Israel To Free Prisoners In Gesture To Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
August 18, 2008 - 12:00am

Israel confirmed on Sunday it would release 200 of some 11,000 Palestinians it holds prisoners in the hope of shoring up support for President Mahmoud Abbas and the peace talks he is conducting with the Jewish state. "The idea is to strengthen the process of dialogue, to strengthen the hand of the moderates, to strengthen the peace process," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before the Cabinet agreed to his proposal to free about 200 people.

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Israel to free prisoners in gesture to Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
August 17, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israel confirmed on Sunday it would release 200 of some 11,000 Palestinians it holds prisoners in the hope of shoring up support for President Mahmoud Abbas and the peace talks he is conducting with the Jewish state. "The idea is to strengthen the process of dialogue, to strengthen the hand of the moderates, to strengthen the peace process," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before the Cabinet agreed to his proposal to free about 200 people.

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What happened to the "vision" of a two-state solution?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yisrael Harel - August 17, 2008 - 8:00pm

A few years ago, at a dialogue meeting between Israelis and Palestinians, the Palestinians were asked what they thought of the idea voiced by Ariel Sharon that Jordan, with more than two-thirds of its population Palestinian, is in fact a Palestinian state. And if that is not today the case, then when Jordan becomes a constitutional monarchy or enjoys some other form of regime that expresses the will of the majority, it will indeed become Palestinian.

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'We are running out of time for a two-state solution'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - August 15, 2008 - 8:00pm

At the end of my conversation with Sari Nusseibeh at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, the highly respected president of Al-Quds University - and cosignatory of "The People's Choice," a peace plan that he formulated with former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon - told me he wouldn't be surprised if one of the Palestinian residents of the city ran for mayor in the municipal elections in November. The candidate would not run as a representative of Jerusalem per se, Nusseibeh stressed. Rather, he would be running on behalf of all Palestinians in the occupied territories.

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Boundaries For Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
August 15, 2008 - 12:00am

Early this week Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly handed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Israel's detailed proposal for a "shelf agreement." Olmert offered an Israeli pullback from 93 percent of Judea and Samaria, "compensating" the Palestinians with territory from the Negev. A 40-km. link would provide unfettered passage between Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian state would be demilitarized and "right of return" for refugees would be exercised almost entirely within "Palestine." The Jerusalem issue would be put off by mutual consent.

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The politics of indecision in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Gwynne Dyer - August 3, 2008 - 8:00pm

I am proud to be a citizen of a country where the prime minister can be investigated like an ordinary citizen, said Ehud Olmert on July 30, announcing that he would resign as prime minister in September to defend himself against corruption allegations. He should be even prouder: Three of Israel’s last four prime ministers were under investigation for corruption when they left office.

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Israel’s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The New York Times - August 1, 2008 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON — The official line in Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah is that the decision by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel to resign will not affect American efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before the end of the year.

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Israel’s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - July 31, 2008 - 8:00pm

The official line in Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah is that the decision by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel to resign will not affect American efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before the end of the year. Israeli officials said Thursday that Mr. Olmert could still try to reach a peace pact in his remaining time in office. In Tunisia, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, pledged to work with Mr. Olmert and his successor.

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Israel?s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - July 31, 2008 - 8:00pm

WASHINGTON ? The official line in Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah is that the decision by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel to resign will not affect American efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before the end of the year. Israeli officials said Thursday that Mr. Olmert could still try to reach a peace pact in his remaining time in office. In Tunisia, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, pledged to work with Mr. Olmert and his successor.

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Amid Pessimism on Peace Prospects, Rice Meets Parties in Last-Ditch Push for Accord
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - July 30, 2008 - 12:00am

By Nathan Guttman Washington — As top Israeli, Palestinian and American negotiators prepared for a July 30 meeting in a last-ditch attempt to reach an agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of the year, expectations of a breakthrough are decidedly low in their respective capitals.

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