The pulse of a meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

A resounding and unanimous international message of support for Gaza reconstruction was sounded in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh on March 2. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were joined at the conference by foreign ministers as well as representatives of regional and international organisations and foundations. Ironically two key groups were absent from the meeting: Israel and Hamas.

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What Bibi faces in liberated Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gershom Gorenberg - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington at the beginning of the Obama era has the feel of a city that has just been liberated from foreign occupation, or of a person who just snapped out of an inexplicable psychotic episode. The paranoia of the Bush days has passed. The world is no longer divided into children of light and children of darkness.

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Build on Bush's Middle East progress
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Robert Zelnick - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

George W. Bush made his greatest Middle East mistake before becoming president. Had he embraced rather than disowned Bill Clinton's desperate efforts to secure an agreement, Israeli and Palestinian leaders might have gone the extra mile to accommodate the new administration. The tragedy of the second intifada might have been averted. The seizure of Gaza by Hamas might never have occurred.

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Clinton: Israel's demolition of East Jerusalem homes harms peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday blasted Israel's plans to demolisg Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem as a violation of its international obligations and "unhelpful" to Middle East peace efforts. "Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the 'road map'," Clinton said, referring to the long-stalled peace plan.

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Housing Min. slams 'baseless' report of 73,000 new settlement homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim on Wednesday called a report released earlier this week over a government plan to build more than 73,300 new housing units in the West Bank "delusional and baseless." "There are a total of 11,530 housing units in Judea and Samaria that were approved by Housing and Construction institutions," Boim told Knesset. "The report about 73,000 housing units is delusional and baseless."

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Challenge of Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Katya Adler - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's Prime Minister designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, will not openly commit to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the US insists it's the only way forward, and Hillary Clinton is visiting the region for the first time as secretary of state. "I feel like a stranger in my own land. I can't go for a long walk. I have to sneak around. Otherwise I'm stopped by Israeli soldiers or threatened by Israeli settlers." “ This is no longer occupation, this is colonisation. Israel has no right to this land ” Raja Shehadeh

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Billions pledged to rebuild Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

nternational donors have pledged almost $4.5bn (£3.2bn) in aid to the Palestinians, chiefly to rebuild Gaza after Israel's recent offensive. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would donate $900m, and vigorously seek to advance peace. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told a summit in Egypt cash was "insufficient" without a political solution. Israel, which has been fighting Gaza militants, refuses to allow building materials into Gaza for reconstruction.

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Stop Israel's expansionist plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Opinion) March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

As the international donors for Gaza gathered on Monday to discuss rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip, it was revealed by the Israeli group Peace Now that Israel is planning to expand colonies in the West Bank. There are now plans to build more than 70,000 illegal homes on the occupied Palestinian land.

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Netanyahu: Clinton and I found common ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Jerusalem on Tuesday, saying following their meeting that he had "found common ground with Clinton in attaining the common goals of our two countries." "We need to think creatively in order to move forward and create a different reality, both in terms of security and politically, and this is a common goal for both sides," Netanyahu added.

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For Gaza’s sake this can’t be just another summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) March 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Another summit in Sharm el Sheikh to deal with the fallout of another violent episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is one way to understand yesterday’s meeting between heads of state, foreign ministers and officials at the Egyptian resort. But given the magnitude of the human suffering in Gaza, this cannot be just another meeting.

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