May 30th

U.s. Withdraws Fulbright Grants To Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - May 30, 2008 - 4:56pm The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave. Israel has isolated this coastal strip, which is run by the militant group Hamas. Given that policy, the United States Consulate in Jerusalem said the grant money had been “redirected” to students elsewhere out of concern that it would go to waste if the Palestinian students were forced to remain in Gaza. » Read more

May 29th

After Olmert ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 29, 2008 - 9:42pm Ehud Olmert's term as prime minister, which began with Ariel Sharon's coma, is about to end with Morris Talansky's testimony. It is possible that, as in the first chapter in which Olmert served as acting prime minister until the elections, the last chapter will be a twilight zone in which his seat is vacated in fact but not in theory - due to a vacation or temporary incapacitation. But the terminology is not important. The substance is that Olmert can no longer stand at the helm of Israel's government. » Read more

The Palestine Investment Conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - (Opinion) May 29, 2008 - 9:42pm Perhaps the greatest achievement of last week’s Palestine Investment Conference was not the announcement that $1.4 billion would be invested in the West Bank and Gaza or that 35,000 new jobs would be created, but the fact that the conference was held in the first place. » Read more

Fayyad Addresses Graduation Ceremony Of 2nd Battalion In Jericho ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-hayaht Al-jadidah by Imad Abu-sumbul - May 29, 2008 - 9:40pm Fayyad, Other Officials Participate in Graduation Ceremony of Second Special Battalion of National Security Forces Following Training in Jordan; Jericho--Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad conveyed the greetings and blessings of President Mahmud Abbas, the commander in chief of the Palestinian security forces, to his sons the members of the National Security Forces and the graduates from the second special battalion of the Palestinian National Security Forces, who received training in fraternal Jordan at the graduation ceremony in Jericho. » Read more

Palestinians Pin Hopes Of Economic Recovery On High-tech Companies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press May 29, 2008 - 9:38pm Hunched over laptops in red cubicles, Palestinian software engineers are developing an award-winning new version of a program that makes desktop computer accessible from anywhere. But beyond such technological breakthroughs, the young graduates of West Bank universities are blazing a trail, in this case with Israeli colleagues, for the fledgling Palestinian high-tech industry which many hope will bypass the old obstacles of the Mideast conflict and one day drive the sluggish Palestinian economy. » Read more

Tutu: Gaza Blockade Abomination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News May 29, 2008 - 9:37pm Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has called Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip an "abomination". He strongly condemned what he called international "silence and complicity" on the blockade, which he compared to the actions of Burma's leaders. Speaking at the end of a two day mission to the area, the former archbishop said the humanitarian situation there could not be justified. Earlier, 60 Palestinians were detained in an Israeli raid on northern Gaza. » Read more

Israel's Defense Minister Says Olmert Must Step Down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Bourdreaux - May 29, 2008 - 9:36pm Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that he would use his political clout to bring down the coalition government if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not step aside to face possible bribery charges. The ultimatum by Ehud Barak, a former prime minister who heads the coalition's second-biggest party, raised pressure on the Israeli leader to resign or at least temporarily step aside before a criminal investigation runs its course. » Read more

Fighting For Arab Moderation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Scott MacLeod - (Blog) May 29, 2008 - 9:35pm Marwan Muasher, a former Jordanian deputy prime minister and foreign minister, has just published The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press). It's one of the most important books on the Middle East, and is required reading for everyone interested in finding solutions to the many problems the region faces today.   » Read more

The Fatah Revolutionary Council And Fayyad’s Government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam by Hani Habib - (Opinion) May 29, 2008 - 9:33pm It was possible for the 25th session of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, which concluded recently, to have been the most important and significant of all its past meetings, since it was held under difficult and complex circumstances that are affecting all aspects of the Palestinian movement. These difficult circumstances include the political separation between Ramallah and Gaza, the failure of the Palestinian-Israel negotiating process, and the continuation of Israeli aggression. » Read more

May 28th

One Country Or Two? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-ayyam by Qays Abd Al-kareem (abu Leila) - (Opinion) May 28, 2008 - 6:26pm Talking about a onestate solution, as opposed to a two-state solution, would be escaping forward and avoiding all the hard obstacles that are facing the Palestinian struggle for liberation, instead of actually allowing us to deal with and resolve these obstacles. The reality is that a one state solution, if it is wanted to be truly democratic and ensure racial equality between both people, cannot be achieved without having to go through a two-state solution first. » Read more