October 9th, 2007

Israeli Pm Praises Palestinian Leadership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Mark Tran - October 9, 2007 - 2:26pm

The current Palestinian leadership is committed to peace with Israel, the Israeli prime minister said today as senior figures discussed a possible division of Jerusalem. Ehud Olmert said he planned to make every effort to pursue peace with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as he laid out his agenda.

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Understanding The Israeli Attack On Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) October 9, 2007 - 2:23pm

Israel's "ministers committee for the northern front" gathered in early August for the sixth time of the summer. The prime minister's office told the press that the committee was focused exclusively on preventive measures—making sure that Israel was ready for any possible eruption of hostilities on the northern border with either Hezbollah, which operates in Lebanon, or Syria. "Israel does not want a war with Syria," government sources emphasized time and again. Three weeks later, on Sept. 6, a couple of Israeli fighter jets hit targets deep inside Syria.

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Jerusalem Taking Center Stage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - October 9, 2007 - 2:19pm

With just over a month to go before the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference is scheduled to take place, Jerusalem is shaping up to become the key issue. Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams opened Monday with major differences on the table, but with both sides committed to making a concerted effort to produce a significant framework agreement for the parley in Annapolis, Md.

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Gaza Blockade Stops Students From Studying Abroad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-mughrabi - October 9, 2007 - 2:16pm

Palestinian student Khaled al-Mudallal arrived home to Gaza on a mission: marry his fiancee Duaa then spirit her back to Britain where he would complete his university degree. Instead, they both ended up stuck in the impoverished Hamas-run coastal enclave because of an Israeli blockade that stops anyone without a permit from leaving. The 22-year-old student returned to Gaza half way through his 3-year business management course at Bradford University in northern England to get married and escort his new wife home.

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Middle East Summit: A Recipe For Failure?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Daniel Kurtzer - (Opinion) October 9, 2007 - 2:14pm

As diplomats scramble to piece together the parts of the Middle East peace meeting that the United States is determined to convene in November, one crucial question is getting too little attention: How will success be measured?

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As Mideast Realigns, Us Leans Sunni
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Howard Lafranchi - October 9, 2007 - 2:04pm

Americans are hearing much less from the Bush administration about democracy for the Middle East than they did a year ago. As Shiite Iran rises, the White House has muted its calls for reform in the region as it redirects policy to reembrace Sunni Arab allies – who run, to varying degrees, authoritarian regimes. The invasion of Iraq in 2003 shifted the balance of power in the Middle East, delivering a Shiite-led government to a country that had for decades been dominated by its minority Sunnis. That, in turn, opened the door to Iranian expansion.

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Christian Activist Killed In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - October 9, 2007 - 1:40pm

A prominent Palestinian Christian activist was found dead on a Gaza City street Sunday, sending a shudder of fear through a tiny Christian community feeling increasingly insecure since the Islamic Hamas seized control last summer. The body of Rami Khader Ayyad, the 32-year-old director of Gaza's only Christian bookstore, bore a visible gunshot wound to the head, and an official at Gaza's Shifa Hospital said he was also stabbed numerous times. Ayyad had been missing since Saturday afternoon.

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As Farmers And Fields Rest, A Land Grows Restless
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Erlanger - October 9, 2007 - 1:37pm

As Israel’s Jews start a new year, the country finds itself in the middle of a fierce religious dispute about the sanctity of fruits and vegetables. In the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malahi, a man held a scroll of the Torah, which mandates shmita, a kind of sabbatical for the land which occurs every seven years. Rabbis are pitted against one another, the state and the religious authorities are in conflict, the Israeli Supreme Court is involved, the devout are confused and the cost of produce is rising.

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October 8th

The Christian Science Monitor examines how the United States has muted its calls for Mideast reform and democracy in favor of aligning with Sunni allies to confront Iran and its allies (3.) In the International Herald Tribune, former U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer identifies four parameters by which to judge the success of the fall Mideast meeting (4.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency looks at how the issue of Jerusalem is shaping up to be the key issue at the fall Mideast meeting (6.) The Times (UK) reports on the statements coming out of the Israeli political leadership regarding returning parts of occupied East Jerusalem to the Palestinians (9.) In Haaretz (Israel) Akiva Eldar examines how the recent expropriation of Palestinian land by the Israeli army ties into new Israeli plans to resume construction in the E1 area close to Jerusalem (10.) Also in Haaretz, Israeli historian and author Tom Segev explains why recent Israeli government statements concerning 'dividing' Jerusalem have hardly caused any controversy (11.)

Giving Them Something To Talk About
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - October 8, 2007 - 4:17pm

One by one, the Palestinian visitors entered the sukkah at the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's official residence last Wednesday. They entered cautiously and hesitantly, noting the decorative Israeli flags closing in on them from all sides. They promptly underwent an accelerated course in Judaism, as Olmert explained the four plant species used in the Sukkot rituals. The pictures, they knew, would certainly not improve their standing among the Palestinian public.

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