February 24th

People get ready – there’s a train a-comin’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am I would prefer that the occupation ended in orderly fashion, without chaos, with the settlers living near the Green Line feeling unthreatened and the others having plenty of time to relocate. Unfortunately, this is not happening; I’d hoped the Obama administration would pressure Israel out of the West Bank, but nobody’s pressuring it out of anything. The 43-year status quo becomes more entrenched each day. » Read more

Hamas: Post-Mubarak, Israel up for Shalit deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Hamas officials have decided to hold confidential discussions with Israel, reviving negotiations for a prisoner swap, Hamas spokesman Usama Al-Maziani said Wednesday. In the wake of the ouster of now former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the official said, Hamas leaders in Gaza believe Israel has become "more responsive" to a prisoner swap deal. According to Al-Maziani, Israeli officials had shown some "limited" responses to Hamas overtures seeking to secure the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel in return for the release of a captured Israeli soldier. » Read more

Washington Watch: The sound of one hand clapping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am There were no winners in last week’s UN vote on the Arab resolution to condemn Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas looked like he wanted an excuse to avoid making peace, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preference for building settlements over negotiating only further deepened Israel’s international isolation and President Barack Obama showed he had little influence with either side, and few clear ideas about how to advance a peace process he insists is an administration priority. » Read more

Washington Watch: The sound of one hand clapping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am There were no winners in last week’s UN vote on the Arab resolution to condemn Israeli settlement policy. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas looked like he wanted an excuse to avoid making peace, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preference for building settlements over negotiating only further deepened Israel’s international isolation and President Barack Obama showed he had little influence with either side, and few clear ideas about how to advance a peace process he insists is an administration priority. » Read more

For the Mideast, a code for rising democracies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Tzipi Livni - (Editorial) February 24, 2011 - 1:00am These are days of momentous change in the Middle East. Courageous thousands have flooded the streets demanding their rights as citizens and as human beings. Calls for democracy - as a system of values that seeks to protect these rights - stem not from some foreign dictate but from an inner hunger for freedom. Much has been said in recent years about the "clash of civilizations," about the conflict between extremists and moderates, between coercion and freedom. And yet today, this battle is being waged at least as much within societies as between them. » Read more

Dan Shapiro to be named US envoy to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am Senior White House adviser Dan Shapiro is set to be nominated as the next US ambassador to Israel, Washington sources said on Tuesday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made, though one is expected soon. Shapiro, born in 1969, currently serves as the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. He has regularly traveled to Israel and worked closely with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell to try to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. » Read more

Israeli Farms and Villages Around Gaza See Tough Times Ahead ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am Artist Shosh Segal is busy preparing her art gallery for the expected rush of tourists heading to southern Israel for the annual wild flower blooming in the coming weeks. The hills are already bursting with vibrant colors of anemones and turmoses, but reality has often found a way of spoiling plans, especially since she lives just a mile from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. » Read more

Obama's no different ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Is Barack Obama, who is marking his mid-term as president, any different from his predecessors, except Dwight Eisenhower, as far as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is concerned? Expectations were high when Obama walked into the White House. After his triumphant trips overseas, especially to Cairo, there was hope that he will usher a new positive era in US relations with the Muslim world and resolve the 63-year-old conflict between Israelis and Arabs. » Read more

A major factor for governments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinians’ and Israelis’ response to the uprisings across the Arab world has been deafening silence at the people’s power level. When I asked Palestinian friends celebrating the dozen or so “revolutions” boiling in this region why Palestinians living under the repressive Israeli occupation are not out in the streets, they shrugged, saying they are “tired”. » Read more

Accountability Beyond Rhetoric ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Blog) February 23, 2011 - 1:00am The recent uprisings in the Arab world, including some regime changes, call for a meaningful reassessment of current policy. One would expect the usual demands for democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and regularly scheduled elections as well as a heightened commitment to the people of the region, that their rights and aspirations will be reflected in this new vision. Furthermore, it would not be surprising if all these were packaged as part of an initiative to address the Palestine/Israel conflict and a commitment to the establishment of a state of Palestine. » Read more