March 9th

Global pressure mounts against Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - March 8, 2009 - 1:00am Israel is facing unusual pressure for its continued siege of the Gaza population, and for its conduct of the Gaza war. The United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations have demanded that Israel allow at least 500 trucks of aid daily into Gaza - Israel has been allowing less than 200. » Read more

Recognizing Two-State Principle Condition for Negotiating With Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Huda al Husseini - (Opinion) March 8, 2009 - 1:00am The Gaza aid conference will not divert attention from the internal problems that the Palestinians are facing. PNA head Mahmud Abbas wants a national unity government that accepts the two-state solution and previously signed agreements. As for Hamas, it responds by saying that the required government should be one that embraces the resistance. Accordingly, Hamas refuses to differentiate between its position as a movement and the obligations that a Palestinian government is required to meet. It continues to cling to its victory in the parliamentary election. » Read more

Bulldozer Attack in Jerusalem Linked to Palestinian Evictions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Sana Abdallah - March 6, 2009 - 1:00am It has been speculated that the attack by a 26-year-old Palestinian man ramming a bulldozer into an Israeli police car in Jerusalem was linked to Israeli plans to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, widely believed to be part of the Jewish state's strategy to change the face of the holy city by expelling its Arab residents. » Read more

A politician’s sacrifice in the name of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) March 9, 2009 - 12:00am The resignation of the Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday is a reflection of the tragedy of Palestinian politics. Here is a man widely viewed as competent and clean, a technocrat who fought corruption, mismanagement and security disorder, but who, for the sake of Palestinian unity, is ready to fall on his sword – a rare occurrence. Even Hamas, whose bete noire Mr Fayyad has become, will agree with that. » Read more

Decks cleared for Palestine unity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) March 9, 2009 - 12:00am In tendering his resignation, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has done what few politicians do: He has given up his post for a cause he truly believes in. The resignation, of Fayyad’s own free will, was a noble gesture for righteous goals - that of improving the chances of a possible unity government of Fatah and Hamas, an end to the fractious situation that has paralyzed and polarized Palestinian life, and more hope for the peace process leading to an eventual state for a people living under the yoke of a cruel occupation. » Read more

Clinton rolls out foreign policy approach in trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Sue Pleming - March 8, 2009 - 1:00am Six weeks into the job, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is starting to roll out the Obama administration's approach to the most prickly foreign policy challenges from Arab-Israeli peace to Russia. In her second foreign trip which ended early on Sunday, Clinton dipped into Middle East peacemaking and promised to work for a "comprehensive" Arab-Israeli peace. She tried to charm European institutions in Brussels and literally hit the "reset" button in strained U.S.-Russia ties during a dinner with Moscow's foreign minister in Geneva, and then went to Turkey. » Read more

Israel imposes West Bank closure during festival ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press March 9, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli military has imposed a three-day closure on the West Bank, banning Palestinians from entering Israel during a Jewish festival. The military says the closure began early Monday and will last through the Purim holiday, ending at midnight Wednesday. The military says exceptions will be made for Palestinians needing urgent medical care and in other humanitarian cases. Israel's military considers Jewish festivals likely times for Palestinian attacks and regularly imposes such closures. » Read more

Hamas's popularity rises after Israel's Gaza war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 9, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas's popularity among Palestinians has risen sharply since a three-week Israeli war in January devastated the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, an opinion poll released Monday showed. If an election were held today, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would beat Mahmoud Abbas, the Western-backed Palestinian president and leader of Fatah who advocates a peace deal with Israel. » Read more

Israel annexing East Jerusalem, says EU ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy - March 7, 2009 - 1:00am A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier as a way of "actively pursuing the illegal annexation" of East Jerusalem. The document says Israel has accelerated its plans for East Jerusalem, and is undermining the Palestinian Authority's credibility and weakening support for peace talks. "Israel's actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace-making," says the document, EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem. » Read more

Desert’s Sand and Rocks Become Precious Resources in West Bank Dispute ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 6, 2009 - 1:00am Boulders the size of compact cars are carved out here at a vast quarry near Bethlehem and pushed noisily through grinders, producing gravel and sand that go into apartment buildings in this rapidly growing Israeli settlement and all across Israel itself. The land of the West Bank is, of course, disputed. Israel occupies it, and the Palestinians want it for a future state. But more and more of it is gone — quarried by Israeli companies and sold for building materials, a practice that is the focus of a new legal challenge. » Read more