Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Ilene Prusher of The Christian Science Monitor details the rejuvenation of talks to complete the Isarel/Egypt wall (2). In The Gulf News, Khalil Al Assali reports on Dr. Mustafa Al Barghouthi statement that Hamas is effectively ending ‘the Palestinian dream’ (3). A Forward editorial on religion and the Jewish vote in the American election warrants a clarification (7). Al-Jazeera breaks news that Egypt is calling for PA help in Gaza’s border management (8). Daniel Kurtzer of the Daily Star offers deep analysis of the peace process (10) while Akiva Eldar of Haaretz examines the irrelevancy of military superiority (12).

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Suicide Bombing Revives Israeli Push To Finish Its Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - February 5, 2008 - 7:19pm In the aftermath of the first Palestinian suicide bombing in more than a year, many Israelis have returned to an old conclusion: build a barrier. Some politicians said that the answer to Monday's attack on the southern town of Dimona was to resurrect an existing, but never-implemented, plan to build some combination of a wall and fence between Egypt and Israel. The barrier would be similar to the West Bank wall that Israel started erecting more than six years ago, at a time when there was an almost nonstop cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. » Read more

'the Palestinian Dream Is Over' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Khalil Al Assali - February 5, 2008 - 7:20pm Occupied Jerusalem: Dr Mustafa Al Barghouthi, a member of the Legislative Council and a prominent Palestinian activist, could not find a better word than "disaster" to express his anger at the announcement made by Hamas officials regarding a study that aims to separate the economy from Israel and connect with Egypt. "These declarations are very risky and briefly mean the separation of the West Bank from the Gaza Strip and the end of the Palestinian dream," Dr Barghouthi told Gulf News. » Read more

Security Experts Fear New Wave Of Terrorism In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Speigel International by Pierre Heumann - February 5, 2008 - 7:22pm Terrorists struck again in Israel on Monday in the first suicide bombing the country has seen in a year. It was an attack that politicians and military officers say they have seen coming for days. The bloody deed, which claimed the lives of one Israeli woman and the two suicide bombers, came as no surprise for many Israelis. Now that the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is open, it has become easier for terrorists to reach Israel from Gaza. Security experts have been warning that terrorists in Gaza would see this as a new opportunity -- and would take advantage of it. » Read more

Olmert Takes 'responsibilty' For Failed War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 5, 2008 - 7:23pm OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud  Olmert said Monday that he assumed full responsibility for failures  highlighted in a report last week by a government-appointed  commission into the 2006 Lebanon war. "The Winograd Commission said what it had to say, and what it  said was very harsh. I bear full responsibility for all the failures  - I never tried to shirk that," Olmert told an extraordinary  session of Parliament that convened to discuss the report. » Read more

Us Condemns Suicide Bombing In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 5, 2008 - 7:23pm The United States on Monday condemned the suicide bombing that killed a woman in Israel, saying it underscored the need to make progress on the Middle East peace process launched in November. The White House also called on the Palestinian Authority to crack down on terrorism and criticized the Islamist movement Hamas for backing such attacks. » Read more

Egypt Wants Pa Back On Gaza Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English February 5, 2008 - 7:25pm Egypt has called on Hamas to allow the Palestinian Authority to oversee Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, and warned Palestinians in Gaza not to test it's patience. » Read more

Gaza Blockade Collective Punishment Says Hrw ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Palestine Chronicle (Editorial) February 5, 2008 - 7:27pm Israel's crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip is a collective punishment of the 1.5 million population of the small, overcrowded territory, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report on Thursday, January 31. "The Israeli and Western economic embargo of Gaza, Israel's almost total closure of Gaza's border crossings, ongoing lawlessness in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and heightened Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank contributed to a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis," said the report cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP). » Read more

Looking At Process In The Arab-israeli Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Daniel Kurtzer - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:34pm With the resumption of the Middle East peace process after Annapolis, the focus has turned to the substantive divide between the parties regarding the core issues of territory and boundaries, security, Jerusalem and refugees. Different ways have been suggested to approach these issues: for example, trying to reach agreement on a declaration of principles; trying to reach a full agreement and then putting it on the shelf until the time is ripe for implementation; or trying for a full agreement and implementation in phases, to begin immediately. » Read more

World Bank: Education In The Arab World Is 'lagging Behind' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 5, 2008 - 7:35pm The World Bank has described the education system in Arab countries as "lagging behind" other regions in the developing world, in a report released on Monday. The report, titled "The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa," the World Bank said the region "has not capitalized fully on past investments in education, let alone developed education systems capable of meeting new challenges." » Read more

Running In Place From Lebanon To Dimona ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) February 5, 2008 - 7:36pm The suicide bombing in Dimona and the ongoing Qassam rocket fire on Sderot reveal that the "running in place" did not begin and end with the Second Lebanon War. The Winograd Committee asks how it is possible for a war that lasted more than a month to have ended with neither a diplomatic nor military victory. The war against Hamas has been going on for more than seven years, but victory seems about as close as the diplomatic horizon. » Read more

Ticking Bomb ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel And Avi Issacharoff - February 8, 2008 - 7:53pm Despite the closing of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt yesterday, it seems that the next attack, kidnapping or suicide bombing carried out by a Palestinian group against Israelis, in Sinai or the southern Negev, is just a matter of time. With the border remaining completely open for 12 days, it is difficult to estimate the amount of arms and munitions that were brought into the Strip. » Read more

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