The LA Times reports on how renewed Israeli-Palestinian final status negotiations are causing tensions within Israel's governing coalition (2.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency gives an Israeli perspective on what significance the Bush Mideast visit has (4.) A Middle East Times opinion by Maria Appakova gauges the possibility of reaching a Mideast peace deal by the end of 2008, spurred on by President Bush's professed zeal in achieving this goal (6.) A Financial Times (UK) editorial stresses the importance for President Bush's wider Mideast foreign policy agenda in achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace (7.) Der Spiegel (Germany) examines the resonance of the Bush democracy agenda during his current Mideast visit (9.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) opinion by UK secretary of state for international development Douglas Alexander, published in collaboration with Common Ground News Service, stresses the importance of the international community's financial and political support for the Palestinians in order to capitalize on the momentum of Annapolis and the Paris donor conference (11.) An Arab News (Saudi Arabia ) editorial is critical of the Bush attempt to rally and Arab coalition against Iran as heavy on threats and light on diplomacy (13.) Haaretz (Israel) reports on clarification regarding U.S. opposition to both settlement 'natural growth' and expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank (14.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Amir Oren analyzes how Secretary Rice has prepared a team of U.S. officials to push for Israeli actions that yield positive results on the ground (15.)

Reuters looks at the growing success of the slowly redeploying Palestinian police to reestablish law and order in West Bank cities (2.) The Washington Post examines how the issue of illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the West Bank have become the front line in the struggle over withdrawal from occupied land (4.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports on where Israelis are leaning concerning the U.S. presidential election (6.) Americans For Peace Now presents its weekly excerpts from the Israeli press (7.) A Guardian (UK) editorial parses statements made by President Bush during his Israel-Palestine trip to find little substance (9.) The Times (UK) examines how the U.S. drive for Mideast democracy has faltered since it was declared a central theme of American foreign policy three years ago (11.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) opinion by Rami Khouri argues that the combination of citizen disenfranchisement and lack of state sovereignty in the Middle East has contributed to the rise in power of Islamists (12.) Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) reviews official Palestinian reaction across the political spectrum to President Bush's statements about the Palestinian refugee issue during his Israel-Palestine visit (14.) In Haaretz (Israel) Akiva Eldar urges the Israeli government to consider whether any of its military or political actions regarding the Palestinians serve to strengthen or undermine President Abbas before conducting them (15.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Uzi Benziman takes the Israeli public to task for not pushing their leadership to adopt a peace agreement with the Palestinians the parameters of which are known to all (17.)

The Washington Post gauges whether statements by President Bush regarding an Israeli-Palestinian settlement represent a shift in U.S. policy (1.) The Associated Press lays out U.S. expectations regarding Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and a peace deal as articulated by President Bush during his visit (3.) The New York Times reports on deep Palestinian public skepticism regarding the Bush visit and its ability to achieve progress (4.) In Israel Policy Forum, MJ Rosenberg stresses the importance of concrete steps on the ground in order to transform Presidential rhetoric on Israel-Palestine to reality (5.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency parses the Bush summary of his Israel-Palestine during his visit for statements of substance regarding negotiations and a final settlement (7.) A San Francisco Chronicle editorial compliments President Bush on the clarity of his statements on Israel-Palestine during his visit and urges him keep up a sustained engagement (8.) The Independent analyzes the tougher-than-usual language employed by President Bush towards both the Israelis and Palestinians during his visit, particularly regarding the Israeli occupation (10.) The Economist (UK) is skeptical that President Bush can realize his two-state vision by the end of his presidency, instead setting a realistic goal of bringing peace closer and making it easier for the next administration to achieve (12.) A Guardian (UK) comment by Jonathan Steele is critical and skeptical of President Bush's ability and desire to effect Israeli-Palestinian peace (14.) Al JAzeera (Qatar) reviews the reaction of press across the Arab world to the Bush Mideast visit (16.) In Haaretz (Israel) Bradley Burston lays out how the Gaza disengagement initiated by former Israeli PM Sharon was meant to greatly diminish Palestinian statehood prospects (18.)

The Washington Post reports on the trip by President Bush to Israel/Palestine and statements he made regarding progress towards Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2008 (2.) The Christian Science Monitor reviews reaction in Israel to the Bush visit (5.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency examines statements made by President Bush to the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships regarding a Palestinian state, settlements and security (7.) The Financial Times (UK) reports on the words of caution President Bush offered the Israelis regarding undermining Palestinian security measures and West Bank checkpoints (9.) The Guardian (UK) looks at how the issue of Israeli settlement expansion in parts of the occupied territories continues to create difficulties with the Palestinians and with American policy (10.) The Times (UK) examines statements by President Bush regarding the issue of the contiguity of a future Palestinian state (12.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial is critical of Israeli policies in Gaza preventing humanitarian and medical cases from seeking treatment outside the territory (14.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by George Hishmeh analyzes the motivations behind the Bush Mideast visit (17.)

USA Today analyzes whether the United States can still be an effective peace broker between Israelis and despite events that have deteriorated the standing of the U.S. in the region in the light of the current trip by President Bush to the region (2.) The Washington Times looks at how tunnels from the Sinai into southern Gaza are able to sustain a basic economy in the strip (4.) A Baltimore Sun opinion by Emily Hauser examines how the volatility and steady rise in the price of oil is linked continuing Israeli-Palestinian tensions (6.) The Christian Science Monitor gauges the reactions of Gazans to the Bush Mideast visit (7.) Also in the Monitor is an opinion by former Mideast correspondent George Moffett in which he outlines Israel's interests in a 2-state solution and the importance of the U.S. in reaching one (8.) A Financial Times (UK) opinion by Zbigniew Brzezinski urges President Bush,as the leader of the only nation able to do so, to spell out the framework of a comprehensive Mideast peace based on four principles (10.) In a Times (UK) comment, Stefanie Marsh encounters despondency and hopelessness during a visit to Gaza (12.) An Arab News (Saudi Arabia) editorial is skeptical of President Bush's ability to achieve a legacy with Israeli-Palestinian peace (14.) In Miftah (Palestine) Joharah Baker is doubtful that the visit of President Bush will yield anything tangible for the Palestinians (15.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial concludes that the Bush trip is meaningless if facts on the ground, such as outposts, are not being addressed (16.)

The Christian Science Monitor examines how Bush administration goals and policies for the Middle East have evolved over the years (2.) The Washington Post looks at the different reasons for the faltering peace process following the Annapolis meeting (4.) The Los Angeles Times reports on mixed feelings among Israelis regarding his support for Israel and the consequences of U.S. Mideast policies for their country (5.) In the New Republic, WINEP counselor and fellow Dennis Ross urges President Bush to work with Israelis and Palestinians on adopting modest and achievable steps towards peace that can be built upon with progress and revive both publics' faiths in a negotiated settlement (7.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency examines how this week's trip to Israel and Palestine by President Bush might be used to exert some pressure on Israel on the issue of settlements (8.) The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) looks at the Israeli Defense Ministry's opposition to the publication of an official government report revealing greater settlement activity than admitted (9.) BBC (UK) analyzes the timing of the Bush trip to Israel and Palestine, seven years after he became president (11.) Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) examines how efforts to reconcile Fatah and Hamas have not yielded progress to-date (14.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial is critical of the Olmert government for only utilizing military means to deal with the Hamas issue while neglecting offering Palestinians a diplomatic horizon to a future state (16.)

McClatchey Newspapers contrasts the very different morning commutes for an Israeli and a Palestinian to illustrate how lack of Palestinian freedom of movement is one of the major obstacles to peace (1.) A Los Angeles Times opinion by Professors Walt of Harvard and Mearsheimer of Chicago University label as 'false friends of Israel' U.S. presidential candidates that facilitate self-destructive policies by offering unconditional political and financial support (3.) The Washington Post examines expectations in the Middle East regarding the visit of President Bush to the region this week (4.) Editorials in the Baltimore Sun (6) and Boston Globe (7) urge President Bush to use the influence of the U.S. to do all that is necessary to achieve progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations (6.) An Independent (UK) editorial faults the Bush administration for its belated engagement in Mideast peacemaking while acknowledging that an opportunity exists for it if serious effort is applied (10.) BBC (UK) looks at why the Har Homa settlement issue has become such a flash-point for Israeli-Palestinian relations and the future of peace negotiations (13.) Arab News (Saudi Arabia) examines how Israel's 'absentee law' is used to expropriate Palestinian land in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem for the building of the Har Homa settlement (15.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar is critical of the continuing Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territories as a danger to Israel's future existence (16.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Tel Aviv university senior political science lecturer Eyal Chowers suggests a new paradigm for Israelis and Palestinians to express their national identities through (18.)

Reuters reports on criticism by Palestinian PM Fayyad of continuing raids by the Israeli military into the West Bank city of Nablus that are ruining his security plan for the city (2.) Also in Reuters, in an interview President Bush calls ISraeli settlement expansion as an 'impediment' to current peace efforts (3.) The Christian Science Monitor examines the different challenges and responsibilities facing the Palestinians in disbursing the funds pledged recently by the international community (5.) In the National Interest, USIP fellow Barbara Slavin suggests a new course for U.S. Mideast foreign policy (6.) The Jewish Telegraphic Agency examines comment by President Bush and his national security advisor Hadley on the issue of settlements and other obstacles to Mideast peacemaking (8.) In Israel Policy Forum, MJ Rosenberg analyzes how the one uniting issue for Arab and Muslim anger worldwide is the issue of Palestine, and how the exercise of U.S. presidential will can address that issue (9.) The Economist (UK) assesses the prospects for President Bush of nudging along Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts during his trip to the region next week (11.) An Arab News opinion by Fred Schlomka, board member of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, reports on Israeli policies detrimental to its Bedouin citizens (13.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Century and New America Foundation senior fellow Daniel Levy suggests a list of talking points for Israeli PM Olmert's upcoming meeting with President Bush (14.) A Yedioth/Ynet News (Israel) opinion by Sever Plocker cautions that the time for implementing a two-state solution is running out as the bi-national state concept is gaining ground (15.)

In the Middle East Times, editor Claude Salhani examines the challenges facing President Bush as he attempts to bring about a resolution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict in the final year of his presidency (1.) In American Prospect, Israeli author and former editor Gershom Gorenberg uses the example of Israel's separation barrier in the occupied West Bank to illustrate that the solution to Israel's security issues is political rather than military (3.) In christian Century, senior contributing editor James Wall draws parallels with the Annapolis meeting and the Middle East in 1918 (5.) In Israel Policy Forum, Sadie Goldman details how an effective use of the funds pledged to the Palestinians at the Paris donor conference coupled with U.S. and Quartet engagement can lay the foundations of a future Palestinian state and address Israeli security needs (7.) Inter Press Service analyzes the implications of the fundraising partnership between the Jewish Agency and the Christian Zionist group the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (8.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) opinion by Rami Khouri takes issue with how Arab and Asian elites as well as U.S. presidential candidates are manipulating the issue of terrorism for political ends (10.) A Gulf News (UAE) opinion by editor-at -large Frances Matthew urges Arab leadership to address the three major Mideast trouble spots of Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon (11.) Haaretz (Israel) reports on the return of Palestinian Authority control over the West Bank city of Nablus (13.) Also in Haaretz, an editorial calls on President Bush to make a concerted push to bridge Israeli and Palestinian positions in the last year of his presidency (14.)

Reuters reports on the latest comments by Israeli PM Olmert regarding the necessity for Israel of sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians as part of a final peace settlement (1), featured in an interview Olmert gave to the Jerusalem Post (13.) In The American Conservative, Michael C. Desch, Professor and Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and National Security Decision-making at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, profiles the hardline neoconservative foreign policy advisory team surrounding Presidential candidate Giuliani and warns of the consequences of his winning the election (3.) A New York Times editorial urges President Bush to take concrete steps that will give the Israeli and Palestinian leaders the maximum support necessary to reach a peace agreement (4.) The Christian Science Monitor looks at the year-end report on the occupied territories by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem (6.) The Middle East Times reports from Gaza on how a lack of spare parts, fuel and maintenance work for the sewage and water systems is creating conditions for an impending health disaster (8.) The Independent (UK) uses the example of Highway 443 in the occupied West Bank to illustrate how the Israeli policy of barring Palestinians from using it is designed to de-facto annex the land that the road travels through (9.) In BitterLemons (Israel/Palestine) former Palestinian minister of planning Ghassan Khatib takes a historical look at the Israeli settlement enterprise and identifies it as the main obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace (11.) An Asharq Alwsat opinion by British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander urges the Arab world and international community to give the current opportunity for peace its full financial and political backing (12.) In Haaretz (Israel) Bradley Burston examines how the 1967 borders have become the internationally recognized parameters of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (14.)