November 1st, 2007

In Humanity Lies Hope For Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Hilla Medalia - (Opinion) November 1, 2007 - 2:19pm

DELEGATES FROM Israel and a consortium of Arab states will meet in the United States this month with the hope of devising an agreement - or at least the DNA of an agreement - that will lead to the formation of a Palestinian state and, theoretically, stability in the Middle East. It is the first such US-led summit in years, and regardless of the outcome, it will be a historic event.

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Rice Tries To Close Gap In Middle East Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Sue Pleming - November 1, 2007 - 2:17pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders this weekend to craft a joint document ahead of a peace conference but she has intentionally set expectations low. U.S. officials expect Rice's third visit in six weeks to the region will result in a document filled with general principles to kick off negotiations on a Palestinian state, but with few hard-core specifics.

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October 31st

A Boston Globe opinion by Israeli filmmaker Hilla Medalia discovers the humanity of Palestinians by visiting the Deheisheh refugee camp in the occupied West Bank (2.) In his Prospects For Peace blog, New America and Century Foundation senior fellow Daniel Levy is supportive of the bipartisan letter sent to President Bush by eight former senior U.S. officials regarding the upcoming Annapolis meeting (5.) A Financial Times (UK) opinion by CSIS's Jon Alterman outlines why the way that the Annapolis meeting is unfolding will only prove how hard it is to achieve peace and will strengthen rejectionists on both sides (6.) The Independent (UK) reports on the visit by British university vice-chancellors to the occupied Palestinian territories in order to strengthen ties with universities there (8.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by George Hishmeh takes issue with the fact that none of the US presidential candidates have said anything meaningful about the Annapolis meeting (10.) In a Jerusalem Post (Israel) interview, Canterbury Archbishop Rowan attributes the emigration of Palestinian Christians from their land to the separation barrier and its effects (12.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Aluf Benn explains how Israel's avoidance of the 'core issues' at the Annapolis meeting will result in the meeting's failure and harms chances of a future agreement (14.)

Summit Of Fear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) October 31, 2007 - 5:32pm

n September 13, 1993, when the Oslo Accords were signed, president Bill Clinton called the day "a great occasion of history and hope." The ceremony's participants mentioned the word "hope" 21 times in their speeches. Even the normally dry Warren Christopher, then secretary of state, tried to produce some excitement, saying the negotiators' courage gave hope that they would "complete the journey that has been begun today."

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U.s. Ups Pressure On Israel To Quit W. Bank Outposts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - October 31, 2007 - 5:30pm

The U.S. has renewed pressure on Israel to evacuate illegal outposts in the West Bank and has asked Jerusalem to broaden efforts to help West Bank Palestinians in the run-up to the Annapolis peace summit next month. During talks in Jerusalem late last week, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the U.S. expects Israel to take measures that will assist Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

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Rice Back In Middle East Carrying Many Hopes And Few Trump Cards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna)
by Joe Macaron - October 31, 2007 - 5:29pm

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice travels on Thursday to the Middle East on her third mission to the region in two months amid dim hopes on resolving Palestinian-Israeli quandary ahead of upcoming Annapolis meeting. "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are engaged in an effort to produce a document that could serve the foundation for a serious negotiation for the establishment of a Palestinian state," said a senior State Department official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

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The Israel Lobby Has Its Sights On Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) October 31, 2007 - 5:27pm

A year and a half after they published their ground-breaking article "The Israel Lobby" in the London Review of Books, the distinguished American academics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have now published their book entitled "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy."

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Gaza Offensive Could Exact Heavy Price
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 31, 2007 - 5:25pm

If Israel carries out threats of a massive offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip the army could encounter unprecedented resistance from an army of fighters using guerrilla tactics, officials say. The relatively high number of casualties Israel has suffered in its limited raids in Gaza over the past months — three soldiers killed and dozens injured — suggests Palestinian militants have developed new tactics and weapons.

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Olmert Must Justify Palestinian Fuel Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by Charles Levinson - October 31, 2007 - 5:24pm

Israel's supreme court ordered the government last night to justify its stranglehold on the Gaza Strip amid concern that Palestinian civilians will face dire humanitarian consequences due to punitive energy cuts. The intervention came as the administration of Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, was accused by the European Union of inflicting "collective punishment" on the territory's civilian population by cutting fuel and electricity supplies.

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The Impact Of Closure: An Interview With Taghreed El-khodary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
(Interview) October 31, 2007 - 5:21pm

How will/will current path lead Gazans toward a two-state solution? As a journalist in Gaza, from what I see, all that people care about are the burdens of daily life. No one is talking about Annapolis, about two states. The suffering is extreme. The closure is so severe that it has touched every sector of the Gaza Strip, from businessmen, to farmers, to students, to workers.

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