Rebuilding Trust Remains At The Core
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arabic Media Internet Network
by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:58pm

Since President Bush declared his intention a few months ago to convene a Middle East peace conference, experts on the region and government officials have proposed specific agenda items that should be addressed to insure its success.

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The Damascus Conference Versus The Conference Of The Fall Grandstanding At The Expense Of The Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat
(Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:56pm

The secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, presented an important report to the Security Council this week. The report returns to the forefront the issue of disarming Hizbullah as a cornerstone to enabling the Lebanese state to recover full sovereignty over its territory. Ki-moon called for implementing the commitment to dismantle all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and disarm the Palestinian militias operating in Lebanon. He asked Syria and Iran to cooperate in this effort and halt all military supplies and support for these militias.

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Inside Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Clancy Chassay - (Special Report) October 26, 2007 - 5:50pm

In the long shadows of early dusk, a large black Mercedes with blacked-out windows picked me up from my hotel and whisked me through Gaza City's dusty, sullied streets. The roads, strewn with rubbish, were largely empty: Gaza was preparing for an Israeli incursion and the routine was familiar.

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Olmert Pledges Gaza Won't Face Crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
October 26, 2007 - 5:36pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised the Palestinian president Friday that Israel would not cause a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip despite his government's intention to cut power to the territory in hopes of curbing rocket attacks He made the pledge during a working lunch with Mahmoud Abbas at the Israeli leader's Jerusalem residence, responding to Abbas' concern that electricity stoppages could hit hospitals and other essential services, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

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Chaotic Nablus: Testing Ground For Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
October 26, 2007 - 5:35pm

The Palestinian president has chosen the West Bank's most chaotic city to show he's in control, winning U.S. praise Thursday for beefing up his security forces here as part of an attempt to reassure Israel that he can implement a future peace deal. However, Mahmoud Abbas' campaign to disarm hundreds of militants in Nablus has had mixed results.

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The Voice Of The Old Bush
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - October 25, 2007 - 11:37am

Three days before he announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race, Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition, and succinctly summed up his opinion on the Bush administration's moves toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "It's time we looked at other ideas."

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Images That Shock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Special Report) October 25, 2007 - 11:33am

Occasionally the mask slips and unpalatable truths emerge. The Guardian has filmed rare scenes inside Hamas-controlled Gaza which the various players in the unfolding tragedy of the Middle East would rather we did not see - Hamas beating up Fatah dissenters, Palestinian doctors forced by their Fatah paymasters to go on strike or forfeit their salaries, the militants who log on to Google Earth to search for Israeli targets for their Qassam rockets. The images, now on the Guardian's website, affront our concept of right and wrong, but they serve our understanding of what is going on.

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Israeli Seeks Hamas Participation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
October 25, 2007 - 11:32am

An Israeli minister has called on his government to invite "moderate" members from the Palestinian movement Hamas to an upcoming Middle East conference. Minister without portfolio Ami Ayalon said any invitation would be conditional on Hamas members fully recognising Israel right to exist. Mr Ayalon said that Israel should be talking to moderates regardless of their political stripes. The conference is planned for late November in Annapolis in the US.

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Don’t Rush Mideast Talks, Experts Urge
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 25, 2007 - 11:31am

Skepticism was the name of the game as leading Middle East analysts and policymakers gathered last weekend and discussed the prospects for an upcoming Middle East peace conference. Diplomats, administration officials and regional experts all seemed to agree that the task facing the American-led conference is nearly impossible if peace between Israelis and Palestinians is the goal. Among the impediments mentioned were the lack of time for ironing out differences before the summit, significant gaps in expectations and a lack of commitment on behalf of the Bush administration.

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Hawkish Handlers Guide Giuliani On Foreign Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Marc Santora, Micheal Cooper - October 25, 2007 - 11:27am

Rudolph Giuliani's approach to foreign policy shares with other Republican presidential candidates an aggressive posture toward terrorism, a commitment to strengthening the military and disdain for the United Nations. But in developing his views, Giuliani is consulting with, among others, a particularly hawkish group of advisers and neoconservative thinkers. Their positions have been criticized by Democrats as irresponsible and applauded by some conservatives as appropriately tough, while raising questions about how closely aligned Giuliani's thinking is with theirs.

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