Mideast: Bush Revs Up Lemon Of A Peace Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Khody Akhavi - October 22, 2007 - 10:29am

Political factions Fatah and Hamas must reconcile in order to pursue a sustainable peace in the Palestinian territories, and if and when a power-sharing agreement is brokered, the international community must be willing to accept it, according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG)."As long as the Palestinian schism endures, progress is on shaky ground. Security and a credible peace process depend on minimal intra-Palestinian consensus," it said.

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Another Tour Ends Without Solid Plans On Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Robin Wright - October 22, 2007 - 10:20am

After years of setbacks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice set out this week to make one more push toward Middle East peace on behalf of an administration that has less than 18 months left in office. She got some polite nibbles, but not yet the big bite needed to ensure that President Bush's call last month for an international meeting of the region's major players will yield substance.

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Executive Summary And Recommendations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Crisis Group
(Special Report) October 22, 2007 - 10:19am

Hamas’s takeover of Gaza and President Abbas’s dismissal of the national unity government and appointment of one led by Salam Fayyad amount to a watershed in the Palestinian national movement’s history. Some paint a positive picture, seeing the new government as one with which Israel can make peace. They hope that, with progress in the West Bank, stagnation in Gaza and growing pressure from ordinary Palestinians, a discredited Hamas will be forced out or forced to surrender. They are mistaken.

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Shifting Politics Bring Arabs And Israelis Closer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - October 22, 2007 - 10:13am

It's a given that any US secretary of State will come to the Middle East, shake the hands of Israeli and Arab leaders, and try to prod them toward peace. But other givens that have long defined the conflict are beginning to shift, helping Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – who finished a week-long trip to the region on Thursday – move forward in a new push by the Bush administration to bring its Middle East allies to the negotiating table.

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Saudis Courted For Proposed Mideast Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 22, 2007 - 9:47am

As the Bush administration begins pushing aggressively for a new Middle East peace conference this fall, there is already a significant gap among Arab, Israeli and American diplomats about what the conference should attempt to achieve.

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Time Does Not Take Orders From Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 19, 2007 - 8:40pm

The Palestinian partner was born in Oslo in the summer of 1993, and died seven years later at Camp David. Following seven more years of violence, diplomatic stalemate and renewed settlement - and following the disillusionment from the misconception of unilateral moves - the word "partner" is slowly making a comeback.

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The Five Percent Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by John V. Whitbeck - (Opinion) October 19, 2007 - 8:37pm

In an eloquent speech before the US Congress in early March, Jordan’s King Abdallah emphasized the urgent necessity of achieving an Arab-Israeli peace this year. Sadly, there was little sense of urgency evident on July 25, almost five months later, when the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers visited Jerusalem. The impression conveyed during this rather awkward visit was, rather, one of resignation to further years of drift.

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Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 25
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestinian Center For Policy And Survey Research
October 19, 2007 - 8:37pm

PRESS RELEASE Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. (25) While Three Quarters of the Palestinians Reject Hamas’s Military Action in the Gaza Strip and While Fateh and President Mahmud Abbas Gain Popular Support as a Result of Hamas’s Step, and While a Majority Supports the Presidential Decree Regarding Election Law and Supports Early Elections, 40% Want the Government of Ismail Haniyeh to Stay in Power and Half of Gazans Feel They and Their Families are Secure and Safe in Their Homes

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Fuit En Avant
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - October 19, 2007 - 8:34pm

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both experienced politicians. At least for the moment, they seem perfectly capable of ignoring the internal political critics of their negotiations. And there is a lot to ignore.

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Us Launches Broad Strategy In Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Paul Reynolds - October 19, 2007 - 8:34pm

The United States has embarked on a diplomatic strategy in the Middle East in which it hopes to rally support for Iraq, arm its allies, isolate Iran and launch a new conference for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. The strategy is being launched in visits to the region by the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

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