February 5th

Israel’s hypocrisy in Haiti ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Aijaz Zaka Syed - (Opinion) February 5, 2010 - 1:00am Israeli hypocrisy would be comical, if its consequences weren’t so tragic. These days, Israeli media and Israel’s powerful friends in the US media have been tomtomming about the noble help and rescue mission Israelis have undertaken in the remote, quake-hit island of Haiti. » Read more

Silver lining? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) February 5, 2010 - 1:00am Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak seems to have suddenly had the revelation that unless there is peace with Syria, war with it could easily happen, with the potential of escalating into a wider armed conflict. What Barak has just come to realise has been common knowledge in the region for the past four or five decades, including the time when he was prime minister of his country. Maybe he can also remember that it was he who scuppered the peace accord with Syria during the term in office of US president Bill Clinton. » Read more

A Fresh Attempt at Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am It was not accidental that US President Barack Obama ignored the Middle East issue in his annual speech known as the State of the Union address. He did not refer to the issue at all as part of his administration’s activities, which is worrying, as last year following his presidential victory, he began his speeches by speaking optimistically about the peace process. » Read more

February 4th

In Defense of the American Task Force on Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Front Page by Joshua Muravchik - (Opinion) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am “The Terror and Crime of the American Task Force on Palestine” posted by Joe Kaufman on January 29 was very wide of the mark. Kaufman takes to task various government officials for participation in ATFP’s annual banquet. I regretted having to turn down an invitation to that self-same affair because I was out of town. » Read more

Raze Illegal Buildings - Unless They Are Jewish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am Some of the homes are well-faced with stone; the naked concrete of others gives off something of a temporary air. One block of flats stands out for its unusual seven-storey height in an area of the city where two or three storied buildings are the norm. And then there is the giant, blue-and-white Israeli national flag draped demonstratively over the front of the building, from the roof down to the ground. » Read more

Gaza atrocities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am Shells containing phosphorus, which when exposed to air burns through anything with which it comes into contact, are OK in international law provided that they are not fired at civilians. During its bombardment of the Gaza ghetto, Israel repeatedly denied that it had used shells containing this horrific chemical. In the wake of the incontrovertible UN findings that phosphorus shells were deployed against Gaza’s heavily built up areas, the Israelis changed their tune. » Read more

Time for accountability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am When a senior Hamas operative was assassinated in a Dubai hotel, a murder that the UAE authorities have now said bears all the hallmarks of a Mossad operation, it is to be expected that something will happen in return. Already, other Palestinian factions tried to smuggle a bomb into Israel by way of seeking vengeance. The attempt failed, but more will likely be made again. Hamas, meanwhile, announced an end to prisoner-swap negotiations, at least for the time being, citing not only negative interference from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, but also the murder in Dubai. » Read more

Israel should face international justice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) February 4, 2010 - 1:00am Much as the world has responded generously to assist Haitians after their devastating earthquake last month, the opposite has been true about the impoverished Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have been under an increasingly debilitating siege since the Israeli blitz a little over a year ago. » Read more

Build a Partnership for Peace, Right Here in America ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am With the turbulence surrounding diplomacy and the Middle East peace process, it is more urgent than ever for civil society to unite around the obvious reality that a conflict-ending solution can only be attained through the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security. » Read more

Blair: Gaza's great betrayer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Avi Shlaim - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 1:00am The savage attack Israel ­unleashed against Gaza on 27 December 2008 was both immoral and unjustified. Immoral in the use of force against civilians for political purposes. Unjustified because Israel had a political alternative to the use of force. The home-made Qassam rockets fired by Hamas militants from Gaza on Israeli towns were only the ­excuse, not the reason for Operation Cast Lead. In June 2008, Egypt had ­brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement. » Read more