February 12th

Encountering Peace: The Way Forward ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) February 12, 2008 - 7:17pm There is a very curious news black-out both in Israel and in Palestine regarding what President Bush read in the Olmert-Abbas joint statement in Annapolis: "We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008." Are those negotiations taking place? We don't really know. Not only the politicians aren't talking, most of the media is not reporting, the international community is silent and I have even heard that Tony Blair has instructed members of his staff to keep quiet. » Read more

Gaza, Stripped ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by Dennis Ross - (Opinion) February 12, 2008 - 7:15pm In the wake of Hamas blowing up the border fence between Egypt and Gaza the images of Palestinians from Gaza streaming across the border into Egypt were unsettling to the Israelis, Egyptians, Palestinian Authority, and Bush Administration. Only Hamas benefited from the images. In breaking down the wall sealing the Sinai from Gaza, Hamas seemed to liberate Palestinians besieged in Gaza and outmaneuvered all those trying to build pressure on it to change its behavior. » Read more

Palestinian Questions Peace Progress ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Anne Gearan - February 12, 2008 - 7:15pm The U.S.-backed Palestinian prime minister said Monday that time is running short to demonstrate progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks President Bush launched to fanfare last fall. "Unless there is tangible progress in the period immediately ahead" on a list of pledges made by Israel, "I think, honestly, it would require that we begin to really call this for what it is," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said. Fayyad did not write off the peace effort, but said there is good reason for skepticism. » Read more

Palestinians Ask U.s. To Intervene In Suits Over Terrorist Attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - February 12, 2008 - 7:14pm The State Department is considering supporting the Palestinian Authority in its quest to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments won by American victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel, according to Palestinian officials and defense lawyers involved in the cases. » Read more

Israeli Casts Doubt On Pact This Year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - February 12, 2008 - 7:13pm A senior Israeli minister said Monday that his country hoped to reach agreement with the Palestinians on a “declaration of principles” for peace by the end of the year, but not on a detailed peace treaty. » Read more

The Us Helps Itself By Helping Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Samir Abdullah - February 12, 2008 - 7:13pm In his final State of the Union address, US President George W. Bush said he believed that a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal would be a reality by the end of his term. Despite the optimism that his remarks generated in the Palestinian government, the goal of reaching a Palestinian-Israeli agreement by the end of 2008 - which Bush set at the Annapolis summit last year and again during his visit to Ramallah last month - remains subject to question, and this is a matter that merits immediate attention. » Read more

February 11th

Hamas Leaders Go Into Hiding As Israel Plans Targeted Killings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Barak Ravid, And Avi Issacharoff, Haar And News Agencies - February 11, 2008 - 9:42pm Leaders of the ruling Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip have scaled back their public appearances and stepped up other security measures, fearing Israeli assassination attempts in response to a wave of Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel, Hamas officials said Monday. The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet internal security service are preparing to step up assassinations against key Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip in response to the continued Qassam rocket attacks against Sderot. » Read more

Palestinians Still Reject Hamas Actions In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor February 11, 2008 - 9:39pm The vast majority of Palestinians continue to think negatively of Hamas’ forceful takeover of the Gaza Strip last year, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 72 per cent of respondents oppose the group’s actions, down two points since December. » Read more

Rice To Mideast Next Week To Push Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 11, 2008 - 9:37pm US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next week to push peace talks stalled amid escalating violence, Palestinian officials said on Sunday. Rice "will visit us within the coming days and she will try to push the negotiations," Ahmed Qorei, the former prime minister heading the Palestinian team in the revived Middle East peace talks, told journalists. » Read more

Israel Mourns Holocaust Survivor Lantos ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times February 11, 2008 - 9:33pm Israel on Monday hailed the late US congressman Tom Lantos, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who played a key role in rallying US support for the Jewish state. Israel "expresses great sorrow" over the loss of the 80-year-old Lantos, who died earlier the same day from cancer of the esophagus, the foreign ministry said. Lantos "was a leader in promoting Israeli-US ties in Congress. His commitment to human rights and the commemoration of the Holocaust were the pillars of his public work," it said. » Read more