October 22nd, 2007

Israel's Intrepid Peacemakers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Neve Gordon - October 22, 2007 - 10:54am Over the past five years the Israeli peace camp has dwindled. Last month marked the occupation's fortieth anniversary, but no more than 4,000 people reportedly gathered in Tel Aviv to protest Israel's longstanding military rule. Of the demonstrators who did show up, only a few hundred are what one could call ardent activists--people who have dedicated their life to peace and justice » Read more

Analysis-us Peace Effort Faces Middle East Credibility Gap ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alistair Lyon - October 22, 2007 - 10:52am A U.S. plan to host a Middle East peace conference is intended to signal a new commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But many in the region doubt President George W. Bush can muster the perseverance and evenhandedness in his last 17 months in office to deliver the two-state solution he evoked in 2002. Others fear an exercise in futility if the idea is to forge peace between Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction without the consent of the elected government led by Hamas Islamists who have seized control of the Gaza Strip. » Read more

The Rush For A Legacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - October 22, 2007 - 10:48am In a speech to a meeting of democratic freedom fighters in Prague on June 5, President Bush announced a concrete mission for his State Department. "I have asked Secretary Rice," he said, "to send a directive to every U.S. ambassador in an unfree nation: Seek out and meet with activists for democracy. Seek out those who demand human rights." » Read more

Olive Branch / The War That Once Was ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Daniel Ben Simon - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:46am Maisun, the beautiful 19-year-old daughter of Amin Saliman Hassan, was killed on August 4 five years ago. Before she died, she had the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Early in the morning, as she was about to leave for the bus to Safed, she turned back, went into the room where her father was sleeping and kissed him on the cheek, parting with a loving wave of the hand. Back then, Hassan didn't understand the meaning of this good-bye. "In her heart she apparently knew that she wouldn't see me again," he said this week. » Read more

Deja Vu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Meron Benvenisti - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:44am It is hard to get over the feeling of deja vu when facing the current political arena and public discourse. A person listens to the Palestinian prime minister's declaration - "Resistance [to the occupation] is legitimate, but this in fact means making every possible effort to hold onto Palestinian land. This is the [Palestinian] government's plan" - and cannot help but recall a slogan that was heard 14 years ago: a slogan that was quickly replaced by muqawama (armed resistance). » Read more

Excuse Me, What Nationality Did You Say You Were? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 10:41am My older brother recently informed me that his three children were eligible for US passports, given that he, like myself and my other siblings, were all born in the United States. But my nephew and niece were hardly without citizenship even before this most recent discovery. Married to a Palestinian/German woman with both German [or EU] and Israeli citizenship, my brother’s children also have European Union passports while the baby, born in Palestine is also the bearer of an Israeli passport. » Read more

By Attending Peace Talks, Saudi Arabia Will Be Putting Its Credibility On The Line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) October 22, 2007 - 10:38am Even the most optimistic analysts did not expect to see US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice make major headway this week in prodding the Palestinians and Israelis toward peace negotiations. Everyone knows that Rice's last-minute peace mission comes in the final stretch of the Bush administration's second term in office, when the secretary of state has just 17 months to try to do what a host of world leaders have spent decades trying to achieve. » Read more

Israel Ready To Discuss Creation Of Palestinian State, Says Rice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - October 22, 2007 - 10:36am Israel is willing to discuss “fundamental issues” with the Palestinians about the creation of their future state, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said yesterday. With the Palestinian leadership demanding that fresh talks focus on vital issues such as borders, the status of millions of refugees and the status of Jerusalem, Dr Rice held out new hope that talks could go beyond the modest trust-building measures that the Jewish state has so far put on the table. » Read more

Arming Its Friends And Talking Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist October 22, 2007 - 10:35am In short, a new sort of cold war stalks the region » Read more

Rice: Israel Ready To Discuss Fundamental Issues With Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Eric Silver - October 22, 2007 - 10:33am Israeli and Palestinian leaders are expected to start to sketch the contours of a Palestinian state next week. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, ended a 24-hour shuttle between Jerusalem and Ramallah yesterday, convinced that the two sides were ready to discuss fundamental issues in advance of President Bush's Middle East peace conference, now tentatively planned to take place in Washington in November. » Read more