On Shalit deal, Hamas-Israel gaps are greater than common ground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Ofer Dekel and Yuval Diskin brought back a mixed message from Cairo Monday night: Progress had been made on the names of prisoners to be released in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit (in other words, Israel is prepared to free more prisoners than before), but significant disagreement remains over what to do with the released prisoners. The gaps are greater than the common ground. » Read more

Freeman and the Defamation of the Zionist Lobby ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am Former diplomat Charles Freeman was not shy with regards to openly pointing the finger at the Zionist lobby for being behind the organized smear Campaign against him in order to prevent his appointment as Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council. Now the sniping has continued between the former ambassador and the pro-Israeli groups in newspapers, on websites, and on news channels. » Read more

Where is the Palestinian Dialogue Headed? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) March 15, 2009 - 12:00am Save for an unexpected surprise, the Palestinian dialogue in Cairo, under Egyptian sponsorship, is still marking its time. Such a dialogue would not have been possible had it not been for a series of Arab pressures on its parties, as well as for the Hamas movement's need to maintain bridges of communication with Egypt, especially after the broad and decisive international and Arab support of Egypt's efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue, both in terms of politics and of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. » Read more