November 18th, 2008

The politics of indecision in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Gwynne Dyer - August 3, 2008 - 8:00pm I am proud to be a citizen of a country where the prime minister can be investigated like an ordinary citizen, said Ehud Olmert on July 30, announcing that he would resign as prime minister in September to defend himself against corruption allegations. He should be even prouder: Three of Israel’s last four prime ministers were under investigation for corruption when they left office. » Read more

Rights Group: Israel pressed Gaza sick to become informers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) August 3, 2008 - 8:00pm Israeli security agents have been pressuring Gazans seeking medical treatment abroad to work as informers in violation of international law, an Israeli rights group said Monday. A report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said that Palestinian patients have "become an accessible and important target for the GSS (General Security Services) for the purposes of recruiting and gathering information." » Read more

Abbas: No retreat for Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Karin Laub - August 3, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday refused to grant West Bank asylum to forces of his Fatah group who fled weekend faction fighting in Hamas-ruled Gaza, despite fears for their safety. Abbas ordered over 200 fighters back to Gaza from Israel, insisting a Fatah presence must be retained in the territory, which has been controlled by Hamas since a violent takeover in June 2007. Fatah is not prepared to write off Gaza, and Abbas also fears that an entrenched Hamas there could export rebellion to the West Bank, where he rules. » Read more

Nine killed as Hamas clashes with Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - August 2, 2008 - 8:00pm The Gaza Strip was on Sunday reeling from one of the worst bouts of internecine fighting in over a year, after a Hamas raid on the stronghold of a powerful Gaza clan left at least nine dead and forced as many as 200 family members to flee into Israel. The clashes marked a further escalation in the struggle between Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, and the Fatah party of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

Israel releases Hamas ex-minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 3, 2008 - 8:00pm A minister for the Hamas group in the former Palestinian government, Omar Abdelrazek, has been freed after two years in Israeli custody, reports say. Mr Abdelrazek served as finance minister in the Hamas-led administration installed in 2006. He was among a large group of Hamas politicians seized by Israel in June 2006, accused of membership of a terrorist organisation. He was not charged with an offence or put on trial during his detention. Mr Abdelrazek was released overnight from Megiddo prison in northern Israel, a Palestinian security official said. » Read more

West Bank teen dies from wounds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm Palestinian medical workers say a teenager shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank village of Nilin last week has died of his wounds. Youssef Amira, 18, had been attending the funeral of a Palestinian boy who had been killed by Israeli troops a day earlier when he was himself shot. Medical workers say he was hit in the head by two rubber-coated steel rounds. The incident happened when Israeli troops confronted angry mourners staging a demonstration. » Read more

PA appeals to World Bank for urgent help to offset financial crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 30, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad has asked the World Bank for emergency funding so that he can pay salaries to PA employees, said PA officials in Ramallah on Wednesday. The request underscores the severity of the financial crisis in the PA. Earlier this week, PA officials had told The Jerusalem Post that their government was on the "verge of bankruptcy" because most donor countries, particularly the Arabs, had failed to live up to promises of funding for the Palestinians. » Read more

Palestinian negotiators see Olmert resignation heavy blow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 31, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian negotiators said on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation would deal a swingeing blow to peace hopes at a crucial time in the negotiations. While the Islamist Hamas hailed the news, Palestinian negotiators mourned the loss of a man they felt is "serious" about peace. The Palestinian Authority's official position is that the corruption allegations that have dogged Olmert and Wednesday's news he will step down after September's contest for the leadership of his Kadima Party are an internal matter. » Read more

Israel’s Livni faces tough battle to win Olmert’s job ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) by Martin Sieff - July 30, 2008 - 8:00pm Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is the front-runner to succeed her boss, Ehud Olmert, as prime minister of Israel, but she could lose out to tough old Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, and, even if she wins, she isn't likely to keep the job long. Olmert, the most unpopular and discredited prime minister in Israel's entire history, announced Wednesday he would resign in September as a corruption probe that could put him in court to face possible bribery charges crawls ever closer. » Read more

Abbas orders Hamas fighters freed, but arrests reported of Fatah officials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) July 31, 2008 - 8:00pm President Mahmud Abbas has ordered the release of Islamist Hamas militants arrested by his forces in the West Bank over the past week, the Palestinian Authority said on Thursday, but arrests of Fatah officials by Hamas were reported in the Gaza Strip. 'President Abbas has ordered his security officials to free all the Hamas militants arrested in recent days in the West Bank,' the authority said in a statement. » Read more