November 16th, 2007

Israel's Economic Blockade Stops Gaza's Strawberry-farmers Selling Their Crop
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald Macintyre - November 16, 2007 - 4:20pm

Almost all of Gaza's turbulent story is bound up with Jamil Abu Hmaideh's strawberry fields here in the far north of the strip. Between two wispy clouds high in the blue sky above us, two Israeli Apache helicopters hover on the look-out for the Qassam rocket-launching crews as we bite into the luscious, perfectly ripened fruit Mr Hmaideh has picked for us.

»

Leaked E-mail Pitches Prince Charles Into Heart Of Row Over Royal Visit To Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Ruth Gledhill - November 16, 2007 - 4:16pm

The Prince of Wales was embroiled last night in a diplomatic row after the leaking of e-mails in which his senior staff made disparaging comments about Israel. Internal e-mails between two of the Prince’s closest aides make clear that there was “no chance ever” of Clarence House accepting an invitation to visit Jerusalem. The e-mails, published in The Jewish Chronicle today, also disclose a fear that Israel would want the Prince “to help burnish its international image”.

»

No Clear Way Forward For Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Philip Stephens - (Opinion) November 16, 2007 - 4:14pm

Some time ago I asked one of Europe’s foreign ministers why we should hold out any hopes for the forthcoming Annapolis conference on the Middle East. Had something changed to suggest Israelis and Palestinians would strike the bargain that has so long eluded them?

»

The Gaza-west Bank Divide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
(Editorial) November 16, 2007 - 4:10pm

It is now three years since Yassir Arafat’s death on November 11, 2004, and a good time to evaluate the prospects for Palestinian statehood. Perhaps the best evaluation has been provided by Arafat’s successor.

»

In Lawless Nablus, The Law Changes At Sundown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Matthew Gutman - November 16, 2007 - 4:05pm

Tawfiq Kalboni fidgets with some wayward bills. A moneylender in this central West Bank city, Kalboni, 42, owed another moneylender about $150,000. When he failed to pay, he said, the creditor collected on the debt, Nablus style. Five weeks ago, masked gunmen kidnapped his 14-year-old son from the doorstep of his house.

»

Abbas Calls For Ouster Of Hamas ‘gang’ From Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner, Taghreed El-Khodary - November 16, 2007 - 4:01pm

Three days after Hamas policemen shot and killed at least seven civilians at a rally in Gaza, leading a number of Gazans to express shock and anger at Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and the leader of the rival faction Fatah, called for the ouster of Hamas from power in Gaza.

»

November 15th

The New York Times examines the tougher line Palestinian president Abbas has been taking against Hamas (1.) Israel Policy Forum analyzes how the Palestinian West Bank/Gaza political division threatens Israel's security and Palestinian statehood prospects (3.) A Financial Times (UK) opinion by Philip Stevens is skeptical of the Annapolis meeting due to its focus (4.)The Independent (UK) looks at how Israeli border closures have impacted the Palestinian strawberry crop and its export out of Gaza (6.) A Guardian (UK) comment by Jonathan Steele examines how the justice of the Palestinian cause has endured despite the failure to-date of achieving statehood (7.) An Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) opinion by editor-in-chief Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed takes Hamas to task for its rule in Gaza and its violence against fellow Palestinians (9.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Danny Rubinstein documents the disintegration of the Palestinian national movement (11.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Yonatan Touval suggests that the text of an invitation letter to the Annapolis meeting include reference to borders, refugees and Jerusalem (12.)

Who Wants A Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) November 15, 2007 - 6:34pm

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been speaking enthusiastically about "two states, two nations" ever since her conversion from the Greater Israel ideology. She can easily convince people why Israel must have a right of return only for Jews, while an independent Palestine would grant the same right only to Palestinians.

»

Still A Democracy?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shulamit Aloni - (Opinion) November 15, 2007 - 6:33pm

The government of Israel, with all due respect, does not represent the Jewish people but rather the citizens of the State of Israel who elected it. Israel is a sovereign state, which is still considered to be a democracy. In other words, it is a state for all of its citizens. Therefore it must not demand of the Palestinians to recognize it as a Jewish state, because in that way it would be declaring that any citizen whose mother is not Jewish or who did not convert with our strict Orthodox rabbis is a second-rate citizen, and his rights as a human being and a citizen are not ensured.

»

The Middle Road
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) November 15, 2007 - 6:31pm

So much for Hamas’ hope. Those willing to give the movement the benefit of the doubt, even after its June takeover of the Gaza Strip, have posited the Islamist movement as a necessary cleaning up of the chaotic state of internal Palestinian politics.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017