Hamas Cracks Down On Fatah In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Rushdi Abu Alouf, Ken Ellingwood - November 14, 2007 - 12:51pm

Officials of the Fatah faction said Tuesday that hundreds of its members were detained by Hamas after deadly violence marred a massive rally in the Gaza Strip a day earlier. Fatah leaders said a wave of arrests in Gaza targeted activists, including ranking party figures who had organized the rally marking the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. The gathering erupted in gunfire, leaving seven people dead and dozens injured.

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Rice: Israeli-palestinian Talks Needed To Repel Iran's Influence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ami Eden - November 14, 2007 - 12:49pm

Facing mounting skepticism over the upcoming U.S.-led, Israeli-Palestinian peace summit, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a massive gathering of Jews here that progress toward a two-state solution is vital to confronting Iran. "What is at stake is nothing less than the future of the Middle East," Rice said Tuesday during an address to delegates at this week’s General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities.

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Bush's Turn To Step Into Mideast Peace-making
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Steve Holland - November 14, 2007 - 12:41pm

Richard Nixon left office hopeful that "peace can settle at last over the Middle East." Jimmy Carter staked his career on it. Bill Clinton told Yasser Arafat, "I am a failure, and you have made me one." Now George W. Bush becomes the latest president to try to resolve the bitter, long-standing differences between close U.S. ally Israel and the Palestinians.

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What The Palestinians Must Do
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) November 13, 2007 - 3:58pm

It is essential that the impending regional meeting in Annapolis be successful. Failure at Annapolis would translate into a victory for the extremist elements in Israel, Palestine and throughout the region. Without success at Annapolis the next phase of the Palestinian-Israeli relationship will find a far less forthcoming Israeli government squaring off against an implacable Hamas.

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Hamas Cracks Down On Fatah After Gaza Rally Bloodshed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal Al-mughrabi - November 13, 2007 - 3:41pm

Hamas rounded up dozens of Fatah activists in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip after its secular rival drew more than 200,000 supporters to a rally that ended in gunfire that killed seven people, officials said on Tuesday. The assembly on Monday, marking the third anniversary of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was the biggest held by President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group in Gaza since Hamas Islamists seized the territory by force in June.

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Unite Or Dissolve
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) November 12, 2007 - 1:45pm

bitterlemons: Hamas is saying that by pursuing negotiations with Israel under current circumstances, the Abbas-led Palestinian Authority is in effect collaborating with the occupying power. Is this a fair assessment?

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Enlarge Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
(Editorial) November 12, 2007 - 1:43pm

The good thing that may be said about the Annapolis meeting is that the expectations are gloomily but realistically low. There are not many illusions left in the Middle East, and little is expected from yet another U.S.-brokered summit between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Perhaps what is wrong is not just the plot of this over-familiar drama, but the personnel. Maybe it is the three-way relationship between Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, who all know each very well by now; that is the problem.

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Remembering Yitzhak Rabin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Opinion) November 12, 2007 - 1:42pm

The inner price Israel pays for its continuing occupation of the West Bank “YOU were the pillar of fire before the camp and now we are left only as the camp, alone and in the dark”. So said his weeping grand-daughter, eulogising Yitzhak Rabin after he was shot in the back by a Jewish religious zealot 12 years ago. The murder of a strong and popular prime minister appeared briefly to unite the Jewish state. But the Israel of that time was in fact a camp divided. This year's anniversary has brought grim new evidence of how bitter the divisions have grown.

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Abbas Urges Support Of Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - November 12, 2007 - 1:39pm

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, on Sunday seized on a demonstration marking the third anniversary of Yassir Arafat’s death to urge support for the latest round of Middle East peace talks and turn up the heat on Hamas, his Islamist rivals.

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Mideast: All Not Quite Aboard For Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Peter Hirschberg - November 12, 2007 - 1:37pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has again paid a visit to the Middle East, held meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, spoken about the seriousness of the two sides in their efforts to revive the peace process, but has again left the region without issuing invitations to a planned U.S.-led peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland.

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