Peace And The Nation-state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Eyal Chowers - (Opinion) January 7, 2008 - 6:25pm



»

Storm Grows Over Jerusalem District
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
by Martin Patience - January 7, 2008 - 6:19pm

Yellow cranes swivel in the winter sun on a hill in south-east Jerusalem; occasional bursts of drilling puncture the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. In almost any other part of the world this scene would go largely unnoticed. But for Israelis and Palestinians the issue of construction at Har Homa/Jabal Abu Ghneim has rapidly become a political battleground. The Israeli government announced plans last month to build 300 new apartments at the Har Homa development in occupied East Jerusalem, drawing a furious diplomatic response from the Palestinians.

»

Israel "committed To Dismantling West Bank Settlements"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Fred Attewill - January 7, 2008 - 6:18pm

Israel today said it was committed to acting "expeditiously" to dismantle unauthorised West Bank settlement outposts and would tell that to President George Bush when he arrives for talks on Wednesday. A spokesman for the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, did not set a deadline for the removal of the outposts, which are typically makeshift encampments often set up by hardline settlers.

»

Bush Sees Mideast Peace Deal This Year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Daniel Dombey - January 7, 2008 - 6:17pm

George W. Bush has predicted a peace deal this year between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of his most extensive visit yet to the Middle East. US officials say the president will devote the week-long tour, in which he will travel to six countries and the Palestinian territories, to pushing for Middle East peace, rallying his regional allies against Iran and reviving Washington’s stalled democratisation agenda.

»

Leading Article: A Belated Awakening To Middle East Obligations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
(Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:15pm

Given how central the Middle East has been to US foreign policy in recent decades, it is remarkable that it has taken George Bush the best part of seven years to make his first visit to Israel as President. There have, of course, been extenuating circumstances: the preoccupation with terrorism and Afghanistan after the attacks of 11 September 2001; the ill-conceived and mismanaged war in Iraq; and Mr Bush's own home-body temperament. Even at the best of times, he was a notoriously reluctant traveller.

»

Bush's Mideast Mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:10pm

IN AN effort to bring about enormous changes at the last minute, President Bush will arrive in Israel Wednesday to begin an eight-day trip to a half-dozen countries in the Middle East. This will be his first state visit to all the countries on his itinerary except Egypt, and Americans must hope this belated trip to such a strategically vital region means Bush now recognizes the mistake he made in waiting so long.

»

Substance, Not Smiles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
(Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:09pm

Jerusalem is draping itself in the flags of the city, Israel and the United States in honor of President Bush's visit this week, perfect for the essential photo op. And that's all this trip sounds like it's shaping up to be since neither the president nor his advisers have identified any policy or message that Mr. Bush will relay to advance the commitments made at the Annapolis peace summit. And that's just unacceptable.

»

As Bush Heads To Mideast, Renewed Questions On Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Michael Abramowitz, Ellen Knickmeyer - January 7, 2008 - 6:06pm

President Bush intends to use his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran, even as a recent U.S. intelligence report playing down Tehran's nuclear ambitions has left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran and questioning Washington's resolve, according to senior U.S. officials, diplomats and regional experts.

»

Israel's False Friends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by John J. Mearsheimer And Stephen M. Walt - (Opinion) January 7, 2008 - 6:05pm

Once again, as the presidential campaign season gets underway, the leading candidates are going to enormous lengths to demonstrate their devotion to the state of Israel and their steadfast commitment to its "special relationship" with the United States.

»

Bush Faces Mideast Obstacles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - January 7, 2008 - 6:04pm

President Bush heads to Israel and the West Bank this week, hoping his first visit as U.S. leader will open the throttle on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. But in the six weeks since Bush declared at an international gathering in Annapolis, Md., that "the time is right" to make peace, two perennial obstacles to Mideast peacemaking have already reared up: Israeli settlements and violence.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017