February 24th

Israel Releases 198 Palestinian Prisoners As Rice Visits ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi - August 25, 2008 - 12:00am Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday, seeking to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a new peace mission. Making her seventh visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this year in the long-shot U.S. effort to secure a peace agreement by December, Rice welcomed the release as "something that matters a lot to the Palestinians." » Read more

The ‘one-state Solution’ Is Full Of Dangers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am Every so often comes a remorseful Israeli leftist academic, a well-meaning Western peace activist, or a frustrated Palestinian official like Ahmed Qurie, the head of the Palestinian peace delegation, who pronounces the death of the two-state formula and advocates a one-state solution on the whole land of historic Palestine as a way to end the 60-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Settler Accused Of Injuring Palestinian With Stone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Raanan Ben-Zur - August 25, 2008 - 12:00am A young man suspected of injuring Palestinian mother and her two daughters stands trial. The State Prosecutor's Office on Monday filed an indictment against 19-year-old Daniel Avraham of the settlement of Yitzhar, accusing him of injuring a pregnant mother and her seven and two-year-old daughters. According to the indictment, a Palestinian family – Mali Hazen, his wife Palestine, who was seven months pregnant at the time, and their three daughters – drove by Yitzhar on August 1. » Read more

The Right Move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The release scheduled for today of 198 Palestinian prisoners, many of them convicted of serious terrorist offenses--including two who were directly involved in the murder of Israelis prior to the Oslo accord of 1993--is a smart and courageous move by the otherwise highly problematic Olmert government. If it introduces some logic into criteria for future prisoner release by Israel it could have a positive strategic effect beyond its immediate confidence-building impact on Israeli-Palestinian relations. » Read more

Partial Process Of Prisoner Releases Is Devoid Of Context ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Walid Salem - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am In the fifteen years that have passed since the Oslo process began, several partial releases of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons have occurred even while the number of Palestinian prisoners continued to increase. How can one understand the seeming paradox that partial releases take place, but the number of prisoners increases because of new Israeli arrests? » Read more

As Rice Arrives In Region, Israel And Pa Far From Peace Accord ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Analysis) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The visit of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will seek to determine whether it will be possible to present an Israeli-Palestinian accord to the world, or even a partial document of agreement, before the end of the current year. Nine months have passed since the Annapolis conference, which was held at the behest of Rice and where the participants promised to "make every effort" to reach a settlement by the end of 2008. Any attempt to redeem that promise will take place in the shadow of a political crisis in Israel. » Read more

Let Them Stay In Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 25, 2008 - 12:00am The question Kadima voters must ask themselves on the way to the polls is not which candidate is most qualified to order the army chief of staff, at 3 A.M., to launch strikes against Iran. That decision will in any event be made at the White House. The question they face is tenfold more difficult and no less fateful: Which candidate is capable of instructing the chief of staff, at 3 P.M., to evacuate 110 settlements in the West Bank. After all, this was Kadima's major promise to its voters. » Read more

Israel Group Reports Sharp Increases In Settlement Activity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - August 26, 2008 - 12:00am Peace Now, the Israeli advocacy group, said in a report released Tuesday that in the last year Israel has nearly doubled its settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, in violation of its obligations under an American-backed peace plan. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Jerusalem on a short visit to help Israeli and Palestinian leaders in their negotiations, said when asked about the report that she has told Israeli officials that such building does not advance the cause of peace. » Read more

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad: Palestinian factions should unite and make peace with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by Sadie Goldman - (Interview) February 24, 2009 - 1:00am In an interview released yesterday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, called for a united Palestinian government that includes Fatah and Hamas, and would continue the peace process with Israel. The following are key excerpts: On Palestinian reconciliation, » Read more

Hillary Clinton said to be planning Middle East trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Israel and the West Bank next week for her first trip to the region as America's top diplomat, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday. The Israeli officials said Clinton would arrive in Israel on March 2 for two days of meetings with leaders. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not been announced by the State Department, which had not released Clinton's schedule for next week. » Read more