May 7th

Palestinian Police Clash With Militants In West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Bourdreaux - May 7, 2008 - 6:43pm Palestinian policemen dispatched last week to an unruly West Bank district clashed Tuesday with Islamic militants there, wounding two of them during a crackdown that could influence peace talks with Israel. It was the first such confrontation since 480 police reinforcements clad in black and khaki uniforms marched into the city of Jenin before thousands of cheering residents Saturday to launch "Operation Smile and Hope." » Read more

After 60 Years, Arabs In Israel Are Outsiders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - May 7, 2008 - 6:43pm As Israel toasts its 60th anniversary in the coming weeks, rejoicing in Jewish national rebirth and democratic values, the Arabs who make up 20 percent of its citizens will not be celebrating. Better off and better integrated than ever in their history, freer than a vast majority of other Arabs, Israel’s 1.3 million Arab citizens are still far less well off than Israeli Jews and feel increasingly unwanted. » Read more

May 5th

It's Time For Livni ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:34pm As expected, Ehud Olmert stated yesterday at the start of the cabinet meeting that, "I have an agenda as prime minister of Israel, I intend to carry out this agenda, and continue conducting the meetings and performing the tasks I have to do." In other words, he intends to continue the agenda according to which part of his time is spent with investigators and lawyers, and the rest with Mahmoud Abbas and Condoleezza Rice. » Read more

Don't Brand J-street As Anti-zionist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Kimche - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:33pm We tend to make our political calculations based on situations we know, based on the past, and not on changes that are happening before our eyes. Don Rumsfeld once wrote the following delightful truism: There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know. » Read more

Time For National Turning Point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:30pm As Israelis finalize preparations for their momentous 60th anniversary - a date marking 10 years of consistent economic growth and industrious expansion - there remains the underlying question that will go unanswered yet another decade: What will be done with the West Bank and Golan Heights? Despite all of its considerable achievements, cross-border violence persists and Israel's existence remains fundamentally insecure. » Read more

Roadmap Needs Serious Us Monitoring ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:27pm The fifth anniversary of the internationally sponsored roadmap to Palestinian-Israeli peace coincided with an unusual period of intense references to it by politicians and leaders. During both the visit to Washington of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week and the current visit to the region of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attention was focused on the details of the roadmap, which, when it was drafted, enjoyed the support of almost every single country in the world. And yet there is no sign of it being implemented. » Read more

Is The Middle East State System About To Disintegrate? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Joschka Fischer - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:27pm   President George W. Bush's Middle East policy undeniably managed to achieve one thing: It has thoroughly destabilized the region. Otherwise, the results are not at all what the United States had hoped to accomplish. A democratic, pro-Western Middle East is not in the cards. » Read more

Olmert Probe Clouds Abbas Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English May 5, 2008 - 5:24pm A corruption investigation by Israeli police is overshadowing a planned meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister. The pair are set to meet on Monday amid fears the inquiry into Olmert's conduct while he was finance minister could end hopes of a peace deal by the end of the year.  » Read more

Denying Palestinians Free Movement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Palestine Chronicle by Stephen Lendman - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:20pm This article summarizes an August 2007 B'Tselem report now available in print. It's one of a series of studies it conducts on life in Occupied Palestine to reveal what major media accounts suppress. This one is titled: "Ground to a Halt - Denial of Palestinians' Freedom of Movement in the West Bank." » Read more

A Strangled People ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Sami Abdel-shafi - (Opinion) May 5, 2008 - 5:17pm It is a strange feeling: after working as a productive professional in Gaza for five years, I have become a black market junkie. I make several phone calls a day hunting for fuel for my car, diesel for the electricity generator waiting on standby to power the house, even cigarettes and vitamins. The only way to get hold of these things, to buy life-saving medicines, to purchase the essentials for a life of basic dignity, is through the black market, if at all. » Read more