January 2nd, 2008

Israeli-palestinian Fatalities Drop, But Other Issues Persist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - January 2, 2008 - 2:28pm

In its year-end report issued on New Year's Eve, the leading Israeli human rights group B'tselem said that the numbers of Palestinians and Israelis killed in clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has dropped dramatically, but that other human rights abuses persist. Overall, the number of both Palestinians and Israelis who fell victim to the conflict decreased, a benchmark year that is being quietly noted by analysts as a sign of progress in a troubled region.

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Clinton Leads In Jewish Backers, But Key Ones Back Obama, Mccain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ben Harris - January 2, 2008 - 2:27pm

As the nation trains its spotlight on Iowa and New Hampshire, two Jewish politicians have become central players in the Granite State's political drama that may well determine who secures the Democratic and Republican nominations.

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Declaring Forever War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Conservative
by Michael Desch - January 2, 2008 - 2:24pm

Like most Americans, I knew little about Rudolph Giuliani, save that he had been the very successful mayor of New York City catapulted to iconic status for his cool-headed demeanor after the Sept. 11 attacks. I was curious about where he stood as a presidential candidate, so in April 2007, I joined nearly 3,000 other Texas A&M faculty and students to hear him speak.

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Israel: West Bank Roadblocks Will Remain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - January 2, 2008 - 2:15pm

Israel's network of roadblocks will remain in place across the West Bank, the defense minister said Tuesday, sparking an outcry from Palestinians who say they cannot rebuild their economy until people and goods move freely.

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Olmert Hints Jerusalem Division Is Inevitable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - January 2, 2008 - 2:14pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signaled on Tuesday Israel might have no choice but to share Jerusalem with the Palestinians in a peace deal, citing international pressure for compromise over the holy city. "The world that is friendly to Israel ... that really supports Israel, when it speaks of the future, it speaks of Israel in terms of the '67 borders. It speaks of the division of Jerusalem," Olmert said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

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January 1st

Reuters reports on the latest comments by Israeli PM Olmert regarding the necessity for Israel of sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians as part of a final peace settlement (1), featured in an interview Olmert gave to the Jerusalem Post (13.) In The American Conservative, Michael C. Desch, Professor and Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and National Security Decision-making at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, profiles the hardline neoconservative foreign policy advisory team surrounding Presidential candidate Giuliani and warns of the consequences of his winning the election (3.) A New York Times editorial urges President Bush to take concrete steps that will give the Israeli and Palestinian leaders the maximum support necessary to reach a peace agreement (4.) The Christian Science Monitor looks at the year-end report on the occupied territories by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem (6.) The Middle East Times reports from Gaza on how a lack of spare parts, fuel and maintenance work for the sewage and water systems is creating conditions for an impending health disaster (8.) The Independent (UK) uses the example of Highway 443 in the occupied West Bank to illustrate how the Israeli policy of barring Palestinians from using it is designed to de-facto annex the land that the road travels through (9.) In BitterLemons (Israel/Palestine) former Palestinian minister of planning Ghassan Khatib takes a historical look at the Israeli settlement enterprise and identifies it as the main obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace (11.) An Asharq Alwsat opinion by British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander urges the Arab world and international community to give the current opportunity for peace its full financial and political backing (12.) In Haaretz (Israel) Bradley Burston examines how the 1967 borders have become the internationally recognized parameters of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (14.)

December 31st, 2007

We Won't Win In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Gabi Sheffer - (Opinion) December 31, 2007 - 6:48pm

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi declared recently that should the IDF enter the Gaza Strip in full force, in the framework of an Israeli military operation, he has no doubt that this time around the army and the entire State of Israel will be triumphant. Several commentators were quick to explain that this declaration was an attempt to highlight the great defeat suffered by his predecessor, Dan Halutz, and to promise to the people that under Ashkenazi’s leadership the army will not suffer another defeat such as the Second Lebanon War failure.

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No One Is Righteous
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 31, 2007 - 6:46pm

Tzipi Livni is absolutely correct when she says "Egypt's activity on the Philadelphi Route is dismal and problematic." The foreign minister told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee the truth; these weapons do strengthen Hamas' grip, at the expense of the pragmatic elements in Gaza. It's too bad no one asked her why she thinks the Egyptian government, which she said plays a positive role in the peace process, is acting against its own interests.

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Us Must Re-evaluate Its Relationship With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Scott Ritter - (Opinion) December 31, 2007 - 6:45pm

The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has embarked on policies that are questionable at best when one examines them from a purely Israeli standpoint; they are nothing less than a betrayal of the United States when examined from a broader perspective.

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An Israeli Hurdle For Haj Pilgrims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Editorial) December 31, 2007 - 6:45pm

Some 2,000 Palestinians who performed their Haj duties at Makkah are now stranded on two boats off the Egyptian coast. The reason for this is a dispute that has arisen with the Israeli authorities, who demand the right to security control checks of all pilgrims, something the Palestinians are reluctant to do, fearing reprisals from the Israeli security forces. In checking for security clearance, Israel also investigates whether any of the personnel are related to Palestinians already in Israeli jails, of known person wanted by Israel.

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