February 19th, 2009

Abbas Rejects Permanent Palestinian Resettlement In Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press August 28, 2008 - 12:00am Palestinian Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he rejects the idea that refugees living in Lebanon might be forced to stay there permanently. He emphasized that all Palestinians should have the right to return home. When it comes to armed Palestinian factions, however, Abbas says he supports any decisions the Lebanese government makes on how to deal with militants outside refugee camps. Abbas spoke to reporters Thursday in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. » Read more

Just How Powerful Is The Us' Jewish Lobby? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Sherwood Ross - September 27, 2007 - 12:00am Just how large a role does the "Jewish lobby" play in shaping US policy in the Middle East? Some answers may be contained in The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, reviewed in the September 23 issue of The New York Times, and the just-published Rulers and Ruled in The US Empire: Bankers, Zionists, Militants by James Petras. Mearsheimer teaches at the University of Chicago, and Walt teaches at Harvard. » Read more

Plan Carefully For Peace Meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) September 28, 2007 - 12:00am The proposed international peace conference called by US President George W. Bush should be carefully planned because the Middle East cannot afford the failure of another peace gathering. This probably is the reason some in the region, including Saudi Arabia, are reluctant to take part. The failure of peace efforts will only frustrate the region's people and allow radicals to exploit sentiments. As the history of the Middle East tells us, bloody conflicts usually follow the collapse of peace talks. » Read more

Livni Widens Lead In Race To Replace Olmert ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 28, 2008 - 12:00am Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will easily win leadership elections in the ruling Kadima party to replace embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, poll results showed on Thursday. The survey in the daily Maariv showed Livni winning 49 percent of the votes among Kadima members, widening her lead over her closest party rival, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz. The poll showed Mofaz receiving 28 percent. » Read more

Rockets Launched From Gaza Are Only Hurting Palestinian Civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) September 28, 2007 - 12:00am As miserable as conditions have become in the Gaza Strip, there is plenty of potential for the situation to get even worse. Straining under the weight of a collapsed and besieged economy, the civilian population is already heavily dependent on foreign aid for basic foodstuffs, and the United Nations warns that drugs and other medical supplies are at dangerously low levels. To make matters worse, the continuation of rocket strikes into Israel produces a steady stream of violent responses from the Jewish state that often claim the lives of innocents. » Read more

Israel Reopens Gaza Crossings After Two-day Closure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - August 28, 2008 - 12:00am Israel on Thursday reopened its border crossings with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, two days after they were shut in response to rocket attacks. Palestinian officials said three of the main commercial crossings were opened but a fourth remained closed. Israel tightened its borders with the Gaza Strip after Hamas Islamists seized the enclave more than a year ago. A June ceasefire has largely ended border violence, but Gaza militants occasionally fire rockets into Israel. Israel usually responds by shutting the crossings the following day.

Palestinians: Idf Detained Pardoned Fatah Member ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 28, 2008 - 12:00am Palestinian sources said an IDF force operating in the West Bank town of Nablus during the early hours of Thursday morning apprehended Mahmoud Lubada, a member of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades who was pardoned by Israel as part of the recent Amnesty deal with the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

12-year-old Hit By Rubber Bullet During Naalin Riot ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked, Erfat Weiss - August 28, 2008 - 12:00am A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was mildly wounded on Thursday afternoon after a rubber bullet hit his head during an anti-security fence riot in the West Bank town of Naalin. Four Border Guard officers were lightly wounded from rocks thrown at them during a violent riot. Two of those wounded were taken to a Jerusalem hospital for medical attention and two others were treated at the scene » Read more

Saudis Urge Hamas And Fatah To Form New Coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - September 28, 2007 - 12:00am Saudi Arabia – potentially a key player in current diplomatic moves on the Middle East – has warned that Fatah and Hamas will have to form a new coalition if any peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians is going to work. At the same time it has expressed cautious optimism about the international Middle East conference called by George Bush for November – without yet committing itself to attend, as Israel and the United States would like it to. » Read more

Blockade-busting Boats Leave Gaza Strip For Cyprus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press August 28, 2008 - 12:00am After five days on the Gaza Strip's coastline, two boats carrying humanitarian aid in efforts to break an Israeli-imposed economic blockade on the Strip set sail for Cyprus on Thursday, carrying seven Palestinians who had been confined to the Strip. Israel's navy made no effort to stop the vessels. » Read more