October 19th

Under Siege: Drug Shortage 'is Killing Patients In Gaza' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Eric Silver - October 19, 2007 - 8:33pm Shifa hospital, the biggest in the Gaza Strip, is running out of drugs. It is performing emergency operations only. The CAT scanner is out of service for want of spare parts. The orthopaedic department no longer has plaster of Paris. Hospital managers appealed yesterday to the international community to lift the siege on Gaza, which imposed after Hamas seized control in June. » Read more

Will Use 'non-military' Means To Attacks: Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times October 19, 2007 - 8:32pm Israel will use non-military means to respond to ongoing rocket attacks against it from the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday, hinting at a plan for sanctions against civilian infrastructure in the salient such as limiting the flow of water and electricity. ‘We have means, means which are not only military,’ she told a joint news conference in Jerusalem with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. ‘It is our duty to take these steps.’ » Read more

Where The West Bank Meets Bavaria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Martin Asser - October 19, 2007 - 8:31pm But that is exactly what visitors to the small Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh were treated to at the weekend. The village is home to a successful family-owned microbrewery, the Taybeh Brewing Company, whose co-owner, Nadim Khoury, and his sister-in-law, Maria Khoury, staged its third annual Oktoberfest, modelled on the great beer-drinking event in Munich. One of the curiosities of the original Bavarian version is that it starts in September - something to do with timing of the brewing process. » Read more

Us Offer To Arm Arab States Wins Lukewarm Response From Leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Sonia Verma Verma - October 19, 2007 - 8:31pm Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel today hoping to breathe new life into the stalled peace process after offering Arab leaders $20 billion (£10 billion) in arms in return for promises to help to stabilise Iraq and counter the growing influence in the region of Iran. » Read more

Among Arab Nations, An Atmosphere On Edge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - October 19, 2007 - 8:31pm The mood is gruff and the talk shrill across the Middle East as growing strategic differences between Saudi Arabia and Syria underscore Iran's ability to exploit the region's fragile alliances. » Read more

On Two Fronts, Israel Faces Prospect Of Military Escalation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - October 19, 2007 - 8:29pm After months of talk of a "hot summer" with Syria and a long battle of attrition with Palestinian Kassam rocket launchers in Gaza, Israel finds itself facing the prospect of a major military escalation on two fronts. In the North, Syria has warned that it will retaliate at a time of its choosing against the alleged Israeli penetration of its airspace on the night between Sept. 5 and 6. » Read more

Knesset Bill Slammed For Maintaining ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ben Harris - October 19, 2007 - 8:29pm A proposed Israeli law that would uphold the government's refusal to lease land to Israeli Arabs has generated broad opposition among American Jews concerned about the bill's moral implications and its impact on the Jewish state's international standing. The bill allows the Israel Lands Authority to continue its refusal to lease land owned by the Jewish National Fund to non-Jews. It was endorsed 64-16 earlier this month in its first Knesset reading. » Read more

A Big Victory Against The Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch by Uri Avnery - October 19, 2007 - 8:28pm When my friends fall prey to despair, I show them a piece of painted concrete, which I bought in Berlin. It is one of the remnants of the Berlin wall, which are on sale in the city. I tell them that I intend, when the time comes, to apply for a franchise to sell pieces of the Separation Wall. Sometimes, when I give a lecture before a German audience, I ask: "How many of you believed, a week before the fall of the wall, that this would happen in their lifetime?" No one has ever raised their hand. » Read more

Us, Israeli Diplomats Push Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Anne Gearan - October 19, 2007 - 8:27pm Top U.S. and Israeli diplomats said Wednesday they would push quickly for a political settlement with the moderate-led West Bank in spite of the bitter internal split among Palestinians there and in Gaza. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said they would not squander what each called a rare chance for progress in the 60-year-old conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. » Read more

What Do Arabs Really Think Of America? Ask Them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Mohamed Elmenshawy - October 19, 2007 - 8:26pm Despite today marking the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11, US policymakers and pundits continue to use the same misleading approach toward understanding the Arab world. » Read more