January 11th

Palestinian attacks test Israel's quick-retaliation policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Analysis) January 9, 2010 - 1:00am A recent spate of cross- border and mortar attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip -- the worst in a year -- is testing Israel's resolve to strike back hard against such provocation. But it remains to be seen whether the get-tough approach will hinder or escalate violence, analysts and officials said Friday. Israeli military planes struck several Gaza targets early Friday, including what Israeli officials described as the first air attack on Gaza City in nearly a year. » Read more

In West Bank, conditions 'not ripe' for Palestinian uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Opinion) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am Born in a refugee camp in this restive West Bank city, Ammar Arafat threw his first stone at 13. At 15, he was jailed for scaling the fence at an Israeli military camp with explosives under his shirt. Upon release, he took up arms again and landed back in prison. Freshly out of jail for the second time, Arafat, 20, is mulling his next move. But nowadays, he has traded in his explosives vest for a designer military jacket with shiny Armani buttons. A more mature Arafat said he wants to enroll in college, find work as a Palestinian police officer and build a stable life. » Read more

U.S. ambition alone won't forge Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Give George Mitchell points for perseverance, at least. Last year the attempt by President Obama's Middle East envoy to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, with an ambitious two-year deadline, was an embarrassing flop. Neither Israelis nor Palestinians showed much interest in new negotiations. As the world watched, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forced the administration to retreat from its demand for a complete freeze on settlement building, while Saudi King Abdullah directly rebuffed Obama after he traveled to Riyadh to ask for a gesture to Israel. » Read more

January 10th

Assessing the Position ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam by Hassan Khader - (Opinion) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am Translated by ATFP Four factors govern Egypt’s policy towards the Gaza Strip: 1. The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the upholding of which is a key priority for Egyptian national security. 2. Concerns triggered by Israel’s desire to transfer responsibility for the Gaza Strip onto the Egyptian state, especially in light of Israel’s redeployment from the strip, and its attempts to rid itself of the obligations imposed by international law on the occupying power. » Read more

January 8th

Sobering up on Arab-Israeli Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am Big decisions should never be made after a night of hard drinking or on the basis of wishful thinking. Almost a year into his presidency, Barack Obama has begun to sober up. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the administration's policy on the Arab-Israeli issue, where a series of tactical mistakes (none fatal) have left the president and his team battered but wiser when it comes to what's possible and what's not. » Read more

Defending Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am No Egyptian should disagree with defending Egypt against all threats, whether from home or abroad. This is why every official charged with safeguarding the country's welfare, from the president and government ministers to representatives in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council take an oath of office in which they pledge not only to promote the interests of the people and uphold the constitution but also to defend the nation and "safeguard the integrity of its territory". » Read more

Steel wall not meant to starve Gazans, says Egyptian envoy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am RIYADH: The Egyptian ambassador to Saudi Arabia has dismissed allegations that a steel underground wall being built by his country on its border with the Gaza Strip is aimed at starving local Palestinian people or forcing them to support any resumption of peace talks with Israel. Mahmoud Ouf issued the denial at the launch of the new Egyptian Cultural Center in Riyadh on Wednesday night. “Forced starvation is not possible because 95 percent of Gaza’s food, medicine and electricity do not come through these tunnels, but via crossing points along the border with Israel,” he said. » Read more

Editorial: ‘Iron Dome’ system ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am Israel says it is about to initiate a major “strategic” shift in its battle with the Palestinians. It has conducted a successful test of a short-range rocket interceptor that will now be rolled out along its border with Gaza in the coming six months. The “Iron Dome” system will, it is said, defend against rockets fired by militant Palestinians into Israel and also against mortar rounds. At a later date, the rocket shield will be deployed along the border with Lebanon. » Read more

Bone of contention ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am The 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls have become a serious bone of contention between Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel after the latter seized them in the wake of its occupation of the West Bank in 1967. The legal squabble over which country has jurisdiction over the artefacts, which were recently on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, threatens to mushroom into a political controversy where the Canadian government could end up taking centre stage. » Read more

J'lem rejects 2-year peace deadline ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Hilary Leila Krieger - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am Israel doesn't want to see deadlines imposed on the negotiating process with the Palestinians, even as the US is endorsing the idea of a two-year time frame. "In the past, attempts to impose time frameworks have not proved either realizable or helpful," Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post. Oren talked to the Post hours before US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said Wednesday night that "we think that the negotiation should last no more than two years. Once begun we think it can be done within that period of time." » Read more