Israel Must Stop Changing Facts On The Ground - Fm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
February 7, 2008 - 7:26pm

Jordan on Wednesday warned against Israeli measures “to alter facts on the ground” in the occupied Palestinian lands in a way that affects final status talks. During a meeting with US Undersecretary for Middle East Affairs David Walsh, Foreign Minister Salah Bashir called on Israel to stop its settlement activities, stressing the need to ease the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people through softening the restrictions on their movement.

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Mk Elon: Int'l Body Must Resettle Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Etgar Lefkovits - February 6, 2008 - 8:04pm

In a novel Israeli approach to one of the prickliest issues facing Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, MK Benny Elon (NU-NRP) is proposing the establishment of an international body in lieu of UNRWA to deal with the resettlement of Palestinian refugees over the next decade. The proposal, part of the hawkish parliamentarian's alternate peace plan known as "The Israeli Initiative," is meant to be "a first step" towards resolving one of the most difficult final status issues.

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Running In Place From Lebanon To Dimona
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:36pm

The suicide bombing in Dimona and the ongoing Qassam rocket fire on Sderot reveal that the "running in place" did not begin and end with the Second Lebanon War. The Winograd Committee asks how it is possible for a war that lasted more than a month to have ended with neither a diplomatic nor military victory. The war against Hamas has been going on for more than seven years, but victory seems about as close as the diplomatic horizon.

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Looking At Process In The Arab-israeli Negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Daniel Kurtzer - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:34pm

With the resumption of the Middle East peace process after Annapolis, the focus has turned to the substantive divide between the parties regarding the core issues of territory and boundaries, security, Jerusalem and refugees. Different ways have been suggested to approach these issues: for example, trying to reach agreement on a declaration of principles; trying to reach a full agreement and then putting it on the shelf until the time is ripe for implementation; or trying for a full agreement and implementation in phases, to begin immediately.

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Security Experts Fear New Wave Of Terrorism In Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Speigel International
by Pierre Heumann - February 5, 2008 - 7:22pm

Terrorists struck again in Israel on Monday in the first suicide bombing the country has seen in a year. It was an attack that politicians and military officers say they have seen coming for days. The bloody deed, which claimed the lives of one Israeli woman and the two suicide bombers, came as no surprise for many Israelis. Now that the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is open, it has become easier for terrorists to reach Israel from Gaza. Security experts have been warning that terrorists in Gaza would see this as a new opportunity -- and would take advantage of it.

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Brotherhood Sought
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram
by Serene Assir - February 1, 2008 - 6:42pm

One week on from the mass act of popular refusal among Palestinians that broke the siege of Gaza, movement in and out of the occupied territory has being radically cut down as Egyptian Central Security forces were deployed in thousands to block the entry of Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula via Rafah and Arish. Meanwhile, calls to Egyptian authorities for a greater show of solidarity -- indeed, sovereignty from the will of Israel -- to break the siege imposed seven months ago on Gaza intensified over the course of the week.

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Ujc Sees Fund For Israeli Arabs As Fresh Start In Fund Raising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Jacob Berkman - January 31, 2008 - 6:03pm

As part of a move to revamp its fund-raising strategy, the United Jewish Communities has started a joint venture fund to raise significant dollars to help Israeli Arabs. The organization, which serves as the umbrella of the North American federation system, is raising $750,000 from 15 private donors, foundations, federations and service organizations to start the UJC Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Coexistence.

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Obama And The Jewish Question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) January 30, 2008 - 5:57pm

Not a year has passed since Danny Ayalon completed his term as Israel's ambassador in Washington, but he has already seen fit to criticize Barack Obama, who may well be the next U.S. president or vice president. In an article published in The Jerusalem Post, Ayalon wrote that during his two meetings with Obama, he got the impression that the Democratic candidate was "not entirely forthright" regarding Israel. Similar and even worse smears can be found in abundance in American blogs and e-mail chain letters.

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Punishing Gaza Only Harms Those Backing Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 30, 2008 - 5:54pm

  When the Gaza Strip was plunged into darkness last week as a result of the Israeli fuel blockade, many people around the world were surprised. But the optimism produced by the Annapolis peace process, which included President George W. Bush's promise of an agreement in 2008 to create a Palestinian state, was clearly unrealistic.

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Bush's Delusions Die In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Salon.com
by Gary Kamiya - January 30, 2008 - 5:44pm

It was a heart-wrenching story. Hundreds of thousands of people, trapped for endless years in an open-air jail and recently subjected to an airtight siege, blew up their prison wall and poured out to freedom.

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