February 6th

Israel Rebuffs Egypt-gaza Border Deployments
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - February 6, 2008 - 7:55pm

Israeli leaders on Wednesday rejected proposals to secure Gaza's frontier with Egypt with additional Egyptian forces or international troops two weeks after militants blasted it open, officials said. Israel's Foreign Ministry had suggested giving the nod to Egypt to double the number of its guards at the border to 1,500. Under an Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement, the number of troops that can be deployed along the frontier is limited.

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February 5th

The BBC reports that Israel has approved the construction of a fence along its border with Egypt (2) while reports issued by The Media Line and MIFTAH detail the growth in the economy of the West Bank (4) and the political opinions of educated, youth and women Palestinians (5) respectively. An editorial in the Jewish Daily Forward wonders why Israel continues not to explore Hamas’ standing offer of a cease-fire (8). In the Daily Star, Rami Khouri comments on the declining power of the Arab state (9). Finally, Amira Hass of Haaretz discusses what the PA can do to increase its support among current Palestinians on strike.

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.

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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."

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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.

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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).

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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.

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The Smearing Of Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) February 5, 2008 - 7:24pm

This week’s Forward carries an editorial responding to an Internet whisper campaign that claims Barack Obama is somehow hiding a secret Muslim identity behind his devout Christianity, and that he might represent some covert threat. In particular, we examine the anxious mindset that leads all too many Americans, including Jewish Americans, to give credence to distortions that we call “implausible” and “amateurish.” The editorial seeks to argue that liberals have not yet found effective answers when faced with this sort of fear-mongering from the right.

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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.

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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.

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