January 18th, 2008

Olmert Government Teeters As Lieberman Quits, Others May Follow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Roy Eitan - January 18, 2008 - 6:29pm

A right-wing party delivered Ehud Olmert the most overt domestic rebuke yet to his attempts to seek a peace deal with the Palestinians by quitting the prime minister's coalition government. The pullout of the Yisrael Beiteinu party announced Wednesday comes just two weeks before what might be an even tougher challenge to Olmert: the publication of the final report on his handling of the 2006 Lebanon war.

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Bush Speaks His Mind
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
(Editorial) January 18, 2008 - 6:28pm

U.S. President George W. Bush may have trouble getting things done. He has no such trouble speaking his mind, however tortured the English in which he does so. He was the first American president to speak of a Palestinian state, back in 2001. It is true that he never used the term again until recently, but on his just completed Middle East tour he has been on a roll.

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Hamas Police Force Recruits Women In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Taghreed El-Khodary - January 18, 2008 - 6:28pm

The policemen of Hamas now have company: since the Islamic group took over here last June it has been recruiting policewomen as well. Since mid-August, 60 women have been accepted into the force. Unlike policemen, the women have not played any role in resisting the latest Israeli incursions, instead working mostly on cases that involve dealing with women, like drugs and prostitution, and helping out at police headquarters and the central jail.

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Israel Closes Vital Gaza Crossings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - January 18, 2008 - 6:26pm

Israel sealed all border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Friday, cutting the flow of vital supplies in an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli border towns. But the rockets kept flying and Israel hit back with airstrikes against a rocket squad, a Hamas government building and a Hamas militia base, killing one militant and two civilians, Hamas said. U.N. officials warned that the Israeli closure of the Gaza crossings would increase hardship in the impoverished territory of 1.4 million Palestinians.

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January 17th

A Middle East Times editorial argues that the Bush initiative for Mideast peace is the only game in town despite the many challenges (3.) The Forward identifies the weakness of both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships as being the main obstacle to the peace accord promised by President Bush by the end of 2008 (5.) The Economist (UK) analyzes Arab reaction to the recent Bush Mideast visit (7.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by ATFP president Dr. Ziad Asali urges silent majorities on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to seize their future destiny from extremists (9.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Yoel Marcus is critical of the Yisrael Beiteinu party for leaving the Israeli government coalition (11.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by Gershon Baskin lays out in detail what an Israeli-Palestinian permanent status agreement would look like on all the core issues (13.)

January 16th

Honorary Citizenship Of The Moon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - January 16, 2008 - 5:34pm

"Daniel Barenboim, the world-renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has received Palestinian citizenship" and a Palestinian passport, the Haaretz English edition reported on Monday, using a Reuters story. The Ynet version said that the Palestinian Authority had granted Palestinian citizenship to Barenboim, whereas The New York Times reported that the Argentinian-born Israeli pianist and conductor had agreed to accept Palestinian citizenship and an honorary Palestinian passport.

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Haaretz Probe: Shin Bet Count Of Gaza Civilian Deaths Is Too Low
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - January 16, 2008 - 5:33pm

Israeli security forces killed 810 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and 2007, Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin reported Sunday at the weekly cabinet briefing in Jerusalem. He estimated that some 200 of those killed were not clearly linked to terrorist organizations.

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One Soldier's Assessment Of The Global War On Terror
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - January 16, 2008 - 5:32pm

I do not spend much time mingling with officers in the United States armed forces, but when I do, usually at a conference or international gathering, or reading texts on the Web, I always come away from the experience more heartened than threatened. Presumably, so does President George W. Bush, who spends much of his time deploying or threatening to use the US military against terrorists around the world, Iran, or mainstream Islamist movements that defy the US.

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Election Power Of The Israel Lobby
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English
by Rob Winder - January 16, 2008 - 5:31pm

As US presidential candidates battle it out to become the leader of the world's only superpower there is one subject on which they all, in public at least, agree - the US relationship with Israel. To leading politicians on both sides of the partisan divide the special relationship is sacrosanct, largely due, critics say, to the power of pro-Israel lobby groups.

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Optimism Drives Bush's Peace Push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Matthew Price - January 16, 2008 - 5:29pm

George W Bush has changed his approach to the Middle East but, as he heads home from his tour to the region, the question is whether it is too late to make any difference. The president, who came to power seven long years ago with little knowledge of global affairs, rounded off a marathon trip to a region that more than any other has been at the receiving end of his foreign policy. For over a week, we have heard from an optimistic president. But ask White House insiders for a list of concrete achievements from the last eight days, and there are few specifics.

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