PA forces foil suicide bombing bid by Hebron terrorists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - October 5, 2008 - 8:00pm

Palestinian security forces have thwarted an attempted suicide bombing within the Green Line, Palestinian sources told Haaretz recently. The security service in the West Bank arrested two senior wanted members of Hamas' military wing in Hebron, who were found in possession of weapons and an explosives belt, the sources said. The suspects, who were arrested three weeks ago, were also in possession of a great deal of cash, which they were thought to be planning to use in carrying out the attack.

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There's a Partner, but Who Cares?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 14, 2008 - 8:00pm

A new security reality has been developing in the West Bank in recent months, one that has been virtually ignored by the Israeli press. The chaos that once reigned in the West Bank's cities, villages and refugee camps has vanished, replaced by newly invigorated Palestinian security forces. In the 14 months since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority has managed to revive a concept almost unknown to residents of the territories in recent years: law and order.

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Israel Reopens Key Gaza Crossing For First Time Since April Suicide Bombing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
August 19, 2008 - 12:00am

Israel has allowed food and other supplies to enter the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through a key commercial crossing that had been closed for months, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. Defense Ministry official Peter Lerner said about 80 trucks would pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing in a trial run before it is officially reopened in accordance with an Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas.

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Legitimizing Hamas: Carter's Visit Sends The Wrong Message
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Weekly Standard
by Matthew Levitt - (Opinion) April 16, 2008 - 5:57pm

Imagine the Alice in Wonderland scene that will take place later this week, when U.S. Secret Service agents entrusted with protecting former president Jimmy Carter stand guard over a meeting with the head of a designated terrorist group responsible for near daily attacks targeting civilians, including numerous attacks in which American citizens have been injured and killed. The former president may have altruistic motives, but his meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mishal is both imprudent and dangerous.

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Jerusalem Struggles To Maintain Its Balance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 10, 2008 - 5:34pm

When an Arab from East Jerusalem killed eight people at a Jewish seminary, it endangered the fragile fabric of life in a city where people divided by distrust have nonetheless managed to get along. The shooting was a shock to many Jerusalemites, not only because it followed a long period of relative quiet, but also because even in the peak years of Palestinian suicide bombings, the Arabs of East Jerusalem were largely bystanders. In the aftermath, the city's Jews fear for their safety, while Arabs are wary of a backlash.

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Israelis Seek Support For Gaza Attack, Abduct 70 In West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
February 15, 2008 - 2:14pm

  While arresting 70 Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, Israel took nearly 70 foreign ambassadors to its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic campaign to enlist international support for tougher action against the enclave's Hamas rulers.

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Israel Seeks International Backing For Gaza Campaign
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - February 13, 2008 - 5:09pm

Israel took nearly 70 foreign ambassadors to its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic campaign to enlist international support for tougher action against the enclave's Hamas Islamist rulers. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the envoys at the Erez crossing with Gaza that cross-border rocket fire by militants had created an "unbearable" situation that would only get worse. "Israel must act in order to reduce these threats," she said.

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Olmert: Significant Progress Possible On Borders Of Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid Shmuel Rosner - February 13, 2008 - 5:06pm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says it is possible to advance significantly the resolution of the issue of borders in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in spite of a shared concern by officials of both sides, and the United States, as to their ability to realistically achieve a detailed agreement by the end of 2008.

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Palestinian Questions Peace Progress
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Anne Gearan - February 12, 2008 - 7:15pm

The U.S.-backed Palestinian prime minister said Monday that time is running short to demonstrate progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks President Bush launched to fanfare last fall. "Unless there is tangible progress in the period immediately ahead" on a list of pledges made by Israel, "I think, honestly, it would require that we begin to really call this for what it is," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said. Fayyad did not write off the peace effort, but said there is good reason for skepticism.

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Rice To Mideast Next Week To Push Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 11, 2008 - 9:37pm

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next week to push peace talks stalled amid escalating violence, Palestinian officials said on Sunday. Rice "will visit us within the coming days and she will try to push the negotiations," Ahmed Qorei, the former prime minister heading the Palestinian team in the revived Middle East peace talks, told journalists.

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