Local priorities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Daoud Kuttub - (Opinion) August 31, 2008 - 8:00pm

Whether those supporting the moderate leadership of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas admit it or not, Hamas appears to have won. Now, before Islamists around the world start celebrating, it is important to note that the region, let alone the world, is far from embracing hard-line fundamentalists. Hamas, for the record, has made some important ideological and practical changes, the most important of which was the "tahdiya" (ceasefire-like quiet).

»

Palestinian laws get overhaul with little oversight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi, Adam Entous - August 28, 2008 - 8:00pm

President Mahmoud Abbas and his government are rewriting economic, social and security laws for the Palestinian territories with little public oversight, Palestinian and Western officials say. Reuters has obtained hundreds of Abbas decrees and a five-year legislative plan that could transform the Palestinian political and economic systems from top to bottom, yet which few of the four million residents of the territories have heard of.

»

Israel arrests four fishermen from the Gaza strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
August 28, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israel arrested four fishermen from the Gaza Strip on Friday when naval vessels intercepted their boats off the Mediterranean coast, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The incident was a rare confrontation since a June 19 truce brokered by Egypt has largely calmed violence between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. An Israeli military spokesman said navymen stopped three fishing boats early on Friday after they floated beyond Gaza's territorial waters toward Israel, and that the fishermen on board were "taken for questioning in Israel."

»

Hamas Seeking To Come In From Cold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Sana Abdallah - August 28, 2008 - 12:00am

Chances of coming in from the cold are looking better for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip, as the world braces itself for crucial changes in political leaderships and power shifts that might also bring strategic policy turns in the Middle East.

»

Israeli Settlers Look For Compensation To Leave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Der Spiegel
by Christoph Schult - August 28, 2008 - 12:00am

When Benny Raz comes home in the evening and gets out of his car, his neighbors turn their backs on him and disappear into their houses. Ras is wearing a short black jacket and jeans. His head looks like a coarsely modeled sculpture, with his protruding cheekbones and eyes set deeply in their sockets. He is 55, and he says: "I have lost all of my friends here."

»

Hamas Seeking to Come In From Cold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Sana Abdallah - August 27, 2008 - 8:00pm

Chances of coming in from the cold are looking better for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip, as the world braces itself for crucial changes in political leaderships and power shifts that might also bring strategic policy turns in the Middle East.

»

Barak To Mubarak: Egypt Is Central Factor In Return Of Shalit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Analysis) August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Egyptian President Husni Mubarak on Tuesday that Israel views Egypt as a central factor in the return of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in 2006. Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas for his release have apparently reached a standstill.

»

Mohammed Deif Back In Spotlight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

The notorious leader of Hamas' military wing, Mohammad Deif, is alive and kicking. And, apparently, writing as well. The shadowy leader has broken his two-year silence in the forward to a new book issued by Hamas in honor of group members killed in Gaza. Deif vowed Hamas would continue it fight.

»

Israel Shuts Gaza Crossings After Rocket Attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

Israel shut its border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a day after two rockets were fired into the Jewish state, an Israeli official said. The official said Defence Minister Ehud Barak had "ordered the closure of crossings with Gaza" without saying for how long. The Israeli military said two rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel on Monday, causing no damage or casualties. The measure came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the region to press ahead with efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in the coming months.

»

Barak holds meeting with Mubarak in Egypt on talks to free Shalit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - August 25, 2008 - 8:00pm

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Egyptian President Husni Mubarak on Tuesday that Israel views Egypt as a central factor in the return of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in 2006. Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas for his release have apparently reached a standstill.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017