Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Reuters reports on Israel's looking with favor at the Palestinian government's proposed plan to take control over the breached Gaza border crossing with Egypt (2.) The Los Angeles Times looks at how Islamist and opposition Egyptian groups are using the Gaza crisis to strengthen their appeal and provoke wider protests against the Egyptian government (3.) A Christian Science Monitor opinion by Helena Cobban argues that the Gaza crisis demonstrates the need for direct or indirect U.S. talks with Hamas (5.) In Middle East Times, editor Claude Salhani analyzes President Bush's state of the union address with regards to Mideast issues (7.) DPA (Germany) reports on a European Union foreign ministers' statement calling on Israel to halt all settlement activity in Palestinian areas, referring to it as illegal (9.) The Independent (UK) reports on a unique guided tour of the West Bank city of Hebron offered by a retired Israeli army reservist and meant to highlight the abuse of the Palestinian civilian population by Israeli settlers (10.) In BitterLemons (Israel/Palestine) former Palestinian minister of planning Ghassan Khatib examines why the Gaza border breach is a short term victory for Hamas but a long term contributor to the separation of the West Bank from Gaza (12.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by Gershon Baskin looks at how the formal opening and regulating of Gaza's border with Egypt could work out in all parties' favor (14.)

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Israel Won't Resist Abbas Control At Egypt Crossing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous - January 29, 2008 - 5:59pm Israel will not stand in the way of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt as part of a deal to sideline Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave, officials said on Tuesday. But it is unclear how Abbas, the Fatah leader, would be able to assert control over the crossing with Egypt given opposition from Hamas, which seized the coastal territory in June and blasted open the Egyptian border wall last week in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade. » Read more

Border Crisis Bolsters Islamists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - January 29, 2008 - 6:38pm Egypt's main Islamist party and other opposition groups are strengthening their appeal by using images of desperate Palestinians streaming out of the Gaza Strip to provoke wider protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 26-year-old government. » Read more

Excluding The Militant Group Won't Secure Peace In The Middle East. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Helena Cobban - (Opinion) January 29, 2008 - 6:40pm Last week, the Palestinian militant organization Hamas masterminded a spectacular "bust-out" into Egypt of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, where Israel has been maintaining a tight siege for many years. That bust-out reinforced the strength of Hamas's popular support among Palestinians and has started to change the political map of the region. » Read more

Palestinians Rush For Confirmation They Exist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mona Alami - January 29, 2008 - 6:41pm The Palestinian Liberation Organisation headquarters in the posh neighbourhood of the now closed Summerland Hotel in Beirut is buzzing with activity. A few men in black, Kalashnikovs firmly in their hands, guard the entrance to the elegant building. A handful of veiled women and older men carrying papers scurry past them up the stairs to the PLO offices. » Read more

Politics & Policies: Bush's Last Hurrah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) January 29, 2008 - 6:42pm There was no mention of the "axis of evil" in U.S. President George W. Bush's final State of the Union address Monday night, although the president did made a point of singling out Iran and al-Qaida as continuing to threaten the advance of democracy in the Middle East. But, said the president, the United States, "would not rest until this enemy has been defeated." » Read more

Jerusalem Diary: Monday 28 January ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Tim Franks - January 29, 2008 - 6:51pm RAFAH AND GAZA CITY Some came just to gawk, to be part of the moment. Some came to see family they hadn't seen for years. One family, heaving plastic suitcases, told me they were going to Norway. Most came to shop, returning with whatever they could carry or push.   But away from the delight and the novelty down in Rafah, life ground on.   » Read more

Gaza's People Cry Out For Freedom ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) January 29, 2008 - 6:57pm On a human level, scenes of hungry families breaking free from their besieged open-air prison elicit an emotional response. My own was one of relief mixed with gratitude towards members of the Egyptian security services, who refrained from a shoot-to-kill policy even when faced with intense provocation. » Read more

Border Control / Olmert's Man In Ramallah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - January 29, 2008 - 6:59pm Prime Minster Ehud Olmert wouldn't have had to ask twice: The barest of winks, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) would have sent every journalist in Israel a petition calling to keep the prime minister where he is. For good reason. People in Ramallah read the public opinion polls published in those papers, too. » Read more

Egypt-hamas Tensions Rise Over Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 30, 2008 - 5:42pm Movement across the Gaza-Egypt border slowed to a trickle Tuesday as security forces made progress in sealing off breaches and cold, rainy weather discouraged travelers. The focus of the weeklong crisis shifted to growing tensions between Egypt and the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza, who are now demanding a role in overseeing the border. » Read more

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. » Read more

One More Year Of The Same ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jim Lobe - January 30, 2008 - 5:47pm With just less than one year left in his presidency, George W. Bush remains as focused as ever on the Middle East and Iraq and appears reluctant to take on any major new foreign policy challenges in the time that he remains in power. That appears to be the consensus of most analysts here in the wake of Bush's last State of the Union address, which was delivered in the stately Capitol building Monday night. » Read more

Israeli And Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Daniel Barenboim - January 30, 2008 - 5:49pm BERLIN: I have often made the statement that the destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian people are inextricably linked and that there is no military solution to the conflict. My recent acceptance of Palestinian nationality has given me the opportunity to demonstrate this more tangibly. When my family moved to Israel from Argentina in the 1950s, one of my parents' intentions was to spare me the experience of growing up as part of a minority - a Jewish minority. They wanted to me to grow up as part of a majority - a Jewish majority. » Read more

Egypt And Iran Take The Right Step ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) January 30, 2008 - 5:53pm The steps taken by Egypt and Iran to restore ties between the two countries is by all means and on various levels significant. It not only paves the way for building on the relationship positively but also sets a precedent for using diplomatic measures as a facilitator to address and resolve outstanding issues. » Read more

For The Cause, The Settlements Must Go ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Sheldon Schreter - January 31, 2008 - 6:11pm Israelis seem to have lost their belief in the rightness of our cause, as various observers have recently noted with alarm. Whether you attribute this to ideological fatigue, the universal tendency to pursue personal and material goals over collective ones, or loss in the belief of God's promise of this Land to Abraham, there is real cause for concern. Given Israel's challenges and the demands placed on its citizens, a national consensus on war and peace, relations with our Arab neighbors, and over societal priorities is no luxury, but a necessity. » Read more

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