Israeli, Palestinian bereaved families meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Anat Shalev - September 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

This weekend a series of meetings between Jewish and Palestinian families was held under the auspices of the "Parents Circle," a group connecting bereaved families from both sides. The Palestinians listened to the accounts of families of individuals who were killed by Qassam rockets, while the Israelis heard stories from Palestinian parents who have lost their children in the West Bank village of Naalin. Both sides agreed that peace must prevail to stop the bloodshed.

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'Establishment of Palestinian state is in Jordan?s strategic interest'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
September 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Establishing an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil serves Jordan?s ?higher strategic interests?, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nasser Judeh said on Thursday. Arriving at a just solution for the issue of refugees in accordance with international resolutions, especially UN General Assembly Resolution No. 194 that stipulates the Palestinian refugees? right to return and repatriation, is also in the Kingdom?s strategic interest, he noted.

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Barak To Mubarak: Egypt Is Central Factor In Return Of Shalit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Analysis) August 26, 2008 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Egyptian President Husni Mubarak on Tuesday that Israel views Egypt as a central factor in the return of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in 2006. Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas for his release have apparently reached a standstill.

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Barak holds meeting with Mubarak in Egypt on talks to free Shalit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - August 25, 2008 - 8:00pm

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Egyptian President Husni Mubarak on Tuesday that Israel views Egypt as a central factor in the return of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in 2006. Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas for his release have apparently reached a standstill.

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Israel Closes Gaza Crossings Over Rocket Fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Shumlik Hadad - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the commercial crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip closed as of Wednesday morning following the launching of a Qassam rocket towards southern Israel earlier on Tuesday. The crossings are to remain closed over the next two days. On Thursday Barak will conduct a revaluation of the situation Palestinian gunmen launched a Qassam rocket from northern Gaza towards Israel on Tuesday evening. The rocket landed in an open area in a kibbutz belonging to the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council.

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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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Girding For War With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
(Editorial) April 4, 2008 - 6:09pm

Recent events serve as a reminder of how menacing behavior from Iran and Syria keeps the Middle East on a hair trigger. On Tuesday, Israel learned that Hezbollah was rapidly rebuilding its military capabilities and preparing for renewed conflict with Israel. The next morning, a London-based Arab newspaper reported that Syria was concentrating troops and tanks along its border with Lebanon and had massed troops in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in preparation for an Israeli attack.

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Enlightenment Through The Enemy's Eyes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - April 3, 2008 - 5:31pm

As the barrage of rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip began to rain down on the Israeli border town of Sderot the warning sirens were already wailing, sending thousands of Israelis scurrying for their lives in the city's ubiquitous underground bomb shelters. A few kilometers north at the Barzilai medical center in the town of Ashkelon, staff were on high alert as they scrambled to evacuate patients to safety. One of the Grad rockets fired from Gaza landed a mere 50 meters from the hospital entrance.

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Israelis Oppose Withdrawal From West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor
March 25, 2008 - 5:55pm

The majority of people in Israel are against continuing a process of dismantling Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, according to a poll by the Mutagim Institute published in the Jerusalem Post. 64.9 per cent of respondents oppose withdrawing from Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

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Germany Backs Israel All The Way
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Peter Hirschberg - March 24, 2008 - 5:52pm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed that her country would always stand by Israel, that she was committed to halting Iran's nuclear ambitions, and that rocket attacks by Palestinian militants in Gaza on Israeli towns and cities were a criminal act.

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