Islamic Jihad. Earlier in the day, Israel carried out air strikes on a building used by Hamas police, with no casualties reported. The air strikes came in response to continued rocket fire from Hamas on Sunday.

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