Farewell Tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
December 21, 2007 - 3:33pm

George Bush is heading to the Middle East The US president, George W Bush, is planning an eight-day visit to the Middle East in early January in a bid to salvage some positive achievements from his administration's largely dismal legacy to the region. The main purpose of the visit will be to try to maintain the momentum of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process relaunched at last month's Annapolis conference. A subsidiary theme will be an effort to stiffen the resolve of the US's principal Arab allies in the face of Iran's perceived drive for regional hegemony.

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U.n. Advocates For Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Marc Perelman - December 21, 2007 - 3:24pm

The top humanitarian official at the United Nations said he found “shocking” the lack of international attention to the worsening situation in Gaza, which was caused by the Israeli blockade since Hamas took over the territory last June.

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Israel Looking At Hamas Truce Idea
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Laurie Copans - December 21, 2007 - 3:23pm

Israel is examining a Hamas truce proposal delivered by Egypt, defense officials said, but violence persisted Friday as a Hamas militant was killed in what the group said was a clash with Israeli troops near the Israel-Gaza border. Israeli calls for cease-fire talks with the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip grew Friday as an Israeli Cabinet minister said he supported such negotiations under certain conditions.

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A Ceasefire From Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) December 21, 2007 - 3:22pm

THE ISRAELI government reacted warily at first - and understandably so - to the proposal of a ceasefire in Gaza from Ismael Haniyeh, leader of the group Hamas. But after initially rebuffing the offer, Israeli officials are seriously considering it, according to an Israeli television report yesterday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government would be wise to explore a ceasefire with Hamas, for it could not only save lives but also prepare the way for a comprehensive peace agreement.

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Gaza: To Die With The Philistines?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - December 20, 2007 - 4:58pm

The most famous words ever spoken in Gaza were the last words of Samson (Judges, 16, 30): “Let me die with the Philistines!” According to the Biblical story, Samson took hold of the central pillars of the Philistine temple and brought down the whole building upon the Lords of the Philistines, the people of Gaza and himself. The teller of the story sums it all up: “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”

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Israeli Operations In Gaza Meet Little Resistance In Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 20, 2007 - 4:46pm

As Israel stepped up air attacks on Gaza this week, the Bush administration refrained from blocking any measures or criticizing Israel’s activity. The Israeli Air Force last week renewed the practice known as “targeted killing” against members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza. Israeli officials have said in recent weeks that if rocket fire against Israeli towns is not stopped, further escalation might be imminent, including a full-scale ground incursion into the Hamas-controlled strip.

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The Israel Lobby Revisited
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus
by Stephen Zunes - December 20, 2007 - 4:45pm

It has been 21 months since John Mearsheimer and Steve Walt published their article “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” in The London Review of Books and four months since their publication of a book by the same name. Their main arguments are that unconditional U.S. support for the Israeli government has harmed U.S. interests in the Middle East and that American organizations allied with the Israeli government have been the primary influence regarding the orientation of U.S. Middle East policy.

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For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation And Exclusion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Scott Wilson - December 20, 2007 - 4:44pm

Fatina and Ahmad Zubeidat, young Arab citizens of Israel, met on the first day of class at the prestigious Bezalel arts and architecture academy in Jerusalem. Married last year, the couple rents an airy house here in the Galilee filled with stylish furniture and other modern grace notes.

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Hamas Calls For Truce With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Sarah El Deeb - December 20, 2007 - 4:43pm

On Islam's most important holiday, the leader of Gaza's Hamas government appealed Wednesday for a cease-fire with Israel and said his people — battered by Israeli military strikes and international sanctions — are greeting this year's feast with "tears in our eyes." Hamas until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel, though one Cabinet minister said Israel might consider outside mediation with the Islamic militants.

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Israelis Cool To An Offer From Hamas On A Truce
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 20, 2007 - 4:42pm

Officials in the Israeli prime minister’s office reacted coolly on Wednesday to an indirect approach by the Hamas leader in Gaza offering talks on a truce. The offer was relayed through an Israeli reporter, Sleman al-Shafhe, of Channel 2 television. On a news broadcast on Tuesday night, Mr. Shafhe said Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, had called him earlier in the day to convey a message to the Israelis.

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