Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Reuters reports on the latest news from the Rafah crossing (1.) The Economist examines the new power equation following Hamas’ breach of the border (2.) Time Magazine further analyzes the Gaza situation (3.) The Independent’s Donald Macintyre (4) and Financial Time’s Phillip Stevens (5) examine Olmert’s options. The Financial Times discusses how Israel’s coalition government rests on Labor’s upcoming decision (6.) The Time’s Chris Doyle argues continued occupation is the driving force behind continued Qassam rocket attacks and questions punishing the million for the sake of the few (7.) With U.S. elections impending, M.J. Rosenberg offers platform advice to candidates (10) as the Middle East Times ranks their support for Palestine (11.) Finally, Al-Ahram’s Serene Assir argues for permanent long-term cooperation between Egypt and Gaza(12).

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Putting Humpty Together Again In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tim Mcgirk - February 1, 2008 - 6:27pm Egypt's efforts to restore order on its breached border with Gaza suffered a setback Wednesday in Cairo, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to talk to the leaders of Hamas. Needing a Palestinian partner to police the Rafah crossing, President Hosni Mubarak had invited his Palestinian counterpart to meet with leaders of the Islamist movement that has, since last summer, been the only effective authority in Gaza. But Abbas's refusal to acknowledge the facts on the ground created by Hamas's takeover of the territory left the Egyptians with no easy way forward. » Read more

Olmert's Real Moment Of Truth Has Yet To Come ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - (Opinion) February 1, 2008 - 6:28pm Talking with a few foreign journalists 10 days before Wednesday's Winograd report on the 2006 Lebanon war, a senior member of Israel's cabinet suggested that the report would not unseat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert but that his negotiations with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might. » Read more

Fate Of Israeli Coalition In The Balance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - (Opinion) February 1, 2008 - 6:35pm The future of Israel’s shaky coalition government is set to be decided this weekend, with the centre-left Labor party expected to announce by Monday morning whether to withdraw its support for Ehud Olmert, the embattled prime minister. » Read more

Palestinian Majority Opposes Rocket Attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor February 1, 2008 - 6:38pm Many residents of the Palestinian Territories believe a series of rocket attacks launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel should stop, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 52.7 per cent of respondents share this view. » Read more

The Anti-israel Factor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) February 1, 2008 - 6:40pm On Tuesday, millions of voters in 21 states will make their choice for President. Although it is unlikely that the two nominations will be sewed up on February 5, Super Tuesday will mark the end of the preliminary stage of “The Making of the President 2008” and will move us very close to the main event. From a roster of more than a dozen potential Presidents, we are now down to just Senators Clinton and Obama on the Democratic side and Senator McCain and Governors Romney and Huckabee for the Republicans. This early deciding is relatively new. » Read more

Who Is More Pro-palestine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times (Editorial) February 1, 2008 - 6:41pm The choice has been whittled down to four candidates in the U.S. presidential race, so their various positions on the outstanding issues of Middle Eastern politics are becoming increasingly important. It is also becoming interesting, because while the staunchly pro-Israeli positions of senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton are well known, Senator Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are relative newcomers to the international scene. » Read more

Brotherhood Sought ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram by Serene Assir - February 1, 2008 - 6:42pm One week on from the mass act of popular refusal among Palestinians that broke the siege of Gaza, movement in and out of the occupied territory has being radically cut down as Egyptian Central Security forces were deployed in thousands to block the entry of Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula via Rafah and Arish. Meanwhile, calls to Egyptian authorities for a greater show of solidarity -- indeed, sovereignty from the will of Israel -- to break the siege imposed seven months ago on Gaza intensified over the course of the week. » Read more

Shikaki: Hamas’ Popularity On Rise In Gaza After Tearing Down Wall With Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Council on Foreign Relations by Bernard Gwertzman - (Interview) February 4, 2008 - 7:44pm Khalil Shikaki, a leading Palestinian political scientist and polling expert based in the West Bank, says that Hamas, the radical Palestinian group opposed to Israel, has been losing popularity among Palestinians since it took over Gaza by force last June. But more recently, Israeli sanctions against Gaza in retaliation for the rocket attacks on Israel, and Hamas tearing down the wall separating Gaza from Egypt, have probably boosted Hamas’ popularity again, making it difficult for Hamas’ rival, Fatah, to contemplate defeating Hamas in another election. » Read more

Obama's Israel Shuffle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Mother Jones by Justin Elliott - (Opinion) February 4, 2008 - 7:49pm Last week, when Barack Obama became the first major candidate to break the silence on the situation in Gaza, he didn't criticize Israel, whose blockade of a civilian population has been roundly condemned by human rights organizations, nor did he call for restraint from the United States' top ally in the Mideast. Instead, he fired off a letter to U.N. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad with a resounding message—one that could have been mistaken for words straight from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) website. » Read more

An Oppurtunity For An Arab Role To Restore The Lost Balance In The Region ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Raghidadergham.com by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) February 4, 2008 - 7:52pm The opportunity is ripe now for a distinguished Arab role in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon and with both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is also an urgent need to formulate and develop this role both for defensive and offensive purposes. Arabs have no more excuses to be absent or to abstain from assuming this role because hiding behind pretexts, such as weakness, helplessness or impatience today will earn them nothing but deep regrets in the future. » Read more

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