February 6th

Olmert Too Weak To Deliver ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-sharif - February 6, 2008 - 7:59pm n the intricate and volatile workings of Israeli politics a day is a lifetime and the chances of survival are measured not by how many are on one’s side but by the weakness or strength of one’s opponents. Thus Ehud Olmert finds himself relatively stronger after the final findings of the Winograd Commission on the 34-day-war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 were published last week. » Read more

New Revelations On The Opinions Of Youth, Women And Educated Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Arab World For Research And Development - February 6, 2008 - 7:59pm Youth and the Educated Palestinians are Becoming Less Supportive of Hamas and More Supportive of Fateh Women are still more Supportive of Hamas Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) had conducted an opinion poll dated 16-18 January 2008 after and during the latest Gaza attacks. A representative sample, of 3200 Palestinians, was interviewed in all West Bank and Gaza districts. The main results were published on January the 23rd showing a decline in the support for Fateh and a slight increase in the support for Hamas. » Read more

West Bank Economy Shows First Signs Of Growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Bassem Roomie - February 6, 2008 - 7:57pm Things feel different these days in Ramallah, the de facto and economic capital of the Palestinian Authority, and its seat of government. The markets are crowded with shoppers. Stores are well-stocked with goods, dozens of brand new cars have appeared on the streets. And all over downtown Ramallah are banners and posters heralding the launching of new businesses—like flowers after rain. » Read more

Blair Calls For ‘urgency’ In Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - February 6, 2008 - 7:57pm Tony Blair has warned that the current round of Middle East peace talks must be pursued with ”greater urgency and greater focus” if Israelis and Palestinian are to achieve their goal of a peace agreement by the end of the year. » Read more

Israel Plans Egypt Border Fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News February 6, 2008 - 7:56pm The measure was agreed by a security cabinet meeting following the temporary breach of the Gaza-Egypt border, when thousands left Gaza unchecked. Plans for a fence were dropped years ago because the multi-million dollar price tag was deemed too expensive. Israel was struck by its first suicide bombing for more than a year on Monday. Initial speculation that the assailants were Gazans who arrived via the largely unguarded 230km (150-mile) Egyptian border was quashed on Tuesday when Hamas movement said the attackers had come from the occupied West Bank. » Read more

Israel Rebuffs Egypt-gaza Border Deployments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - February 6, 2008 - 7:55pm Israeli leaders on Wednesday rejected proposals to secure Gaza's frontier with Egypt with additional Egyptian forces or international troops two weeks after militants blasted it open, officials said. Israel's Foreign Ministry had suggested giving the nod to Egypt to double the number of its guards at the border to 1,500. Under an Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement, the number of troops that can be deployed along the frontier is limited. » Read more

February 5th

Running In Place From Lebanon To Dimona ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:36pm The suicide bombing in Dimona and the ongoing Qassam rocket fire on Sderot reveal that the "running in place" did not begin and end with the Second Lebanon War. The Winograd Committee asks how it is possible for a war that lasted more than a month to have ended with neither a diplomatic nor military victory. The war against Hamas has been going on for more than seven years, but victory seems about as close as the diplomatic horizon. » Read more

World Bank: Education In The Arab World Is 'lagging Behind' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 5, 2008 - 7:35pm The World Bank has described the education system in Arab countries as "lagging behind" other regions in the developing world, in a report released on Monday. The report, titled "The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa," the World Bank said the region "has not capitalized fully on past investments in education, let alone developed education systems capable of meeting new challenges." » Read more

Looking At Process In The Arab-israeli Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Daniel Kurtzer - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:34pm With the resumption of the Middle East peace process after Annapolis, the focus has turned to the substantive divide between the parties regarding the core issues of territory and boundaries, security, Jerusalem and refugees. Different ways have been suggested to approach these issues: for example, trying to reach agreement on a declaration of principles; trying to reach a full agreement and then putting it on the shelf until the time is ripe for implementation; or trying for a full agreement and implementation in phases, to begin immediately. » Read more

Gaza Blockade Collective Punishment Says Hrw ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Palestine Chronicle (Editorial) February 5, 2008 - 7:27pm Israel's crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip is a collective punishment of the 1.5 million population of the small, overcrowded territory, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report on Thursday, January 31. "The Israeli and Western economic embargo of Gaza, Israel's almost total closure of Gaza's border crossings, ongoing lawlessness in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and heightened Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank contributed to a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis," said the report cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP). » Read more