Moving On To 'stage-two Zionism' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sarah Kreimer - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:34pm 'Make a decision - are you citizens of Israel, or of the Palestinian Authority?" Yisrael Beitenu MK David Rotem challenged the Arab citizens of Israel in a recent Israeli news interview. Sadly, on the eve of Israel's 60th celebration of independence, ongoing Israeli policy is pushing almost one-fifth of our citizenry - the Arab Israelis, or Palestinian citizens of Israel - into the corner of choosing between being Israelis or being Palestinians; when, in fact, they are both. » Read more

Spare Your Explanations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:33pm   Let’s assume, for a moment, that the Israeli version of Monday’s incident in Gaza is accurate, real, and honest. Let’s assume, just for a moment, that a gunship hit a group of terrorists, and they happened to be right next to a Gaza mother and her four children, and the gunship hit the terrorists’ explosives, which ended up killing the mother and children. So what? » Read more

Things Are Moving, But The Us Is Absent ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:31pm One of the important developments in Middle Eastern diplomacy that becomes more obvious with every passing month is the continued marginalization of the United States. As the Bush administration and the American presidential candidates find themselves focusing most of their Middle East-related attention on the complex challenges the US invasion of Iraq has created, other important regional issues seem to be moving into the hands of local players and mediators. » Read more

Middle East Peace Must Include Solution For Palestinian Refugees, Ban Ki-moon Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations News Service April 30, 2008 - 6:30pm A sustainable peace in the Middle East will have to factor in a viable and just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a United Nations meeting convened in Paris to assess the condition of the refugees and examine the role of the world body in alleviating their plight. » Read more

Israeli Ex-generals, Palestinian Officials Say Israel Can Remove 10 Key Checkpoints ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press April 30, 2008 - 6:29pm Israel should remove 10 major West Bank checkpoints to give a badly needed boost to the Palestinian economy and can do so without compromising security, a group of Israeli ex-generals and Palestinian officials said in a joint report Wednesday. The 10 checkpoints cause major disruptions to Palestinian trade and movement, said the report, whose authors include two former chiefs of Israel's military government in the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinians 'losing Hope' For Peace Deal - Rice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press April 30, 2008 - 6:27pm US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told an American Jewish group that young Palestinians are losing hope for a peace agreement with Israel. Her comments came during a sobering speech on Tuesday evening to the American Jewish Committee at their 102nd annual meeting in Washington. Rice is set to leave early on Thursday for more Middle East peace talks with Arab and Israeli leaders, after a meeting in London designed to raise more economic support for the Palestinians. » Read more

New Gaza Tragedy Threatens Cairo Truce Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - April 30, 2008 - 6:23pm This much is clear: A devastating blast Monday in Gaza killed five members of the same family – a mother and four children. But whose ammunition was responsible has turned into another bitter dispute as Israeli and Palestinian officials each blame the other. » Read more

Israel’s Pride And Prejudice At 60 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Dominique Moïsi - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:23pm If 60 is for an individual the age of maturity, it is a very young age for a state. Israel remains, for the lack of a better word, an adolescent state, the young incarnation of a very old dream. It is an adolescent torn between pride and resentment on one hand, and hope and fear on the other. » Read more

Israel Gets Ready To Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe (Editorial) April 30, 2008 - 6:22pm IN A MESSAGE to Syria's President Bashar Assad last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert affirmed that Israel would give all the occupied Golan Heights back to Syria in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement. This move was belated but wise. It could alter the Middle East chessboard for the better, greatly reducing the chances of a disastrous new regional conflagration. » Read more