April 4th, 2008

Settlement Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) April 4, 2008 - 6:21pm

A rash of reports coming out of Israel indicates that a spurt of new construction is under way in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The development should be alarming to anyone who cares about Israel’s welfare. It’s a violation of Israel’s public commitments, most of all to the Bush administration. It’s damaging to Israel’s international standing and harmful to its security, both short and long term.

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Israel Tries To Cool Predictions Of Impending War With Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Charly Wegman - April 4, 2008 - 6:18pm

Israel on Thursday played down media reports of heightened tension along the Syrian border, insisting there was little likelihood of military confrontation between the two countries. "Israel has no intention of attacking Syria, and the latter says only it is ready to respond to any attack, so the risk of a military confrontation is very low," said Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon.

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Israel Claims To Remove 50 Roadblocks In West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 4, 2008 - 6:16pm

Israel on Thursday said  it had removed 50 roadblocks in the West Bank as part of promises made to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but US and Palestinian officials could not confirm their removal. A senior US official said "it is hard to assess" the impact of the roadblocks' removal, let alone confirm they were scrapped, because Israel had yet to give Washington or the Palestinians a map showing where the dirt-mound obstacles were.

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Arab Home Razed In Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Star-telegram
by Karin Laub - April 4, 2008 - 6:13pm

An Israeli wrecking crew knocked down Shadi Hamdan's home in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem in just a couple of hours, reducing the upholsterer's savings to a pile of gray rubble. The demolition of the home, which Israel claims was illegally built, vividly illustrate the toughest issue facing negotiators in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks: conflicting claims over Jerusalem.

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Rice's Roadmap Achievement & Ipf Letter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - April 4, 2008 - 6:11pm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have brokered the first tangible achievement in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process since the Annapolis peace conference four months ago.

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Palestinians, Israelis Split Over Efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Joshua Mitnick - April 4, 2008 - 6:10pm

Within days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice finished another round of Middle East shuttle diplomacy, Israelis and Palestinians are already at odds over a series of confidence-building measures aimed at breathing new life into the stuttering peace process. Israel said yesterday it has completed the removal of 50 roadblocks around the West Bank as it promised the U.S. over the weekend, but the Palestinians said they could discern no changes and called on the State Department to confirm the Israeli claim.

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Girding For War With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
(Editorial) April 4, 2008 - 6:09pm

Recent events serve as a reminder of how menacing behavior from Iran and Syria keeps the Middle East on a hair trigger. On Tuesday, Israel learned that Hezbollah was rapidly rebuilding its military capabilities and preparing for renewed conflict with Israel. The next morning, a London-based Arab newspaper reported that Syria was concentrating troops and tanks along its border with Lebanon and had massed troops in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in preparation for an Israeli attack.

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April 3rd

An editorial in the Washington Times discusses renewed military buildup in the Middle East (1). A summary of the agreement brokered by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice between the Israelis and Palestinians during her latest visit is reported by IPF (3). Reuters reports on claims by Israel that they have removed 50 West Bank roadblocks (5). An editorial in the Jewish Daily Forward examines the implications of new settlement construction on President Abbas (7). In Haaretz, an interview with Zakariya Zubeidi (9) and an opinion by Akiva Eldar concerning the possibility of a third intifada is Israeli does not negotiate credibly (10).

'allying With Christian Zionists Is Bad For Israel'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - April 3, 2008 - 5:38pm

"No, we cannot." We cannot cooperate with the Christian Zionists, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, told the annual conference of the movement's rabbis Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to copies of the speech distributed ahead of time to the press.

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Labor, Lost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Israel Harel - (Opinion) April 3, 2008 - 5:36pm

Labor is disappointed with Ehud Barak. He is a master wheeler-dealer, Amir Peretz claims. He is disconnected, laments Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. He has learned nothing, he hasn't changed, yells Yoram Marciano. His main goal, Peretz charges, is to become prime minister. His main flaw, everyone agrees, is that he has no agenda.

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