November 12th

Remembering Yitzhak Rabin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist (Opinion) November 12, 2007 - 1:42pm The inner price Israel pays for its continuing occupation of the West Bank “YOU were the pillar of fire before the camp and now we are left only as the camp, alone and in the dark”. So said his weeping grand-daughter, eulogising Yitzhak Rabin after he was shot in the back by a Jewish religious zealot 12 years ago. The murder of a strong and popular prime minister appeared briefly to unite the Jewish state. But the Israel of that time was in fact a camp divided. This year's anniversary has brought grim new evidence of how bitter the divisions have grown. » Read more

Abbas Urges Support Of Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - November 12, 2007 - 1:39pm Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, on Sunday seized on a demonstration marking the third anniversary of Yassir Arafat’s death to urge support for the latest round of Middle East peace talks and turn up the heat on Hamas, his Islamist rivals. » Read more

Mideast: All Not Quite Aboard For Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Peter Hirschberg - November 12, 2007 - 1:37pm U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has again paid a visit to the Middle East, held meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, spoken about the seriousness of the two sides in their efforts to revive the peace process, but has again left the region without issuing invitations to a planned U.S.-led peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland. » Read more

Israel, U.s. Jews Intensify ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - November 12, 2007 - 1:36pm A renewed push from Jewish organizations for tougher sanctions against Iran is facing tough obstacles in Washington and capitals throughout the world. American Jewish groups are aggressively attempting to rally support for isolating Iran until it ends its suspected nuclear weapons program. They are lobbying Congress, reaching out to friendly nations overseas and seeking allies in the United States. » Read more

A Glimpse At A Life In Line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune by Robert Cotton Fite - (Opinion) November 12, 2007 - 1:35pm Waiting in line at a West Bank border checkpoint, intimidated by the prisonlike atmosphere and frustrated by the Israeli soldier denying me passage back into Israel, I got my first real taste of what it's like most days for thousands of Palestinians. There I was, having just enjoyed visits to several Palestinian towns, looking very much the harmless, middle-class American tourist, with what I was sure were the right stamps in my passport, being told I could not re-enter Israel nor continue my trip to Nazareth. » Read more

The Spy Who Wants Israel To Talk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - November 12, 2007 - 1:34pm Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, titled his memoirs "Man in the Shadows." But now that he's out in the sunlight, the 72-year-old retired spy chief has some surprisingly contrarian things to say about Iran and Syria. The gist of his message is that rather than constantly ratcheting up the rhetoric of confrontation, the United States and Israel should be looking for ways to establish a creative dialogue with these adversaries. » Read more

Gaza’s Isolation Takes Toll On Students And Prices ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - November 12, 2007 - 1:31pm Miriam Ashour will turn 18 in November and speaks English with only the slightest of accents. She has a scholarship to study for a college degree in business administration at Columbia College, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, in Columbia, S.C. But she will miss at least the first semester. She is among some 670 Gazans enrolled in schools abroad who have been denied permission to leave the territory. » Read more

U.s. And Israel Play Down Hopes For Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - November 12, 2007 - 1:30pm The American-sponsored Middle East peace conference expected by the end of the month looks to be thin on content, mostly serving as a stage to begin formal negotiations on a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli and American officials have been so busy dampening expectations that they are not even calling the event a conference anymore, instead referring to it merely as a “meeting.” » Read more

November 9th

Israel, Pa Agree Future Deals Hinge On Implementing Road Map ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid And Mazal Mualem - November 9, 2007 - 6:33pm Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed on Thursday that any future agreement between them will be conditional to the implementation of the first stage of the road map, which includes Palestinian counter-terrorism operations and a freeze on construction in the settlements. The agreement, which follows two weeks of stalemate in the negotiations between the two sides, may pave the way to the drafting of a shared declaration that will be presented at an upcoming peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland, that aims to set terms for relaunching peace talks. » Read more

The Skeptic And The Believer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) November 9, 2007 - 6:30pm Defense Minister Ehud Barak rose to speak at the annual conference of the Saban Forum in Jerusalem, on Monday of this week. Unlike Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Quartet envoy and former British prime minister Tony Blair and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had delivered their speeches the previous evening directly into the cameras transmitting directly into the news broadcasts, Barak maintained ambiguity and his remarks were ostensibly intended only for closed discussion. » Read more