Breathing Life into the Arab Peace Initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Sadie Goldman - October 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

In a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today, Israeli President Shimon Peres praised the Arab Peace Initiative, first introduced by Saudi Arabia and adopted by the 22 states of the Arab League, and said that, “peace has never been more possible than it is now. It would be a mistake to miss out on this opportunity.”

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West Bank hit hard by Israeli restrictions: World Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 22, 2008 - 8:00pm

The West Bank's economy is suffering from precarious lack of investment, largely because of Israeli restrictions on movement and despite increased international aid, the World Bank said on Thurday. The 48-page report comes nearly a year after Israel and the Palestinians formally relaunched peace talks at a conference in the United States with the goal of resolving their decades-old conflict by the end of 2008. It also comes less than a year after international donors pledged more than seven billion dollars over three years to aid the creation of a Palestinian state.

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Olive harvest attacks anger Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
October 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

There have been several reports of attacks in recent days, a week into the yearly olive harvest. But settlers have accused Palestinians of burning their own olive groves and then blaming them. Mr Abbas criticised Israel for failing to stop the attacks, but the army says it is working to protect Palestinians. Millions of olive trees across the West Bank provide a livelihood to many Palestinians.

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Israel reopens Saudi peace plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Aron Heller - October 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli leaders are seriously considering a dormant Saudi plan offering a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab world in exchange for lands captured during the 1967 war, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday. Barak said it may be time to pursue an overall peace deal for the region since individual negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians have made little progress. Barak said he has discussed the Saudi plan with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni, who is in the process of forming a new Israeli government, and that Israel is considering a response.

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Israel removes wildcat settlements in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 19, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli troops have cleared three Jewish wildcat settlements in the occupied West Bank, the army said on Monday. The three outposts, one of which was built six months ago and the other two set up on Sunday by right-wing activists, were removed during the night by border police and army troops, it said in a statement.

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A Mideast plan for the next president
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Ephraim Sneh - October 17, 2008 - 8:00pm

THE NEXT president of the United States, in addition to dealing with the overwhelming global economic crisis, will have to contend with problems that have arisen recently in the Middle East. They include: # The decline of America's status; # The too-slow progress toward political stability in Iraq and the growing Iranian subversion there; # The rising influence of the "resistance camp" - Iran and its proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad; # The reluctance of US allies to stand defiantly against the anti-American forces; # The stagnation in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations;

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Palestinian youth shot dead by Israeli forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian and wounded another early on Thursday near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian emergency services reported. Abdul Aziz Beerat, 20, was killed when Israeli soldiers in a jeep opened fire in the village of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, the sources said. Another man, who was not identified, was shot in the back and taken to hospital, where his condition was listed as serious.

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Symbol of Peace Stands at Divide Between Troubled Jerusalem’s East and West
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

One recent autumn evening, under a full moon, a monument to tolerance was unveiled on a ridge high above this revered and contested city, sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews. A soaring bronze column split down the middle, with a spindly, gilded olive tree reaching up through the chasm, it seemed to encapsulate both the promise and the fragility of peace in a city increasingly on edge.

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Mixed emotions on Hebron tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Heather Sharp - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

"It's another world," says Israeli student Gilad Shalom, 29, as he follows a tour guide around the Israeli-controlled part of the divided West Bank town of Hebron. Craning his neck to see over tall, sniper-proof concrete slabs, he is partly talking about the jumble of Palestinian houses on the other side. But he is also referring to the town's Jewish settlers, known by reputation as some of the most hardline of the roughly 270,000 Israelis who live in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem.

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West Bank Foreign Investment Grows Despite Fears of Foundering Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Jay Solomon - October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm

Efforts to attract foreign investment into the West Bank are accelerating, despite fears that U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel are foundering, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview. Mr. Fayyad is spearheading his government's push to revive economic activity in the Palestinian territories and strengthen its institutions, as talks with Israel to formalize a Palestinian state continue.

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