February 28th, 2008

Israel Must Learn From Mistakes Of Others
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:45pm

Why doesn't Israel learn from the mistakes of other nations, including its arch-supporter, the United States, in conducting its policies, which have been directly responsible for the state of malaise in the Middle East. For a start, all Israel has to do is to closely examine US foreign policy especially the blunders committed during the administration of George W. Bush.

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Share Trading On Palestine Securities Exchange Up 34%
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ame Info
by Global Investment House - February 28, 2008 - 4:44pm

The PSE saw Al Quds Index shedding 12.8% in 2007, compared to losses of 46.4% in 2006. Losses continued to accumulate during the first eight months of the year, with the index reaching a low of 408.10 points in late August, as many investors divested their portfolios amid uncertainties of future market trend. However, the index recuperated toward the end of the year to close at 527.26 points. Market breadth was negative, as decliners outnumbered advancers with a ratio of 5.8:1, indicating a widely-spread downward trend.

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Whose Jerusalem Is It, Anyway?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:41pm

"Arafat balked at not having sovereignty over all of East Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount." That's former President Bill Clinton's version of the defining moment of the failed Camp David summit of 2000. "He turned the offer down." Clinton "called Arab leaders for support," but "most wouldn't say much." Not one of them was brave enough—or stupid enough—to take the credit and the blame for helping Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat give up, even if only symbolically, on Muslim control of the Temple Mount.

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Rice Concerned About Gaza Civilians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 28, 2008 - 4:40pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced concern on Thursday about Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, but stopped short of an explicit call for Israel to exercise restraint. A surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence along the border of Gaza has raised fears of a full-scale conflict amid public pressure on Israeli President Ehud Olmert for tougher military action to deal with rocket attacks by Islamic group Hamas.

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Hamas Rocket Attacks Must Stop: Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 28, 2008 - 4:40pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Hamas rocket attacks against Israel “need to stop,” demanding an end to the escalating violence that has rocked the Gaza Strip and set back US efforts to promote a Mideast peace deal. Her comments came after she met for an hour with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a visit to Japan.

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Still Building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
by Hagit Ofran - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:39pm

Every few days, Israel's prime minister repeats his commitment to freeze West Bank settlements and remove illegal outposts. Such commitments and statements from successive Israeli governments have been a part of our lives since the 1993 Oslo agreement.

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The Fading Jihadists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) February 28, 2008 - 4:38pm

Politicians who talk about the terrorism threat -- and it's already clear that this will be a polarizing issue in the 2008 campaign -- should be required to read a new book by a former CIA officer named Marc Sageman. It stands what you think you know about terrorism on its head and helps you see the topic in a different light.

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Obama Rebuffs Challenges On His Israel Stance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jonathan Weisman - February 28, 2008 - 4:38pm

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is engaged in a concerted effort to reassure Jewish leaders in the face of an increasingly aggressive Republican campaign to question his tolerance and his commitment to supporting Israel. In a typical attack, the Tennessee Republican Party, under the headline "Anti-Semites for Obama," said Monday that it was joining "a growing chorus of Americans concerned about the future of the nation of Israel, the only stable democracy in the Middle East, if Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is elected president of the United States."

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February 27th

The Washington Post repots on US Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s support of Israel (1). A Baltimore Sun opinion by Hagit Ofran discusses ongoing settlement building despite assurances of a settlement freeze (3). Reuters reports comments made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concerning the suffering of Gaza civilians (5). A report compiled by the Global Investment House suggests growth in the Palestinian economy (7). An opinion by George Hishmeh in the Gulf News urges Israel to look to the mistakes of others (8). Yoav Stern reports for Haaretz that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not ruled out armed conflict in the future (12).

A Poll That Disproves Western Myths About Muslims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - February 27, 2008 - 6:52pm

Every few years a book is published that has the potential to change perceptions of millions of people, and, by doing so, perhaps to change policies of governments for the better. I believe that just such a book is the one that will be published in a few weeks titled: "Who Speaks for Islam," by John L. Esposito of Georgetown University and Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.

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