ISRAEL: Olmert Has a Last Go at a Legacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Peter Hirschberg - August 28, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may have announced that he will resign as soon as his ruling Kadima party has chosen a new leader next month, but that doesn't mean the prime minister has given up hope of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians or the Syrians. Details of Olmert's peace proposal to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas were recently leaked to the press, and the prime minister's aides are scheduled to head back to Istanbul for another round of indirect talks with Syrian officials.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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The Faulty Pleasant Approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) August 27, 2008 - 12:00am

Underwear was among the many things the United States supplied Israel during the Yom Kippur War. This urgent shipment was somewhat ironic: It completely contradicted the dominant ethos of the previous 15 years and found expression in Haim Hefer's song "Cannons instead of socks." Hefer's lyrics, sung by the Nahal troupe, were part empathy and part criticism of the soldier's willingness to give up comfort and clothing for another gun and another tank.

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Rice Says “god Willing” There Is Hope For Israeli- Palestinian Peace, Criticizes Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Matthew Lee - August 27, 2008 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday there is hope for a Mideast peace deal but she offered no reason for optimism beyond the fact that the two sides are speaking.

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The faulty pleasant approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uzi Benziman - (Opinion) August 26, 2008 - 8:00pm

Underwear was among the many things the United States supplied Israel during the Yom Kippur War. This urgent shipment was somewhat ironic: It completely contradicted the dominant ethos of the previous 15 years and found expression in Haim Hefer's song "Cannons instead of socks." Hefer's lyrics, sung by the Nahal troupe, were part empathy and part criticism of the soldier's willingness to give up comfort and clothing for another gun and another tank.

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Israel Group Reports Sharp Increases In Settlement Activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

Peace Now, the Israeli advocacy group, said in a report released Tuesday that in the last year Israel has nearly doubled its settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, in violation of its obligations under an American-backed peace plan. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Jerusalem on a short visit to help Israeli and Palestinian leaders in their negotiations, said when asked about the report that she has told Israeli officials that such building does not advance the cause of peace.

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Israel Settlement Surge Draws Rice Criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Arshad Mohammed - August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Israel on Tuesday not to undermine peace talks with the Palestinians after a report found it had nearly doubled Jewish settlement construction. On her seventh visit this year in a long-shot push for a peace deal by January, Rice said the two sides were "somewhat closer" in their talks despite deep public skepticism about the chances of ending the six-decade conflict. Rice offered no further details, but said: "God willing, and with the goodwill of the parties and the tireless work of the parties, we have a good chance to succeed."

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Rice Meets Olmert In Peace Push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of three-way talks aimed at a Mid-East peace agreement. The visit is her seventh to the region since the Annapolis meeting where the Israelis and Palestinians agreed to push for a deal by the end of 2008. Ms Rice has played down the possibility that details of an interim agreement might be published next month. She said the talks were "intensive" amid heavy doubts a deal can be agreed.

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