Analysis: Bush Could Find Time Running Out For Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Richard Beeston - (Analysis) January 9, 2008 - 6:19pm

When President Bush set foot in Israel today for the first time in a decade, he may have been tempted to believe that peace could finally be at hand in that tortured land. On the apron of Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli leaders and dignitaries turned out in force to pay their respects to the man regarded as the Jewish state’s most powerful supporter. Tomorrow, Mr Bush will receive a no less respectful reception when he travels to the West Bank to be greeted by President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership.

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Bush Must Dispense Bitter Pills For Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Zbigniew Brzezinski - (Commentary) January 9, 2008 - 6:17pm

President George W. Bush embarks this week on a trip to the Middle East that may determine how history judges his legacy. So far, it is safe to say that the judgment will be largely negative. Mr Bush’s foreign policy has undermined America’s global legitimacy, not to mention his own credibility. He has plunged the US into a protracted conflict in the Gulf region while neglecting the increasingly ominous al-Qaeda challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last, global public opinion has turned against the US.

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Mideast Leaders Vow To Refocus On Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Bourdreaux - January 9, 2008 - 6:09pm

As President Bush headed to the Middle East to check on their peace talks, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Tuesday to launch them in earnest, six weeks late. It was that long ago that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stood beside Bush at an international conference in Annapolis, Md., and announced the start of full-scale negotiations with the aim of creating a Palestinian state by the end of 2008.

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Bush Nudges Israel, Palestinians On Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan - January 9, 2008 - 6:04pm

President Bush, in the Mideast to push along a peace deal by the end of his presidency, gave orders to both sides on Wednesday. He told Israelis that "illegal" settlement outposts in disputed land must go and told Palestinians that no part of their territories can be "a safe haven for terrorists."

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Hamas And Fatah Still At Loggerheads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Manal Lutfi - January 8, 2008 - 6:15pm

Officials of the Palestinian opposition factions in Damascus have revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat their plans to hold a Palestinian national conference on 23 January to discuss the issue of the Palestinian refugees and Palestinian national rights. The officials said that most Palestinian factions will attend the conference but that the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine will not attend. They pointed out that it is likely that the Fatah Movement, which has received an invitation, will attend the meeting.

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Adulation, Gratitude Await Bush In Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - January 8, 2008 - 6:11pm

George W. Bush arrives in Israel on Wednesday in the ­twilight of his presidency, with his international clout diminished by the war in Iraq and his popular support eroded both at home and abroad. In Israel, however, the US president will be greeted with nothing but adulation and gratitude. From the prime minister downwards, Israelis continue to hold Mr Bush in high esteem, thanks to his unwavering support for the country in its struggle with Arab neighbours and militant Palestinian forces.

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Baby Steps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic
by Dennis Ross - (Commentary) January 8, 2008 - 6:08pm

To: President George W. Bush From: Dennis Ross Subject: This week's visit with the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority Mr. President, no doubt you have received many briefings on this topic, but having negotiated with everybody you will be seeing this week and having just returned from the area, I would like to convey a few impressions that I hope will be of use to you.

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Bush To Visit An Ambivalent Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Bourdreaux - January 8, 2008 - 6:06pm

For seven years, President Bush has been a distant defender of Israel, working from Washington to tilt America's policies in the Middle East more firmly behind its longtime ally. When he arrives here Wednesday on his first presidential visit, however, Bush will find an ambivalent Israeli public. It is appreciative of his efforts, yet critical of U.S. setbacks that have made the region feel more threatening.

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January 7, 2008 - Vol. 9, Issue 18
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Middle East Peace Report - January 8, 2008 - 6:04pm

NO OUTPOST CRACKDOWN, PART I: On the eve of President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel, Peace Now held a demonstration at the site of the largest unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost. This outpost, known as Migron, was constructed on privately-owned Palestinian land and the Israeli government has repeatedly expressed to the High Court of Justice its intention to remove it. At the rally, former Knesset Member and Peace Now leader Mossi Raz said that all illegal outposts “must be evacuated now, and the settlements as well.

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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.

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