Obama Advisor: Jerusalem Must Be Included In Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - May 13, 2008 - 6:13pm Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to Israel and advisor of U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama, said Tuesday that Jerusalem must be included in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "It will be impossible to make progress on serious peace talks without putting the future of Jerusalem on the table," Kurtzer said in a conference organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI). » Read more

Right Of Reply: We Simply Support Peace Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Seymour D. Reich And Peter A. Joseph - (Opinion) May 13, 2008 - 6:12pm Isi Leibler does not miss an opportunity to misrepresent the positions or purpose of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), as he has done once again in his April 29 Candidly Speaking column, "With Friends like These..." » Read more

America's Elusive Search For Arab-israeli Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 13, 2008 - 6:11pm My book The Much Too Promised Land had a very strange origin in that I really never intended to write it. I "resigned" from the State Department in January 2003 because I had concluded - and nothing has changed my mind in the past five years - that the road to Arab-Israeli peace was going to be a long and bumpy one. It had come time for me to take a break after 25 years of providing varying degrees of advice - some good, some bad - to a number of secretaries of state. » Read more

Abbas Is A Viable Peace Partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - May 13, 2008 - 6:10pm US President George W. Bush said on Monday that he could not envisage the Middle East evolving "without a Palestinian state that's free and democratic." Bush, who flies to Israel on Tuesday, told The Jerusalem Post that he remains convinced that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is a partner for peace. And he went on to say, at a briefing with the Post and three other Israeli journalists in the Oval Office, that he was still convinced that an accord on Palestinian statehood was attainable this year. » Read more

Israel Sets Terms For Gaza Truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News May 13, 2008 - 6:08pm Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked Egypt’s intelligence chief yesterday to tell Gaza fighters a truce would be conditional upon progress being made toward freeing a captive Israeli soldier. Olmert also asked Omar Suleiman to tell the Palestinian armed factions they would have to stop smuggling arms into Gaza if they want Israel to accept the Egyptian-brokered proposals to halt the violence in the besieged territory. » Read more

The Other Nakba ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam May 13, 2008 - 6:08pm (ATFP Transation by Mike Husseini) » Read more

Tony Blair Unveils Deal To Boost Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by David Byers - May 13, 2008 - 6:06pm ony Blair today unveiled the first fruits of his labours as Middle East peace envoy, outlining an economic deal between Israel and the Palestinians which he claimed would boost the West Bank. The former Prime Minister said that Israel had agreed to remove trade and travel barriers for Palestinians in order to allow the territory to grow economically ahead of a final peace deal between the sides. » Read more

Hamas Rejects Israeli Truce Terms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News May 13, 2008 - 6:04pm Hamas has said that the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in 2006, will not form part of any truce agreement with Israel. Israel has said a ceasefire deal must include the release of the soldier. Cpl Shalit was seized in a cross-border raid two years ago by Palestinian militants, including members of Hamas. Egyptian intelligence chief was in Jerusalem on Monday talking to Israeli officials about a ceasefire offer by the Gaza Strip's militant groups. » Read more

Israel To Relax West Bank Restrictions, Says Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by James. Orr - May 13, 2008 - 6:03pm Israel has agreed to ease severe travel and trade restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the Middle East envoy Tony Blair said today. In an announcement aimed at bolstering forthcoming peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Blair described the breakthrough as a "significant first step". The news came on the eve of a visit by the US president, George Bush, to Israel to celebrate its 60th anniversary. » Read more

Econ Progress In The West Bank Lays Basis For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by John D. Mckinnon - May 13, 2008 - 5:58pm President Bush departs Tuesday for a Mideast peace mission that on the surface appears unpromising. But administration officials say there is quiet movement on the outlines of a future Palestinian state and that momentum is building on the economic-development front, particularly in the Palestinian West Bank. Even if Mr. Bush's 11th-hour push for a peace deal ultimately fails, growing investment in the area is pointing the way toward possible longer-term progress, officials say. » Read more