Gaza War Created Rift Between Israel and Turkey
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Sabrina Tavernise - February 4, 2009 - 1:00am

The four daily flights to Tel Aviv are still running. The defense contract signed in December has not been scrapped. But since Israel’s war in Gaza, relations with Turkey, Israel’s closest Muslim ally, have become strained. Israel’s Arab allies stood behind it in the war, but Turkey, a NATO member whose mediating efforts last year brought Israel into indirect talks with Syria, protested every step of the way in a month of angry remarks capped when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stalked off the stage during a debate in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 29.

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ATFP Senior Fellow Speaks on Gaza Crisis at University of Costa Rica
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 31, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Jan. 31 – ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish lectured at the University of Costa Rica Law School on Jan. 30 on the subject, “The Gaza Conflict: Summary and Future Impact.” Dr. Ibish told the audience of law students, faculty and diplomats that the Gaza conflict could be a turning point in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but its effects would more likely be decided by events in the West Bank in the coming 12-24 months as Palestinians and other Arabs would be comparing the results of the competing policies of confrontation and negotiation.


At Arab Gathering on Development, the Talk Is All About Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael Slackman - (Analysis) January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

Two and a half years ago, a group of Arab leaders decided it was time to try to set aside their political differences and deal with what was ailing their countries: widespread illiteracy, ineffective schools, unemployment, inadequate water and food resources. So they called for an extraordinary summit meeting to be held in Kuwait City this week. The plan was for the 22 members of the Arab League to agree on concrete ways to improve the lives of their 330 million citizens. Instead, they bickered over how to handle the Gaza crisis.

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As Obama takes office, Mideast needs his attention
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Philadelphia Inquirer
by Ziad Asali, Tom Dine - (Opinion) January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Joe Biden predicted that Barack Obama would be tested by a foreign-policy crisis early in his term. The recent surge of violence in Gaza came even sooner than that. How Obama approaches Gaza will be critical not only for the immediate security of Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the resolution of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. relations with the world's Muslims.

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As Obama takes office, Mideast needs his attention
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Philadelphia Inquirer (Opinion) - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

By Ziad Asali and Tom Dine Joe Biden predicted that Barack Obama would be tested by a foreign-policy crisis early in his term. The recent surge of violence in Gaza came even sooner than that. How Obama approaches Gaza will be critical not only for the immediate security of Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the resolution of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. relations with the world's Muslims.

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Think of Gaza as a prison – and all becomes clear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Oren Yiftachel - (Opinion) January 15, 2009 - 1:00am

Let us start with the current sad irony: the invasion and destruction of Gaza is being carried out by an ousted Israeli government, and actively supported by a defeated US administration. Yet, the two outgoing governments are colluding against a democratically elected government of Palestine. Further, instead of sanctioning Israel for placing Gaza under siege for the last two years, and for occupying Palestine for the last four decades, the world has imposed sanctions on the Hamas government. Gazans are being punished twice: by occupation, and for their resistance.

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Gaza, a chance to reaffirm the two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) January 12, 2009 - 1:00am

The renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, in which 1.5 million innocent Palestinians are caught, is yet another demonstration that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will not be able to secure its future, normalize its relations with the region and live in peace without an agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians will not achieve liberation and independence without an agreement with Israel.

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How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Avi Shlaim - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders".

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Birth Pangs of a New Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report
by Mouin Rabbani - (Opinion) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

Shortly after 11:30 am on December 27, 2008, at the height of the midday bustle on the first day of the Gazan week and with multitudes of schoolchildren returning home from the morning shift, close to 90 Israeli warplanes launched over 100 tons of explosives at some 100 targets throughout the 139 square miles of the Gaza Strip. Within minutes, the near simultaneous air raids killed more than 225 and wounded at least 700, more than 200 of them critically.

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Mideast political conundrum: Settlement expansion is a threat to peace negotiations
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am

The renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, in which 1.5 million innocent Palestinians are caught, is yet another definitive demonstration that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel will not be able to secure its future, normalize its relations with the region and live in peace without an agreement with the Palestinians; Palestinians will not achieve liberation and independence without an agreement with Israel.

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