June 30th, 2008

Beyond The Truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram
by Dina Ezzat - June 30, 2008 - 5:16pm

The fate of the Egyptian-sponsored truce struck earlier this month between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza is already in question. Over the past 48 hours, Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza exchanged accusations of truce violations as Israeli aggression on Islamic resistance groups in the West Bank -- yet to be included in the truce -- prompted rocket attacks Tuesday evening on the western Negev. Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered crossings linking Gaza to Israel closed.

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What Kind Of Palestine?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram
by Javier Solana - (Opinion) June 30, 2008 - 5:14pm

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have now been talking to each other for more than six months, since the peace process was re-launched at Annapolis in November 2007, with the stated aim of reaching agreement on a Palestinian state before this year is out. The final status issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees are back on the agenda and the outlines of a two-state solution are visible.

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Gaza Truce Holding On Shaky Ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - June 30, 2008 - 5:13pm

Last week, several days into the Gaza ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a U.N. convoy and a delegation of humanitarian workers was trapped on the Gaza side of the Erez border crossing into Israel, along with this reporter. Unbeknownst to the humanitarian workers, with whom this reporter was traveling, Islamic Jihad had fired a number of rockets into Israel from the area we had passed minutes earlier, the area of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.

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Egypt To Open Gaza Border Temporarily Tuesday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 30, 2008 - 5:12pm

Egypt is to open its border with the Gaza Strip for two days from Tuesday for Palestinians needing to leave the territory, a security official said. "Egypt has decided to open the crossing for two days from Tuesday to allow through Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who have residence permits and visas as well as students and ill people," the official said, asking not to be identified. On June 18, Egypt opened its Gaza border one way for one day to allow Palestinians to return to the Hamas-ruled territory after receiving medical treatment.

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Fayyad, World Bank Sign Deal For Gaza Projects
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Wafa Amr - June 30, 2008 - 5:10pm

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad signed a deal with the World Bank on Monday to finance three projects in the Gaza Strip but said they could not go ahead until Israel had lifted its blockade. The $29 million agreement covers an electric utility management project as well as water and wastewater projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Half of the money is earmarked for the Gaza Strip, which Hamas Islamists seized from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces a year ago.

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Hamas Emboldened By Israel-hezbollah Prisoner Swap
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - June 30, 2008 - 5:08pm

Hamas militants holding an Israeli soldier said Monday they would stick to their tough demands in negotiations over his release, emboldened by the high price Israel is paying in a planned prisoner swap with Hezbollah. The declaration could complicate Israel's efforts to bring Sgt. Gilad Schalit home after two years in captivity. Israel agreed Sunday to free Samir Kantar, a Lebanese convicted in a grisly 1979 attack, along with other prisoners and bodies of Lebanese fighters, in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers.

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Israel Reopens Gaza Border, Hamas Looks To Truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-mughrabi - June 30, 2008 - 5:05pm

Israel reopened three of its border crossings with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday following a halt to Palestinian cross-border shelling attacks that had strained an Egyptian-brokered truce, officials said. An Israeli military spokesman said Sufa commercial crossing, the Nahal Oz fuel-transfer deport and the Erez border terminal for travelers resumed operations at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), with some restrictions in force.

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Israel's Prisoner Swap With Hezbollah: Too Risky?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - June 30, 2008 - 4:59pm

In an epilogue to the Lebanon war two summers ago, Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved a prisoner swap with Hezbollah to recover two soldiers whose kidnapping along the Lebanese border sparked six weeks of cross-border fighting. The deal involves trading Samir Quntar – a Lebanese member of a Palestinian militant group responsible for the killing of an Israeli father and daughter in a 1979 terrorist attack – for Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who were abducted in 2006 and have probably been killed, say Israeli officials.

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June 29th

Hezbollah and Israel agree to a controversial prisoner swap (1) (3). Israel reopens three of the Gaza crossings that were shut down in response to rocket fire last week (2). Palestinian Prime Minster Salam Fayyad signs a deal with the World Bank to finance three major utility projects in Gaza, which are on hold due to the Israeli blockade (4). The ceasefire continues in Gaza, though few are optimistic about how long it will last (6) (8). An Israeli settlement on South Mount Hebron welcomes ten new families, despite talk of a freeze on settlement expansion (11).

June 27th

Who Is More Pro-israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) June 27, 2008 - 4:33pm

I asked a visiting Israeli the other day which of the two candidates for President of the United States is, from his point of view, better for Israel. A diplomatic fellow, he said that not being an American, he could not say. But then he said this: “The best President for Israel is the one who is best for America. Our fate is tied to yours. If America’s prestige is low, you cannot do much for your allies either.” It’s a good answer.

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