Guidelines Of A New Egyptian Policy Toward Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Gamal A. G. Soltan - February 19, 2008 - 6:39pm

The recent breach of Egypt's border with Gaza accentuated the risks implied in the current situation in the territory. Losing control over that border for 10 consecutive days proved to be embarrassing for Cairo. Bending to the plot implemented by Hamas operatives embarrassed Egypt even further. Far more serious than just the embarrassment, the infiltration of suspect terrorists into Egypt is a major security concern for a country that has been in a continuous war on terror for 30 years.

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Middle East Peace Reports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Middle East Peace Report - February 19, 2008 - 6:37pm

Amnesty Program a Qualified Success: Earlier this month, Israel removed 32 members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing, from its list of wanted men, and has extended a probation period for 220 additional men. This move was part of an agreement Israel and the Palestinian Authority entered into in July, which provides a mechanism – based on behavior during a probation period – by which militants could be removed from Israel's lists of individuals to be arrested or assassinated.

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Olmert: Significant Progress Possible On Borders Of Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid Shmuel Rosner - February 13, 2008 - 5:06pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says it is possible to advance significantly the resolution of the issue of borders in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in spite of a shared concern by officials of both sides, and the United States, as to their ability to realistically achieve a detailed agreement by the end of 2008.

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The Us Helps Itself By Helping Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Samir Abdullah - February 12, 2008 - 7:13pm

In his final State of the Union address, US President George W. Bush said he believed that a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal would be a reality by the end of his term. Despite the optimism that his remarks generated in the Palestinian government, the goal of reaching a Palestinian-Israeli agreement by the end of 2008 - which Bush set at the Annapolis summit last year and again during his visit to Ramallah last month - remains subject to question, and this is a matter that merits immediate attention.

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Palestinian Divisions Serve No One
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) February 11, 2008 - 9:24pm

Palestinians themselves are first and foremost to blame for the breakdown in their internal relations and the split between Fateh and Hamas and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is especially true of the fierce military clashes in Gaza that led to this division between the two major Palestinian factions and the two main areas of Palestinian territory.

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Israel’s Secret Success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Daniel Gavron - (Opinion) February 11, 2008 - 9:16pm

SOMETHING strange is happening to us Zionists in the 60th year of the state of Israel: we are repudiating our astonishing success. If in the 1880s (the start of Zionist settlement in what is now Israel) or in 1948 (the War of Independence) or even in 1967 (the Six-Day War) somebody had said that one day virtually the entire world, including all the Arab nations, would accept the existence of the State of Israel in 78 percent of the land of Israel, he would have been regarded as either idiotically optimistic or clinically insane. That, however, is where we are today.

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Politics Of Illusions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) February 7, 2008 - 7:24pm

I have just returned from an extended trip to the Middle East, hoping that I would come back feeling recharged by the progress made in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, especially in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference. To my dismay, not in Israel or in Jordan or in talking to Palestinian and Egyptian officials, have I felt or seen much optimism. Those who still believe that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is possible by the end of 2008 – U.S. President George W. Bush's stated desire – are few and far between.

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Writing Responsibly On The Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Quarterly
by Azriel Bermant - (Opinion) February 4, 2008 - 7:57pm

In the last few years, the international media has devoted an unprecedented amount of attention to the Arab–Israeli conflict. Although those following the turbulent events in the Middle East have no shortage of news resources to choose from, the journalism available isn’t always of

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The Fate Of The Two-state Solution Hangs On Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mousa Qous - (Opinion) February 4, 2008 - 7:53pm

Immediately after last November's Annapolis conference, Israel declared its intention to construct 307 new housing units in the Har Homa settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, in addition to building new settlements in the Almatar and Sheikh Jarrah areas of the city. Thus, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert--who announced before the conference that he had ordered a freeze on all construction in West Bank settlements--started a battle even before negotiations had got under way.

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An Oppurtunity For An Arab Role To Restore The Lost Balance In The Region
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Raghidadergham.com
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) February 4, 2008 - 7:52pm

The opportunity is ripe now for a distinguished Arab role in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon and with both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is also an urgent need to formulate and develop this role both for defensive and offensive purposes. Arabs have no more excuses to be absent or to abstain from assuming this role because hiding behind pretexts, such as weakness, helplessness or impatience today will earn them nothing but deep regrets in the future.

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