Officials: Cairo talks unlikely to reconcile Hamas and Fatah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

A new round of Egyptian mediation starting on Monday and aimed at reconciling the rival Hamas and Fatah factions is unlikely to produce a breakthrough, officials familiar with the talks told Reuters. Sharp differences between Egypt and Hamas on two key issues will make it even harder for Cairo to broker a deal between the Islamic militant group that now rules the Gaza Strip and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, they said.

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Hamas Rejects Arab Deployment Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Hamas has rejected a proposal to deploy Arab troops in the Gaza Strip, saying such a move would only deepen divisions among the Palestinians. The proposal, which was presented to Hamas by Egypt and Jordan in recent days, has won the full backing of the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah. The initiative has also won the backing of the Saudis, who told visiting PA President Mahmoud Abbas that they would do their utmost to persuade Hamas to accept it, a senior PA official said Tuesday.

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Hamas rejects Arab deployment plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - August 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Hamas has rejected a proposal to deploy Arab troops in the Gaza Strip, saying such a move would only deepen divisions among the Palestinians. The proposal, which was presented to Hamas by Egypt and Jordan in recent days, has won the full backing of the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah. The initiative has also won the backing of the Saudis, who told visiting PA President Mahmoud Abbas that they would do their utmost to persuade Hamas to accept it, a senior PA official said Tuesday.

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Israel sends truckfuls of money to replace worn out currency in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into Israel Tuesday, in violation of the two-month old truce between Israel the coastal territory. The rocket landed in an open area in the Sha'ar HaNegev regional council area. No injuries or damage were reported. Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the border crossings with Gaza closed between Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon in response to the rocket attack.

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Mideast Peace Prospects
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - April 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Though I have been to the region many times, my most recent trip to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan confirmed the alarming new obstacles facing the quest for peace in the Middle East and the urgency with which they need to be addressed by all parties.

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Brothers At Bay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Analysis) April 17, 2008 - 6:05pm

Egypt's government battles with the Muslim Brotherhood

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Israel Slow To Admit Gaza Patients, U.n. Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 3, 2008 - 5:22pm

A new report by the World Health Organization says that 32 Palestinians from Gaza have died in recent months largely because of Israeli restrictions that delayed their access to urgent medical treatment in Israel.

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Israel Bars Access From W. Bank, Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 19, 2008 - 7:19pm

Israel declared a heightened security alert on Wednesday and barred Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from entering the country, fearing Hezbollah guerrillas may try to carry out a major attack during holiday celebrations this week. The Purim holiday coincides with the end of a 40-day mourning period for Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bombing in Syria last month. Israel has denied involvement, but the Lebanese guerrilla group has blamed Israel and vowed revenge.

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Hamas: Cease-fire Deal Must Include West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury, Yossi Verter And Barak Ravid - March 6, 2008 - 7:41pm

Hamas said Thursday that any Gaza Strip cease-fire with Israel must include an end to Israel Defense Forces operations in the West Bank, as Egypt launched talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a bid to secure a truce. Hamas spokesman in Gaza Ayman Taha told A-Shams Radio that the Hamas delegation dispatched to the Egyptian city of El-Arish on the Sinai Peninsula had returned to the Strip.

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Gaza Clashes Cloud Rice's Trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Tim Mcgirk - March 5, 2008 - 7:46pm

In the southern Israeli port city of Ashkelon, the bull's-eye of Palestinian rocket attacks, pharmacists noted that the sale of tranquilizers shot up by more than 60% in the past week as residents sought to calm their shattered nerves. But with Ashkelon's 120,000 citizens now in the range of the Russian-made Grad rockets recently hauled out of Hamas' arsenals to escalate the confrontation, the drug of choice for Israeli leaders and U.S. officials trying to revive peace talks is more likely to be aspirin or any other pain reliever to help treat their frequent headaches.

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