February 7th

UK to Israel: help us curb Iran with Palestine deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - February 6, 2011 - 1:00am Israel could bolster the international campaign to head off Iran's nuclear programme by pursuing peace with the Palestinians, Britain said on Sunday. » Read more

Palestinian contractors say owed millions by PA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 7, 2011 - 1:00am In the course of its state-building program, the Palestinian Authority has accumulated millions of dollars in debts owed to contractors, the union of Palestinian contractors said Sunday, urging officials to pay companies what they are owed. "The union demands that the Palestinian government pays contractors in return for the projects they executed for the government. Huge debts have been accumulated since November 2010, and some contractors have overdrawn their bank accounts," said Adel Auda, union chief in the West Bank. » Read more

Why are peace talks secret? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Jessica Brandt - (Opinion) February 7, 2011 - 1:00am Op-ed: Israel, PA must do better job of preparing public opinion for necessary concessions The recently released Palestine Papers make for juicy reading, but they aren’t really news. They tell us what any close observer of the conflict already knows: that an agreement will require both sides to ease their grip on long-held taboos and come to compromise that meets the long term national interests of both peoples. » Read more

Abbas, Abdullah meet as region remains in turmoil ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 7, 2011 - 1:00am President Mahmoud Abbss sat with Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday, the PA government press agency WAFA reported, saying the two discussed the latest political developments in the region. The two met as Jordan's Islamists refused to join a new government, days after Abdullah sacked the old cabinet and appointed a new prime minister, and the International Quartet warned that instability in Egypt could derail the peace process. » Read more

Protesters rally in Ramallah in solidarity with Egyptians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 7, 2011 - 1:00am Protesters rallied in Ramallah on Saturday in solidarity with the Egyptian people's uprising against their government. Residents, students and civil society representatives raised Egyptian flags and posters calling on the Egyptian president to resign. Protesters held banners including "From Ramallah to Tahrir Square, the people want change," and "Down with oppressive regimes." Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi attended the rally, as did Mamdouh Al-Ikir, the commissioner general of the Independent Commission for Human Rights. » Read more

Why Israel fears a free Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Aaron David Miller - (Editorial) February 6, 2011 - 1:00am Having dealt with the Israelis for the better part of 40 years, I have learned never to dismiss or trivialize their foundational fears. As both former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and current premier Binyamin Netanyahu reminded me on different occasions, Israelis don't live in some leafy Washington suburb, but in a much tougher neighborhood. And today, it is impossible to overstate the angst, even hysteria, that Israelis are feeling about their neighborhood as they watch what is unfolding in the streets of Cairo. » Read more

Israel says no to more Egyptian troops in Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - February 7, 2011 - 1:00am Senior army official: We don’t want it to seem as if the peace treaty is meaningless, particularly when there could be a regime change in Cairo. Fearing a complete breakdown of the peace treaty with Cairo, the government last week refused a second Egyptian request to allow it to deploy more military forces in Sinai, The Jerusalem Post has learned. » Read more

Revolt in Egypt, impact on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - February 6, 2011 - 1:00am WE are in the middle of a geological event. An earthquake of epoch-making dimensions is changing the landscape of our region. People are afraid of change. Israelis are no exception. While in neighboring Egypt earth-shattering events were taking place, Israel was absorbed with a scandal in the army high command. But what is happening now in Egypt will change our lives. As usual, nobody foresaw it. The much-feted Mossad was taken by surprise, as was the CIA. Yet there should have been no surprise at all — except about the incredible force of the eruption. » Read more

Why the Palestinian Authority Is Worried About Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Karl Vick - February 5, 2011 - 1:00am On the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority (PA) headed by Mahmoud Abbas may not qualify as a sovereign government. But it is moderate and U.S.-backed, and has been behaving of late like one of the region's brittle and freshly vulnerable autocratic regimes. » Read more

February 4th

Between the hammer and the anvil ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Oraib Al-Rantawi - February 3, 2011 - 1:00am Over the last decade, Jordan's policies have centered on a single assumption: that the creation of a viable Palestinian state is a major pillar of Jordan's security and stability. Even more so, it is vital to Jordan's existence and identity. Based on this assumption, Jordan stood firm behind the peace process and was a strong supporter of the two-state solution. In that light, Jordan supported the Arab Peace Initiative and US President George W. Bush's vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Equally, Jordan called for the implementation of the roadmap and signed agreements. » Read more