January 10th

Bush Sees Middle East Deal In 2008 - But Warns Israel Over "swiss Cheese" Solutio ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Philippe Naughton - January 10, 2008 - 4:51pm President Bush declared today that a Middle East peace treaty would be signed before he leaves the White House in January next year - but warned Israel against a "Swiss cheese" solution for the borders of an independent Palestinian state. “I believe it’s possible - not only possible - I believe it’s going to happen, that there’ll be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office. That’s what I believe," Mr Bush told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah after meeting Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President. » Read more

Differing Opinions Fail To Dent Israel's Love Affair With Bush ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - January 10, 2008 - 4:48pm The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, declared last night that Israel reserved the right to expand existing Jewish settlements in Arab East Jerusalem and in parts of the West Bank that it hopes to retain in any final peace deal. » Read more

Bush Fails To Gain Concessions On Settlements From Olmert ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory Mccarthy - January 10, 2008 - 4:47pm The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, last night refused to rule out further settlement building in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank, highlighting the deep gulf between Israel and the Palestinians that confronts George Bush on his first visit to Israel and the West Bank as president. Against a backdrop of bristling security that accompanied the presidential visit, the Israeli prime minister said the US and the Palestinians knew there was an Israeli "moratorium" on new settlements and on the new expropriation of Palestinian land in the occupied territories. » Read more

Bush Cautions Israel On Undermining Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - January 10, 2008 - 4:45pm George W Bush on Thursday cautioned Israel not to undermine the authorities and security forces of a fledgling Palestinian state, as he sought to reassure Palestinian leaders that the US will act as an even-handed mediator in the Arab-Israeli peace talks launched last year. » Read more

In Exclusion, Hamas Counts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mohammed Omer - (Opinion) January 10, 2008 - 4:44pm Leaders from the Palestinian party Hamas that won the elections in Gaza two years back have inevitably not been invited to meet Bush. The U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. Hamas took control of Gaza by force from the Fatah party headed by Abbas in June last year, about a year and a half after it swept the polls in January 2006. As Hamas leaders and supporters see it, Bush's talks with Abbas can count for little if they are kept out. And so with Abbas's talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just ahead of Bush's visit. » Read more

Bush Urges Peace As Part Of Broader Mideast Vision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - January 10, 2008 - 4:43pm The thorny question of Israel's West Bank settlements has dogged President Bush's overarching message during his eight-day tour of the Middle East: Democracies must unite to confront terrorism. In language that is unusually blunt considering his warm relations with Israel, Bush has made clear his frustration with Israel's failure so far to deal with outposts, or unauthorized new settlements. » Read more

Dangerous Talk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) January 10, 2008 - 4:41pm srael got a rude reminder last week of just how deeply it is divided on the question of what to do with the West Bank. A popular rabbi, Shalom Dov Wolpe, declared publicly January 2 that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his top ministers ought to be hanged for considering withdrawal. » Read more

On Mideast Trip, Bush Hopes To Propel Historic Israeli-palestinian Peacemaking ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - January 10, 2008 - 4:40pm The patriotic tunes that greeted President Bush as he arrived in Israel Wednesday for the first time in his presidency set the tone for a historic visit. But given the laudatory remarks of Mr. Bush and his Israeli counterparts on the airport tarmac, the visit seemed focused on celebrating and strengthening the US-Israel relationship, throwing into question whether Bush would be equally welcomed Thursday in the West Bank. » Read more

Bush Urges End To Israeli Occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller, Matt Spetalnick - January 10, 2008 - 4:24pm U.S. President George W. Bush, hardening his tone towards Israel on Thursday, urged an end to "the occupation" of the West Bank and pushed for a peace treaty to be signed within a year to create a Palestinian state. The United States rarely uses the politically charged word "occupation" to describe Israel's hold on lands captured in a 1967 war. It is a term Palestinians seeking a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip employ frequently to describe their plight. » Read more

Bush Predicts Completion Of Mideast Treaty ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael Abramowitz - January 10, 2008 - 4:22pm President Bush said Thursday that a Palestinian-Israeli peace treaty could be signed within a year, but that the subsequent creation of a Palestinian state will take longer and require both sides to make "painful political concessions." Those include, he said, an end to the Israeli "occupation" of Arab land seized in a 1967 war, a recognition by the Palestinians that some disputed territory will remain with Israel, and compromise over the status of Jerusalem, a city which both sides claim as important to their identity and faith. » Read more