An op-ed by ATFP President Ziad Asali in The Daily Star urges swift action on all sides to rebuild Gaza and preserve the potential for peace in the Middle East (1). In The Nation, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish (psycho)analyzes the Israeli film "Waltz With Bashir"(2). After meeting in Cairo, Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas announce that first steps towards a unity government have been taken (3) (7) (8). The New York Times profiles US efforts to fund and train Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank (4). Secretary of State Clinton faces criticism from some Jewish Americans as she pressures Israel to speed up the delivery of aid to Gaza (5). Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Mideast Envoy George Mitchell (6).

Europe to give $556 million in Palestinian aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

The European Union's executive office says it will give 436 million euros ($556 million) in aid to the Palestinians in 2009, including support for rebuilding Gaza. The European Commission said in a statement Friday that the pledge is to be made at a donors' conference for Gaza on Monday. It is not clear how much of that sum will be spent in Gaza.

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A New Debate on Where Antisemitism Comes From
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
February 25, 2009 - 1:00am

Responding to mounting signs of a resurgence of aggressive antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere, the British government recently hosted an unusual gathering to discuss ways of fighting the threat. Known as the London Conference on Combating Antisemitism, the mid-February gathering brought together 125 members of parliaments from 40 nations for two days of emotional calls to action, along with scholarly analyses of what speakers called “the new antisemitism.”

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‘Israel misses the point’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu is not giving up, still hoping that he can entice Tzipi Livni and even Ehud Barak with key portfolios, should they accept to join his projected coalition government, or else, he must know fully well that his days as head of an Israeli government of extreme rightists will be numbered. Hence, the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations will remain at a standstill.

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Time not ripe for two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
(Opinion) February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

The Obama administration will have to address on an immediate basis a number of burning problems of varying degrees of magnitude. In the short run it will be required to tackle the rehabilitation of Gaza under Hamas' rule: On the one hand to secure aid to assure the fundamental wellbeing of its inhabitants, while at the same time curtailing the influx of weaponry into Gaza. The fight against terror, its performers and sources has to be continued in all vigor.

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Hamas must act with wisdom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Marwan Kabalan - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

When the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, captured the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006, the incident was described by some Western analysts as reckless behaviour. The argument was that the kidnapping would not help to alleviate the four decades of suffering of occupied Palestinians. On the contrary, it would make their lives more difficult.

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The Israeli Condition Against the Egyptian Role
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
(Opinion) February 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Once again, Israel has thrown a monkey wrench into Egypt's efforts to deal with the explosive and saddening situation in Gaza, after it had waged the war on the Strip - thus anticipating Egyptian and Turkish efforts to extend and renew the truce, whose effects were over at the end of 2008.

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A Waltz With the Dogs of Memory
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Hussein Ibish - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Initial reaction to the surprising failure of the Israeli film Waltz with Bashir to win this year's Academy Award for best foreign-language picture has suggested that it confronts harsh truths and painful realities, especially about Israel, too unflinchingly for the Hollywood mainstream to embrace. As a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz put it, this year's Oscars demonstrated that "Hollywood knows exactly how it likes its Jews: Victims." Waltz with Bashir obviously provides little to feed that narrative.

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Rescue a two-state solution in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ziad Asali - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

In the wake of the devastating war in Gaza, the immediate challenge facing the United States, its Arab allies, and the international community, is providing essential aid and reconstruction to the people of Gaza without bolstering Hamas. Hamas launched reckless and provocative rocket attacks against Israel. But Gazans, already suffering under siege, are not Hamas, they are not combatants, and should not be punished.

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UN apologises for giving Kerry letter from Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency apologised to the US government last night after it was criticised for passing to a US senator a letter from a Hamas representative intended for President Barack Obama. Karen Koning AbuZayd, the agency head, said she "deeply regrets any awkwardness" the transmission of the letter may have caused for the government, which has refused any direct contact with the Palestinian Islamist faction that rules Gaza.

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