October 26th

Rebuilding Trust Remains At The Core ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arabic Media Internet Network by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:58pm Since President Bush declared his intention a few months ago to convene a Middle East peace conference, experts on the region and government officials have proposed specific agenda items that should be addressed to insure its success. » Read more

The Damascus Conference Versus The Conference Of The Fall Grandstanding At The Expense Of The Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:56pm The secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, presented an important report to the Security Council this week. The report returns to the forefront the issue of disarming Hizbullah as a cornerstone to enabling the Lebanese state to recover full sovereignty over its territory. Ki-moon called for implementing the commitment to dismantle all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and disarm the Palestinian militias operating in Lebanon. He asked Syria and Iran to cooperate in this effort and halt all military supplies and support for these militias. » Read more

Prioritizing Palestinian Dignity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Palestine Chronicle by Sherri Muzher - (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:54pm "I am Mr. Nobody," stated Palestinian Mahmoud Jnaid in an October 19th Reuters article.  Jnaid recently doused himself in fuel and tried to set himself on fire before other Palestinian on-lookers overpowered him.     "When I poured the petrol on my body I felt life was the same as death," the 25-year-old said while he sat next to his wife and children.   » Read more

I Had A Great Sense Of Being At The Very Lowest Point Of My Life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Alan Johnston - (Special Report) October 26, 2007 - 5:52pm It had begun out in the spring sunshine, on the streets of Gaza City. A saloon car had suddenly surged past mine, and then pulled up, forcing me to stop. A young man emerged from the passenger side and pointed a pistol at me. The figure with the pistol and another gunman forced me into their car, and as we sped off I was made to lie on the back seat. A hood had been shoved over my face, but through it I could see the sun flickering between the tower blocks. I could tell that we were heading south and east, towards the city’s rougher neighbourhoods. » Read more

Inside Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Clancy Chassay - (Special Report) October 26, 2007 - 5:50pm In the long shadows of early dusk, a large black Mercedes with blacked-out windows picked me up from my hotel and whisked me through Gaza City's dusty, sullied streets. The roads, strewn with rubbish, were largely empty: Gaza was preparing for an Israeli incursion and the routine was familiar. » Read more

Gaza Christians Fear 'those More Extreme Than Hamas' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) October 26, 2007 - 5:48pm The kidnapping and killing of Rami Ayyad, manager of the Gaza Strip's only Christian bookstore, sent shudders through the Palestinian coastal enclave's tiny Christian community. Spared by the summer's fierce factional clashes in which the Islamist Hamas movement seized power by routing their secular Fatah party rivals, Christians began to worry they too might be driven from the volatile coastal strip. » Read more

The Good Guys Come Out To Play ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:46pm One of the comments about Middle East policy that one hears from Senators, House Members and staff with ever-growing frequency is: "Why are obstructionist hawks so forceful a presence on Capitol Hill when they represent only a minority of the community?”  One can hardly exaggerate how often this question is posed to us -- albeit only by those who feel confident that we will not "blow the whistle" on them by publicizing their doubts about the long-standing U.S. approach to the Middle East.   » Read more

Lebanon: Palestinian Refugees Face Systematic Discrimination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Simba Russeau - October 26, 2007 - 5:45pm Denied access to social services, education, adequate housing and employment, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon continue to suffer discrimination and marginalisation. More than half of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been forced to live in segregated ghettos since they were forced to flee their lands and homes after the creation of Israel in 1948. » Read more

Israel Oks Gaza Electricity Cutoffs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times October 26, 2007 - 5:43pm Israel approved Thursday a plan to start punitive disruptions of the Gaza Strip's scarce supplies of electricity in response to rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials, noting that Palestinian militants fire rockets across the border almost daily, said the sanctions could start anytime. The plan calls for initial power cutoffs of 15 minutes, followed by increasingly longer ones each time more rockets fall. » Read more

Realizing God's Dream For The Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe by Desmond Tutu - (Opinion) October 26, 2007 - 5:42pm WHENEVER I am asked if I am optimistic about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I say that I am not. Optimism requires clear signs that things are changing - meaningful words and unambiguous actions that point to real progress. I do not yet hear enough meaningful words, nor do I yet see enough unambiguous deeds to justify optimism. » Read more