March 4th

Hamas Meets Jordanian Official, Says Frozen Ties Starting To Thaw ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Officials from Hamas have met with a top Jordanian security official to try to patch up ties soured since 2006 by charges that the Islamist Palestinian group was planning to carry out attacks in Jordan. Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh said on Friday that the contacts, involving two Hamas officials and Jordan's intelligence chief, Mohammed al-Thahabi, could help reconcile Hamas with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction. » Read more

Rice Set For Another Mideast Visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit the Middle East next week in another attempt to achieve progress towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, officials said on Monday. The United States has said it hopes to conclude a framework peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. But the talks have stumbled over disputes over Israeli settlement building and the future of Jerusalem. » Read more

Qatar To Mediate Between Hamas, Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Qatar has entered the mediation efforts between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas in a new bid to achieve reconciliation between the two sides, Palestinian sources said on Saturday. "Qatar, as a state of strategic weight in the region, seeks to sponsor the mediation between Hamas and Fatah to end the internal split and reunite the two wings of Palestine," the sources said. » Read more

Israel To Free Prisoners In Gesture To Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Israel confirmed on Sunday it would release 200 of some 11,000 Palestinians it holds prisoners in the hope of shoring up support for President Mahmoud Abbas and the peace talks he is conducting with the Jewish state. "The idea is to strengthen the process of dialogue, to strengthen the hand of the moderates, to strengthen the peace process," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before the Cabinet agreed to his proposal to free about 200 people. » Read more

The Only Alternative To Two States Is Conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 18, 2008 - 12:00am With Palestinians facing greater and greater difficulties in their struggle to achieve an independent state in the territories occupied by Israel in the war of 1967, a serious debate has been sparked over the viability of the two-state solution. » Read more

One State Definitely Not An Option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am On both sides of the green line and, indeed, wherever people think about solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a lot of old/new thinking is taking place. Old, because there is really nothing new under the sun when it comes to solutions for Israelis and Palestinians. But new, because after 15 years of concentrated and largely fruitless efforts to solve the conflict with a negotiated two-state solution, we now encounter more and more discussion of alternatives. » Read more

What Happened To The "vision" Of A Two-state Solution? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yisrael Harel - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am A few years ago, at a dialogue meeting between Israelis and Palestinians, the Palestinians were asked what they thought of the idea voiced by Ariel Sharon that Jordan, with more than two-thirds of its population Palestinian, is in fact a Palestinian state. And if that is not today the case, then when Jordan becomes a constitutional monarchy or enjoys some other form of regime that expresses the will of the majority, it will indeed become Palestinian. » Read more

Hamas May Try Fatah General In Absentia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am In the first case of its kind, a Hamas "security court" in the Gaza Strip has issued a warrant for the arrest of Gen. Rashid Abu Shabak, the former commander of the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service. The warrant gives Abu Shabak 10 days to hand himself over to the Hamas security forces in Gaza City or face being tried in absentia. The court ruled that Abu Shabak should be arrested for misusing public funds and abusing his powers. » Read more

Olmert: Barak Blocking Cabinet Debate On Defense Issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday accused Defense Minister Ehud Barak of blocking cabinet debate on issues of security. "Because of you, it is impossible to conduct a serious discussion on the defense establishment," Olmert told Barak during the cabinet's weekly meeting in Jerusalem. » Read more

Palestinian Pm: Israel Should Free More Than Just 200 Prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shahar Ilan - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to release close to 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority, but said Israel should release even larger numbers of prisoners. The cabinet approved the release of the Palestinian prisoners, including two prisoners "with blood on their hands," meaning they were directly involved in the killing of Israelis, during the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning. » Read more