February 1st

Exit the Israel Alibi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Editorial) January 31, 2011 - 1:00am One way to measure the immense distance traveled by Arabs over the past month is to note the one big subject they are not talking about: Israel. For too long, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the great diversion, exploited by feckless Arab autocrats to distract impoverished populations. None of these Arab leaders ever bothered to visit the West Bank. That did not stop them embracing the justice of the Palestinian cause even as they trampled on justice at home. Now, Arabs are thinking about their own injustices. With great courage, they are saying “Enough!” » Read more

Maverick Sari Nusseibeh proposes an interim route to peace in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chronicle of Higher Education by Haim Watzman - January 30, 2011 - 1:00am Sari Nusseibeh's socks match these days, he's clean-shaven, and he's a university president rather than an anarchist student or faculty union leader. But his hair, though a bit shorter and a lot grayer than it was in the 1970s and 80s, is still unkempt. Despite his establishment perch and his foothold in East Jerusalem, his head is still in the clouds. It might be the distance between his extremities that makes him the most politically incorrect political activist in Palestinian politics. » Read more

Palestinian Adversaries Unite, for Now, on Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram, Isabel Kershner - January 31, 2011 - 1:00am The Hamas rulers of Gaza and the rival Palestinian Authority leadership of the West Bank rarely see eye-to-eye on anything. But with mass protests rocking Egypt, across Gaza’s southern border, the Palestinian adversaries have united in maintaining a cautious silence, hedging their bets given the unpredictability of the outcome and clearly concerned about a possible spread of popular unrest to their areas. » Read more

Mubarak's Role and Mideast Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Opinion) February 1, 2011 - 1:00am The uprising in Egypt has created turmoil for Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who have their own complicated relationships with the Mubarak regime. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Hosni Mubarak has been his strongest ally in the region. At the same time, Mr. Mubarak has been a firm ally of the Palestinian Authority and a staunch supporter of the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Egypt has also tried to broker reconciliation talks (so far, unsuccessfully) between Fatah, the party governing the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls Gaza. » Read more