January 7th, 2008

Just Going To Work, Palestinians And Israelis Travel Different Roads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - January 7, 2008 - 6:03pm

Before they set out for work each morning, neighbors Naim Darwish, a Palestinian Muslim, and Jacob Steinmetz, an Israeli Jew, begin their days in quiet meditation. In the pre-dawn chill, Darwish sets his Muslim prayer rug on the floor facing Mecca. In the soft morning light, Steinmetz throws on his prayer shawl and turns toward Jerusalem. Then the lives of these West Bank neighbors diverge.

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January 6th

McClatchey Newspapers contrasts the very different morning commutes for an Israeli and a Palestinian to illustrate how lack of Palestinian freedom of movement is one of the major obstacles to peace (1.) A Los Angeles Times opinion by Professors Walt of Harvard and Mearsheimer of Chicago University label as 'false friends of Israel' U.S. presidential candidates that facilitate self-destructive policies by offering unconditional political and financial support (3.) The Washington Post examines expectations in the Middle East regarding the visit of President Bush to the region this week (4.) Editorials in the Baltimore Sun (6) and Boston Globe (7) urge President Bush to use the influence of the U.S. to do all that is necessary to achieve progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations (6.) An Independent (UK) editorial faults the Bush administration for its belated engagement in Mideast peacemaking while acknowledging that an opportunity exists for it if serious effort is applied (10.) BBC (UK) looks at why the Har Homa settlement issue has become such a flash-point for Israeli-Palestinian relations and the future of peace negotiations (13.) Arab News (Saudi Arabia) examines how Israel's 'absentee law' is used to expropriate Palestinian land in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem for the building of the Har Homa settlement (15.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar is critical of the continuing Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territories as a danger to Israel's future existence (16.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Tel Aviv university senior political science lecturer Eyal Chowers suggests a new paradigm for Israelis and Palestinians to express their national identities through (18.)

January 4th

Time For Deal Running Out
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sever Plocker - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:44pm

For several years now, and certainly since the second Intifada’s outbreak, Palestinian economist demanded in every forum that the Paris Agreement, which in 1994 created a uniform external border for Israel and Palestinian for the purpose of duty collection, be annulled. The Palestinians viewed this duty collection amalgamation as a tangible and irritating expression of Israeli occupation.

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When Ehud Meets George
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:42pm

The finishing touches are being applied to preparations for next week's presidential visit. After more than 2,500 days in the White House, George W. Bush will grace the Holy Land with his presence, and Ehud Olmert can notch up an achievement denied to his predecessor, Ariel Sharon - of hosting an American president. The script for such an occasion almost writes itself. The president will visit all the usual Israeli and Jewish sites of history, heartbreak and heroism, identifying with our suffering and marveling at our achievements.

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Israel’s Quiet War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Fred Schlomka - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:41pm

While Ehud Olmert and Abu Mazen were wheeling and dealing at Annapolis, several Israeli government ministries and security agencies were deploying their combined resources in a massive operation aimed at Israel’s southern Negev Desert. While the eyes of the world are on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel is in the middle of a campaign to complete the displacement of Palestinian Arabs who also are Israeli citizens.

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Lurching From Crisis To Crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram
by Marian Houk - January 4, 2008 - 2:40pm

The Israeli Defence Ministry's programme to punish all Gazans for Qassam missiles fire into Israeli territory is apparently moving into a new phase. A second round of fuel cuts reportedly started on 30 December, with a military-ordered reduction of some 35-43 per cent (depending on what numbers are used as the baseline) in the amount of gasoline that will now be supplied to the Gaza Strip.

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Yo, Anyone Who Fears Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
January 4, 2008 - 2:35pm

THE smart people are getting out of Jerusalem next week. Traffic mayhem is assured as George Bush and his entourage, about 800 souls, guarded by thousands of Israeli police, are whisked about in a fleet of armoured vehicles, complete with a bespoke helicopter brought in to fly the president to Capernaum, in northern Israel, where Jesus chose his apostles.

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Bush Calls On Israel To Dismantle Wildcat Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 4, 2008 - 2:33pm

US President George W. Bush called on Israel to dismantle wildcat settlement outposts on occupied Palestinian land, in an interview published on Friday ahead of his visit to the region next week. "We expect them to honour their commitments," Bush said in the interview with Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily.

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Pakistan, Palestine, And Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Analysis) January 4, 2008 - 2:32pm

A few hours after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, I happened to catch an interview with a group of Pakistani university students who were part of a stunned mass of grieving people on the streets of Karachi.  They all looked and sounded secular, educated and western.  The reporter asked them about Bhutto's death, prospects for democracy in Pakistan, and what they thought about the United States.

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Ahead Of Visit, White House Talks Friendship With Israel — And Pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - January 4, 2008 - 2:30pm

The message from the White House on the eve of President Bush's first presidential visit to Israel is that his staunch support for the Jewish state has set the stage for peace — and given him room to exert some pressure on Jerusalem. Bush launches an eight-day tour of the region next Wednesday, beginning with three days in Israel and the West Bank and continuing to Persian Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

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