May 29, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

An ATFP translation from Al-ayyam daily looks at the tension between Fatah and the Fayyad government (1). The pressure continues to build on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (3). Desmond Tutu condemns Israel’s Gaza blockade (4). Salaam Fayyad addresses the graduation ceremony for the most recent class of the Palestinian National Security Forces (6). The Israel Policy Forum hails the recent Palestine Investment Conference (7).

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Israel's Defense Minister Says Olmert Must Step Down

Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that he would use his political clout to bring down the coalition government if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not step aside to face possible bribery charges.

The ultimatum by Ehud Barak, a former prime minister who heads the coalition's second-biggest party, raised pressure on the Israeli leader to resign or at least temporarily step aside before a criminal investigation runs its course.

Tutu: Gaza Blockade Abomination

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has called Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip an "abomination".

He strongly condemned what he called international "silence and complicity" on the blockade, which he compared to the actions of Burma's leaders.

Speaking at the end of a two day mission to the area, the former archbishop said the humanitarian situation there could not be justified.

Earlier, 60 Palestinians were detained in an Israeli raid on northern Gaza.

Palestinians Pin Hopes Of Economic Recovery On High-tech Companies

Hunched over laptops in red cubicles, Palestinian software engineers are developing an award-winning new version of a program that makes desktop computer accessible from anywhere.

But beyond such technological breakthroughs, the young graduates of West Bank universities are blazing a trail, in this case with Israeli colleagues, for the fledgling Palestinian high-tech industry which many hope will bypass the old obstacles of the Mideast conflict and one day drive the sluggish Palestinian economy.

Fayyad Addresses Graduation Ceremony Of 2nd Battalion In Jericho

Fayyad, Other Officials Participate in Graduation Ceremony of Second Special Battalion of National Security Forces Following Training in Jordan;

Jericho--Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad conveyed the greetings and blessings of President Mahmud Abbas, the commander in chief of the Palestinian security forces, to his sons the members of the National Security Forces and the graduates from the second special battalion of the Palestinian National Security Forces, who received training in fraternal Jordan at the graduation ceremony in Jericho.

The Palestine Investment Conference

Perhaps the greatest achievement of last week’s Palestine Investment Conference was not the announcement that $1.4 billion would be invested in the West Bank and Gaza or that 35,000 new jobs would be created, but the fact that the conference was held in the first place.

After Olmert

Ehud Olmert's term as prime minister, which began with Ariel Sharon's coma, is about to end with Morris Talansky's testimony. It is possible that, as in the first chapter in which Olmert served as acting prime minister until the elections, the last chapter will be a twilight zone in which his seat is vacated in fact but not in theory - due to a vacation or temporary incapacitation. But the terminology is not important. The substance is that Olmert can no longer stand at the helm of Israel's government.

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