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[5]
Despite his vows to overcome corruption allegations and to work with the Bush administration to conclude a Middle East peace deal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bowed to the inevitable Wednesday.
For nearly three decades this outpost in the desert hills of the Jordan Valley functioned as a stillborn settlement, a temporary respite for soldiers and religious students, but never the residential community intended by Israel when it approved Maskiyot in the 1980s.
I. The Olmert Announcement
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced two things on Wednesday: First, he announced that he will not run for the leadership of his party, Kadima, in elections scheduled to be held in 6 weeks. Second, and more importantly, he announced that he will resign as prime minister once Kadima elects its new leader.
What this means is actually far more complicated that it might sound.
An autopsy by Palestinian forensic doctors indicates that a 10-year-old West Bank boy killed in a confrontation with Israeli forces was shot by live fire, Palestinian officials said on Wednesday.
Ahmed Moussa was killed on Tuesday in the village of Nilin, during one of the frequent protests there against Israel's West Bank separation barrier. The Israeli military said it was investigating the boy's death.
The United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed in talks Wednesday to strive for a Middle East peace deal without any "shortcuts," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
The parties also regarded Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announced resignation Wednesday as an internal matter that would not dampen negotiations for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement, officials said.
Thousands marched through the occupied West Bank in a funeral Wednesday for a Palestinian boy who was shot dead by Israeli forces during a protest against Israel's separation barrier.
"Oh martyr, rest in peace, we shall continue the struggle," the crowd of some 3,000 people chanted during the march from the city of Ramallah to the nearby village of Nilin where 12-year-old Ahmed Mussa was killed on Tuesday.
The United States was set Wednesday for three-way peace talks with top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators amid pessimism President George W. Bush can bag a comprehensive Middle East peace deal before he leaves office in January.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni separately Wednesday before holding trilateral talks later in the day with chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qorei and Livni at the State Department.
Israeli authorities used sandbags and cement barricades Thursday to block entrances to West Bank village of Nalain.
The action was taken after fighting broke out between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians who protested the construction of a barrier, reported KUNA, the Kuwaiti news agency.
Residents said about 20 Israeli military vehicles entered Nalain, followed by bulldozers that blocked entrances to the city. The community has seen a rise in confrontations as residents have been protesting the building of a security barricade, KUNA said.
A Palestinian teen tracks Israeli troops with a video camera to document abuse of demonstrators.
A community organizer tours West Bank villages with a PowerPoint presentation teaching the art of creative protest.
These are just two examples of the increasingly savvy methods Palestinians are using to fight Israel's West Bank separation barrier - a campaign whose danger was driven home this week by the death of a 10-year-old Palestinian boy.
Palestinian Authority security forces were put on high alert Wednesday following threats by Hamas against its senior officials, PA security sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The PA leadership was taking Hamas's threats seriously and had ordered its security forces to be prepared to foil any attempt to harm PA figures, the sources said.
Additional bodyguards have been assigned to a number of top PA officials in the West Bank, and security had been beefed up around the homes of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior officials in Ramallah, the sources said.
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/5986
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/5986
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/5986
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] http://www.americantaskforce.org/world_press_roundup/20080731t000000
[6] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-israel-olmert_greenbergjul31,0,6933557.story?track=rss
[7] http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0801/p07s01-wome.html
[8] http://www.peacenow.org/updates.asp?rid=0&cid=5184
[9] http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=9706
[10] http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/07/30/no_shortcuts_in_mideast_peace_deal_palestinian_negotiator/afp/
[11] http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/07/30/thousands_at_funeral_of_boy_shot_in_west_bank_protest/afp/
[12] http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/07/30/us_set_for_threeway_talks_in_quest_for_middle_east_peace_deal/afp/
[13] http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/31/Israelis_barricade_West_Bank_village/UPI-38391217507097/
[14] http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PALESTINIANS_PROTEST_PRIMER?SITE=JRC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
[15] http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1215331149229
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