February 20th

Inside Track: Nato’s West Bank Nightmare ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest by Ted Galen Carpenter - (Opinion) February 20, 2008 - 6:49pm Washington is sending up a trial balloon about stationing NATO troops as peacekeepers on the West Bank. The Jerusalem Post reports that former NATO supreme commander General James Jones, now the Bush administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, is floating the idea to various European countries. » Read more

Fayad To 'post': 2008 Peace Deal In Peril ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - February 20, 2008 - 6:48pm If Israel and the Palestinians don't change their behavior faster in the West Bank, they will fail to finalize a peace agreement in 2008, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. He spoke with the Post briefly in the aftermath of a rare address to the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which is meeting in Jerusalem this week. "There must be a greater focus. What we need to do is to pay close attention to the road map," said Fayad. » Read more

Jihadi Regime ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Walid Phares - (Opinion) February 20, 2008 - 6:46pm As Americans debate whhich presidential candidate is best to confront the jihadists or at least preempt their offensives worldwide, the latter almost seized a key African country for the forthcoming Darfur peace missions. » Read more

For Palestinians, The Power Of Mass Non-violence Would Be Undeniable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) February 20, 2008 - 6:45pm Now that Fidel Castro has taken the carriage clock, international affairs has all too few fixed points of continuity. Her Majesty the Queen is still in place. The King of Thailand has been on the throne since 1946. Otherwise one has to turn to the Middle East for reassurance that some things never change. Fly-by-nights like Castro may come and go, but the Israel-Palestine conflict will, it seems, always be with us. » Read more

Abbas And Olmert Struggle To Move Talks Forward ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - February 20, 2008 - 6:42pm The Israeli and Palestinian leaders met here on Tuesday amid growing dissonance over the content of their talks and the kind of agreement they are trying to achieve. The prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, met in the evening at Mr. Olmert’s official residence, first accompanied by their negotiating teams and then alone, a spokesman for Mr. Olmert said. » Read more

February 19th

Who's He Kidding? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 19, 2008 - 6:48pm Essentially, the Sderot residents are a new version of "the victims of peace." Government spokesmen explain that an invasion of the Gaza Strip may strike a fatal blow to Mahmoud Abbas, the partner, because peace negotiations with the West Bank Palestinian leadership cannot take place under the shadow of scenes of hundreds of Palestinian casualties caused by an Israeli invasion of the Strip. » Read more

Intifada Redux ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) February 19, 2008 - 6:47pm The intifada is back. Maybe not in full force, but the sights we saw last weekend suddenly brought us back 20 years. Israel Defense Forces bulldozers blocked the main entrance to the village of Azoun. Its roads were strewn with stones; Molotov cocktails were thrown; the IDF distributed threatening fliers; a curfew was imposed; and dozens of young men gathered on streetcorners, slingshots in hand, waiting for IDF jeeps - just as then. » Read more

Israel Says 'no' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Antiwar by Ran Hacohen - February 19, 2008 - 6:45pm On Jan. 23 Ha'aretz readers were utterly embarrassed. Just as the quality paper was printing its top headline, based on Israel's omniscient "security sources" – "New Israeli Policy in Gaza: Border Crossings Will Stay Closed" – the border crossings between Gaza and Egypt were being opened; a few hours later, they didn't exist anymore. Once again, the regional power was caught in surprise; Hamas won by breaking the siege. » Read more

Shoot Or Talk? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) February 19, 2008 - 6:44pm It's no coincidence that tensions between Israel and both Hizballah and Hamas are escalating. Israel confronts these militant Islamist movements on two of its borders. Their activities are closely linked to Iran's aggressive drive to expand its regional influence and Syria's role as henchman. » Read more

Kouchner Believes Israelis Heard Him On Settlements, Palestinian Issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna) February 19, 2008 - 6:41pm French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who returned February 17 after a two-day visit to the Palestinian territories and Israel, believes that he was heard by Israel when he brought up a number of important issues relative to the peace process and Palestinian development, officials here said. » Read more