March 4th

Build on Bush's Middle East progress ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Robert Zelnick - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am George W. Bush made his greatest Middle East mistake before becoming president. Had he embraced rather than disowned Bill Clinton's desperate efforts to secure an agreement, Israeli and Palestinian leaders might have gone the extra mile to accommodate the new administration. The tragedy of the second intifada might have been averted. The seizure of Gaza by Hamas might never have occurred. » Read more

What Bibi faces in liberated Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gershom Gorenberg - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am Washington at the beginning of the Obama era has the feel of a city that has just been liberated from foreign occupation, or of a person who just snapped out of an inexplicable psychotic episode. The paranoia of the Bush days has passed. The world is no longer divided into children of light and children of darkness. » Read more

Boundaries For Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post August 15, 2008 - 12:00am Early this week Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly handed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Israel's detailed proposal for a "shelf agreement." Olmert offered an Israeli pullback from 93 percent of Judea and Samaria, "compensating" the Palestinians with territory from the Negev. A 40-km. link would provide unfettered passage between Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian state would be demilitarized and "right of return" for refugees would be exercised almost entirely within "Palestine." The Jerusalem issue would be put off by mutual consent. » Read more

2 Police Officers Hurt In Naalin Riots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - August 15, 2008 - 12:00am More violence in Naalin: Two Border Guard police officers and an Israeli photographer were hurt Friday during riots at the West Bank village of Naalin, near Ramallah. Officials said the policemen were hurt after being stoned by demonstrators protesting the construction of the West Bank security fence. Meanwhile, the protestors said seven of them sustained light injuries in clashes with forces at the site. » Read more

Jordan Restores Relations With Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 15, 2008 - 12:00am The Hamas movement on Friday released a statement welcoming the restoration of its ties with Jordan, following a series of meetings held over the past weeks between a Hamas delegation and representatives of the Jordanian government. The Hamas delegation, headed by member of the group's political bureau Mohammed Nazzal, met Thursday with Jordanian Intelligence Director Mohammed Zahabi in order to discuss the relations between the parties and the restrictions on the movement's activity in Jordan. » Read more

Idf Investigating Whether Troops Injured Youth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - August 15, 2008 - 12:00am The Military Prosecution is looking into an incident that occurred nearly a fortnight ago, in which IDF troops allegedly severely wounded a 13-year-old Palestinian youth. The B'Tselem human rights group says that on Friday, August 1st, soldiers fired a tear gas canister to disperse a crowd of Palestinians who were throwing rocks. The incident took place in the Jilazun refugee camp, located north of Ramallah. The organization says the army also fired rubber-coated steel bullets towards the youths, in addition to the tear gas. » Read more

Hamas Meets Jordanian Official, Says Frozen Ties Starting To Thaw ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Officials from Hamas have met with a top Jordanian security official to try to patch up ties soured since 2006 by charges that the Islamist Palestinian group was planning to carry out attacks in Jordan. Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh said on Friday that the contacts, involving two Hamas officials and Jordan's intelligence chief, Mohammed al-Thahabi, could help reconcile Hamas with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction. » Read more

Rice Set For Another Mideast Visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit the Middle East next week in another attempt to achieve progress towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, officials said on Monday. The United States has said it hopes to conclude a framework peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. But the talks have stumbled over disputes over Israeli settlement building and the future of Jerusalem. » Read more

Qatar To Mediate Between Hamas, Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Qatar has entered the mediation efforts between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas in a new bid to achieve reconciliation between the two sides, Palestinian sources said on Saturday. "Qatar, as a state of strategic weight in the region, seeks to sponsor the mediation between Hamas and Fatah to end the internal split and reunite the two wings of Palestine," the sources said. » Read more

Israel To Free Prisoners In Gesture To Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Israel confirmed on Sunday it would release 200 of some 11,000 Palestinians it holds prisoners in the hope of shoring up support for President Mahmoud Abbas and the peace talks he is conducting with the Jewish state. "The idea is to strengthen the process of dialogue, to strengthen the hand of the moderates, to strengthen the peace process," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before the Cabinet agreed to his proposal to free about 200 people. » Read more