A Necessary Conference - With Impediments In Tow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eli Podeh - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:59am American President George Bush's call for an international conference in the autumn has, on the face of it, created a diplomatic horizon. The overt diplomatic arena, and apparently also the covert one, is teeming with activity while the American patron is trying to arrange a gathering that will be suited to all its participants. This conference is likely to be the finale of the Bush era, and therefore, from the American point of view, it must succeed. » Read more

Fatah: The 'moderate' Alternative? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Caelum Moffatt - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:57am Recently, President Mahmoud Abbas urged the PLO Central Council to support his decision to call early elections. The usually composed Fatah leader showed signs of agitation in his address, directing his words towards his rivals Hamas, the victors of the bloody battle for Gaza over a month ago. ‘We will not wait for approval from those sitting over there in Gaza or from those sitting abroad…Hamas dug their own grave with their own nails as a result of the crimes they carried out in Gaza.’ » Read more

Ayoon Wa Azan ( Both Are Wrong ) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat by Jihad El-khazen - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:55am The present situation in the Palestinian territories has placed me in a position of objection par excellence as I oppose everything that is taking place in Palestinian politics today.  » Read more

Even Comatose, Israel's Sharon Casts A Long Shadow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Der Spiegel by Christoph Schult - October 23, 2007 - 10:53am Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been lying in a coma for more than a year and a half now, but his sons have not given up hope that he will recover. Political camps haven't given up claiming his support for their sides. Sheba Hospital on the outskirts of Tel Aviv looks like a small, self-contained city. Eight-hundred-and-fifty doctors and 2,000 nurses work on a campus the size of 80 football fields. The rehab center is located in the eastern section of the complex, and the respiration rehabilitation department is on the building's first floor. » Read more