Fayad To 'post': 2008 Peace Deal In Peril
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - February 20, 2008 - 6:48pm

If Israel and the Palestinians don't change their behavior faster in the West Bank, they will fail to finalize a peace agreement in 2008, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. He spoke with the Post briefly in the aftermath of a rare address to the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which is meeting in Jerusalem this week. "There must be a greater focus. What we need to do is to pay close attention to the road map," said Fayad.

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Olmert Says Gaza Blockade To Continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 19, 2008 - 6:40pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday that Israel would maintain the tighter blockade that it has imposed on the Gaza Strip since last month. "We will continue to apply sanctions that are hurtful to the needs of the (Palestinian) population in order for it to be clear that living conditions cannot be altered only from our side," he told the parliamentary group of his Kadima party in allusion to near daily rocket fire from Gaza.

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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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‘abbas Meets Olmert Amid Crisis In Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
February 19, 2008 - 6:34pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was due to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas in Jerusalem on Tuesday in an attempt to overcome differences facing the final-settlement talks, Palestinian sources said.   The differences followed Olmert’s announcements on Sunday that ’Abbas had consented to hold off discussing Jerusalem until the end of the negotiating process. Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem, Olmert also revealed the aim of the United States-backed peace talks is to reach an understanding on "basic principles" for a Palestinian stat

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Palestinians: Jerusalem Still High On Agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 19, 2008 - 6:33pm

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not agreed to postpone talks on the future of Jerusalem, a senior adviser said yesterday, disputing comments by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Olmert said on Sunday that Abbas had consented to hold off discussing Jerusalem until the end of the negotiating process, a move that could anger Palestinians but help the Israeli leader hold together his fragile coalition government for now.

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Olmert, Abbas Agree To Accelerate Talks: Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - February 19, 2008 - 6:30pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on Tuesday to accelerate U.S.-backed peace talks after critics warned Israel not enough was being done to get a deal this year. The negotiations, which President George W. Bush hopes will yield an agreement on Palestinian statehood before he leaves office next January, have been stalled by disputes over Israeli plans to build new homes near Jerusalem and Olmert's insistence on putting off talks on the fate of the Holy city.

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Israel's Quandary In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Steven Erlanger - February 15, 2008 - 2:19pm

JERUSALEM: Israel hoped that by pulling its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, it would also leave behind responsibility for the Gazans. With the help of the West and more moderate Arab countries, the Palestinian Authority could begin to create a prosperous state, the new Palestine, as if the continuing Israeli occupation of the West Bank were somehow irrelevant.

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Palestinian Prime Minister Voices Doubts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - February 15, 2008 - 2:09pm

As the situation in Gaza deteriorates, Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike are voicing doubts about the feasibility of realizing President Bush’s goal of a peace agreement by the end the year. Not much optimism was heard this week from Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad during a visit to Washington. Fayyad, who is seen by the Bush administration as an agent of reform in the Palestinian government, stressed to his hosts the lack of progress since the peace process was relaunched last November in Annapolis, Md.

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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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'no Change' From Israel, Fayyad Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - February 13, 2008 - 5:04pm

Nearly three months after the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis was supposed to usher in new cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad yesterday accused Israel of having "not done a thing materially on the ground to help my government."

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