February 19th

3 Qassam rockets strike western Negev; no one hurt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Three Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip Thursday evening struck open areas in the western Negev, causing no damage or injuries. The first hit near Sderot and several hours later, two more rockets exploded near Netivot. Two Qassams were also fired into southern Israel Thursday morning. In response to the morning attack, Israel Air Force warplanes bombed six smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, the army said. » Read more

Livni: No Kadima fig-leaf for coalition that won't advance peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Shortly after Avigdor Lieberman announced his endorsement of Likud Chair Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister, Kadima Chair Tzipi Livni said Thursday she would not sit in a government that fails to advance the peace process. "Kadima represents a number of things Israel needs, from advancing the peace process and fighting terror to domestic issues that have to be addressed," Livni said during a visit to southern Israel. "Kadima won't provide cover for a government of paralysis," she said, hinting that she would not join a rightist coalition headed by Netanyahu. » Read more

Key prisoners at center of Israeli-Hamas negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Israel on Wednesday increased pressure on Hamas to free Gilad Shalit, the soldier held by the Gaza militants, by saying it would not agree to a long-term cease-fire deal, open borders into the coastal strip, or release the 1,000 prisoners that Hamas wants freed until they know he is coming home. The Israeli Security Cabinet's stance angered Egyptian mediators and Hamas officials who say a prisoner swap, which appeared imminent, should be a separate issue from truce talks. » Read more

The Middle East starts to feel the Obama effect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Sooner or later it had to happen: someone had to start talking to Hamas. Today we report that a back channel already exists. French parliamentarians have met the Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, with Syria as the go-between. MPs from other European countries, including Britain, have met lower-level Hamas representatives since the start of the year. This makes perfect sense. It is the way all pariah groups or states are enticed in from the cold. Negotiations begin unofficially, through third parties and with the necessary element of deniability. » Read more

Kerry and 2 U.S. Representatives Visit Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Taghreed El-Khodary - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Three congressional Democrats, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, visited Gaza on Thursday, saying they wanted to see for themselves the destruction caused by Israel’s war last month and assess the area’s needs. They were the first American government officials to visit this Palestinian coastal strip run by Hamas in more than three years and the first American legislators to come here since 2000, according to a spokeswoman for the American Consulate in Jerusalem. » Read more

Netanyahu PM bid wins key support ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel's right-wing Likud party, has won the backing of a leading far-right party for his bid to become PM. Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman said he wanted to see a "wide" coalition government taking in the three largest parties. But Mr Netanyahu's rival for PM, Tzipi Livni, indicated she would prefer opposition to a unity government. The process follows an inconclusive general election on 10 February. President Shimon Peres is holding consultations with Israeli political parties to determine who to task with forming a government. » Read more

Break down the US-Arab door with mutual respect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) February 19, 2009 - 1:00am Is a new page being turned in relations between the Arab and Islamic world and the United States? It would seem so, to judge by many of the interactions at the three-day annual US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, hosted by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center and the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. » Read more

Palestinian unity talks delayed as new rift emerges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star February 19, 2009 - 1:00am The Egyptian state news agency MENA quoted a senior Egyptian official as saying on Wednesday that Cairo-brokered talks aimed at reconciling feuding Palestinian factions have been delayed. "Palestinian reconciliation talks scheduled for February 22 have been delayed for a short period because more discussions are needed," the unidentified official said. The talks are part of an Egyptian-proposed plan to end Israel's massive three-week offensive against the Gaza Strip in December and January that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom the UN said were civilians. » Read more

Awaiting Israel's next step ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Analysis) February 18, 2009 - 1:00am The optimists in the Middle East, and they hardly exceed the number of fingers on one's hand, are wondering whether Benjamin Netanyahu, who may be charged of forming the new Israeli government, will pull a Richard Nixon out of his bag. After all, it was this former conservative American president who paved the way for establishing diplomatic relations with Communist China when he visited there in 1972. » 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