April 22nd, 2008

Actually, Israel's Economy Can't Do Well Without Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) April 22, 2008 - 6:05pm

Does the Israeli economy really need peace? The prime minister's office routinely boasts that growth in Israel has outpaced that of other "developed" countries for the past five years, even during 2006, when the country went to war against Lebanon. Business journals report on the more than 80 Israeli and global venture capital funds financing hundreds of start-ups.

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Borderlines And Frontlines
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram
by Dina Ezzat - (Opinion) April 22, 2008 - 6:03pm

Quiet prevails on the border between Egypt and Gaza, for now. Below the surface, however, tension between Egypt and Hamas is seething. Statements made by Hamas spokesmen last week about a potential replay of January's mass breakout of ordinary Palestinians over the border "inevitably" led to a firm Egyptian response, threatening "a harsh reaction" while beefing up visible security on the border.

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Analysis: Oops, Jimmy Carter Did It Again!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) April 22, 2008 - 5:44pm

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter started out his latest Middle East trip with dark clouds hanging over him. Both the U.S. administration of George W. Bush and the Israeli government opposed his plans to include a meeting with the Damascus-based leadership of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas. Although one needs to remain extra cautious until any deal is finalized and the ink on the paper is dry - and even then, there is always the risk of something going wrong - Carter's talks in the Syrian capital seem to have gotten off to a good start.

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Carter Causes Controversy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Caelum Moffatt - April 22, 2008 - 5:40pm

The visit of the 39th President of the United States to the region has not surprisingly attracted a lot of heated and opinionated discussion as to what his somewhat unconventional itinerary, especially when compared to visits from other international figures of similar repute, plans to achieve during his trip which will take the 2002 Nobel Peace laureate to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

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America Through Arab Eyes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Rami G. Khouri - (Opinion) April 22, 2008 - 5:39pm

One of the paradoxes of the complex relationship between the Arab world and the United States relates to the rhetoric and reality of democratic values. The Bush administration has made democracy promotion a central pillar of its foreign policy in the Middle East at the level of rhetoric, but in practice it pays little heed to behaving democratically in its interaction with the Arab people. If democracy means the rule of the people, ideally a country's domestic and foreign policies should reflect the majority sentiments of its citizens.

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Rice: Officials Advised Carter Not To Meet With Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karen Deyoung - April 22, 2008 - 5:37pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday refuted a statement by former president Jimmy Carter that no one in the U.S. government told him not to go on a trip to the Middle East, where he met with the leadership of the militant group Hamas. "I just don't want there to be any confusion," Rice told reporters outside an international meeting on Iraq she is attending here. "The United States is not going to deal with Hamas, and we certainly told President Carter that meeting with Hamas was not going to help" the situation in the Middle East.

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April 21st

Rami Khoury reports on Arab perceptions of the United States’ policies for the International Herald Tribune (2). The Middle East Times’ Claude Salhani discusses potential consequences of Jimmy Carter’s visit(4). Al-Ahram probes the divide between HAMAS and Egypt (5). The Daily Star examines Israel’s economic consequences from continued fighting (6). Haaretz examines how regional politics are affecting the U.S. Presidential race (9).

Egypt: The Red Line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) April 21, 2008 - 6:10pm

It is important that the Egyptians themselves, before anybody else, realize that Egypt is a red line and that endangering its security and borders, which are exposed to the regional game currently taking place, should not be tolerated. Egypt is an influential country, both in times of peace and war. Moreover, its cultural influence on the Arab world cannot be ignored. Egypt is a red line of which the Hamas leadership should be aware and should understand both in words and in practice.

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More Palestinian Patients Being Denied Entry To Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Meital Yasur-beit Or - April 21, 2008 - 6:09pm

  The Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) organization asserted on Monday that there has been a significant rise in the number of rejections issued to Palestinian applicants seeking entry into Israel on medical grounds. The group said that since early April Shin Bet authorities have been rejecting a significantly larger number

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Editorial: Continuing Land Grab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) April 21, 2008 - 6:07pm

In case a comprehensive Palestinian-Israeli accord is reached by the end of this year, as espoused by US President George Bush, Israel is taking no chances. It is seeking whatever it can get its hands on should a peace deal that includes a Palestinian state be reached. Hence, the announcement that 100 new houses will be built in a West Bank settlement.

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