March 17th

Police believe West Bank killings were terror-driven
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am

The search for the killers of two police officers on the Jordan Valley's Route 90 Sunday night is continuing, but it has mostly focused on intelligence gathering. Security forces are convinced that the incident was a terrorist attack, but there is still no clear view as to which group the culprit, or culprits, belonged to. Monday, Israel Defense Forces sources rejected claims of responsibility by a group called Imad Mughniyeh Battalions, named after the assassinated Hezbollah terrorist mastermind.

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On Shalit deal, Hamas-Israel gaps are greater than common ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) March 17, 2009 - 12:00am

Ofer Dekel and Yuval Diskin brought back a mixed message from Cairo Monday night: Progress had been made on the names of prisoners to be released in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit (in other words, Israel is prepared to free more prisoners than before), but significant disagreement remains over what to do with the released prisoners. The gaps are greater than the common ground.

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Freeman and the Defamation of the Zionist Lobby
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - March 17, 2009 - 12:00am

Former diplomat Charles Freeman was not shy with regards to openly pointing the finger at the Zionist lobby for being behind the organized smear Campaign against him in order to prevent his appointment as Chairman of the US National Intelligence Council. Now the sniping has continued between the former ambassador and the pro-Israeli groups in newspapers, on websites, and on news channels.

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Where is the Palestinian Dialogue Headed?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) March 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Save for an unexpected surprise, the Palestinian dialogue in Cairo, under Egyptian sponsorship, is still marking its time. Such a dialogue would not have been possible had it not been for a series of Arab pressures on its parties, as well as for the Hamas movement's need to maintain bridges of communication with Egypt, especially after the broad and decisive international and Arab support of Egypt's efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue, both in terms of politics and of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

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March 16th

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Netanyahu initiates a coalition agreement with the ultra-right wing Yisrael Beitenu party (1) (9), while the European Union, along with the Palestinian and Egyptian leadership, urge the new Israeli government to adhere to the pursuit of a two-state agreement (2) (3) (12). Two Israeli police officers are shot and killed in the West Bank (4) (14). Egyptian brokered negotiations continue in Cairo, where Israeli envoys push for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit (7). Hamas and Fatah agree to hold presidential and legislative elections in January, though they remain deadlocked on the question of a national accord government (10).

How Israel Helped Create Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times
by Phillip Knightley - (Opinion) March 16, 2009 - 12:00am

An advance copy of an important new book on the Middle East has kept me awake at night reading it. Called “Kill Khalid: Mossad’s Failed Hit. . .and the Rise of Hamas”, it is by an Australian journalist, Paul McGeough, and was written before the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. McGeough is scrupulously objective but paints a telling picture of the skill with which Hamas and its leader Khalid Meshaal have succeeded in turning most of the Israeli’s strategy around so that it rebounded upon them.

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Police: West Bank shooting not caused by checkpoint removal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - March 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Senior police officials say that the removal of checkpoints and the low intensity of Israel Defense Forces operations in the West Bank did not contribute to Sunday's shooting death of two traffic cops in the Jordan Valley. "The IDF's activity is very extensive," said Shlomi Katbi, the commander of the West Bank police. "I don't see where one can tie the ongoing security activity and its quality with what happened Sunday evening." Danny Dayan, the head of the Yesha council of West Bank settlements, said Israel's policies in the territories were to blame for the continued bloodletting.

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Worldview: Decision time on Mideast for Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Philadelphia Inquirer
by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) March 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Hillary Rodham Clinton tiptoed oh-so-carefully around the Israel-Palestine issue on her recent trip to the Middle East. But she and President Obama will have to make some tough decisions soon, as Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to form a right-wing government. Otherwise, any prospects for a two-state solution, even in the long run, will be dead before the end of Obama's first term.

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Egypt concerned about future Israeli govt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit voiced concern Monday for Middle East peace hopes after an ultra-nationalist party signed up to be part of Israel's new government. "We have a negative, possibly damaging factor, which is the emergence of an extreme right government in Israel," he told members of the European Parliament in Brussels. Earlier Monday, Israeli prime minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu took the first step toward forming a right-wing government by inking a coalition deal with the Yisrael Beitenu party of Avigdor Lieberman.

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American activist hurt badly at fence protest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 15, 2009 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- An American demonstrator was seriously wounded when Israeli troops and protesters clashed at Israel's West Bank separation fence. Tristan Anderson, an International Solidarity Movement activist from the Oakland, Calif., area, was hit in the head Friday by a tear gas cannister fired by Israeli troops, according to the Associated Press.

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