March 4th

Analysis: Prisoner Release Does Nothing For Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) August 19, 2008 - 12:00am It's hard these days to find one Palestinian who regards Israel's decision to release some 200 Palestinian prisoners as a "goodwill gesture." It's also hard to see how the release of the prisoners would "boost" the popularity of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas among his people. The argument that the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails strengthens the "moderates" has never proven to be correct. » Read more

This Land Isn’t Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Lapid - (Opinion) August 19, 2008 - 12:00am Last week, we marked three years to the disengagement . An overwhelming majority of Israelis has an ambivalent attitude towards it to this day: On the one hand, feeling that the experiment has failed; on the other hand, glad that we are no longer in Gaza. But also ashamed of the disgraceful treatment of the evacuees; yet proud of the fact that it turned out that the State is still able to implement something once it decides to do it. There are other views in addition to that, depending on who you talk to. » Read more

Court Orders Idf To Explain Soft Indictment Against Naalin Commander ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - August 19, 2008 - 12:00am Several human rights groups petition the High Court Tuesday asking that it order the Military Advocate General, Brigadier-General Avi Mandelblit and the IDF's Chief Prosecutor, Colonel Liron Lieberman, to explain their reluctance to amend the indictment filed against Lt. Col. Omri Burberg and Staff Sergeant L. for their involvement in the Naalin shooting incident. The petition was filed by B'Tselem, Yesh Din, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and the Palestinian who was shot, Ashraf Abu-Rahma. » Read more

Palestinians Slam Israel's 'revolving Door Policy' On Prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 19, 2008 - 12:00am Officials in the Palestinian Authority do not appear overly enthused by the Israeli cabinet's recent decision to release 199 prisoners, including detainees with 'blood on their hands', as a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas. According to data provided by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the IDF has arrested 1,751 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, including 500 who have been detained since last month's Mediterranean summit in Paris, during which Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to free more prisoners. » Read more

Israel Reopens Key Gaza Crossing For First Time Since April Suicide Bombing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 19, 2008 - 12:00am Israel has allowed food and other supplies to enter the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through a key commercial crossing that had been closed for months, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. Defense Ministry official Peter Lerner said about 80 trucks would pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing in a trial run before it is officially reopened in accordance with an Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas. » Read more

Results Of An Opinion Poll On Hamas And The Truce, The Government, Security Campaigns, The Peace Process And Elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab World For Research and Development August 20, 2008 - 12:00am Sample Size: 1200 Palestinians in the West Bank & Gaza Margin of error: + 3 One: Introduction » Read more

Eu Boosts Aid To Palestinian Authority By An Extra 40 Million Euros ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 20, 2008 - 12:00am The European Union will give a financial boost on Wednesday to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to help Prime Minister Salam Fayyad pay public sector salaries, EU and Palestinian officials said. The 40 million euro injection of funds comes on top of the 256 million euros in budget support disbursed so far this year by the European Union. Fayyad has struggled in recent months to pay government workers because many Arab donors have not met their financial commitments. "The situation is very, very tight, for sure," a top official from Fayyad's office said this week. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah Delegations Head To Cairo For Reconciliation Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 20, 2008 - 12:00am Egypt has invited Palestinian groups to Cairo next week for talks on Palestinian reconciliation, the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Tuesday. The agency quoted an unnamed official as saying Egypt would hold talks with Fatah and Hamas individually and would then organize wider discussions with all the groups simultaneously. » Read more

Israel Groups Call For Indictment Of Officer, Soldier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Mohammed Mar’i - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am The Palestinian peace activist, Ashref Abu Rahmeh, and several Israeli human rights organizations yesterday submitted a petition to Israeli High Court of Justice demanding a harsher indictment be presented against an Israeli army’s commander and soldier who were involved in shooting unarmed and bound Abu Rahmeh in the West Bank village of Nilin in early July. The petition was filed by B’Tselem, Yesh Din, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Abu-Rahmeh. » Read more

Idf To Prosecute Officer Who Shot Palestinian Teen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hanan Greenberg - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am The Judge Advocate General decided Wednesday to file aggravated assault and exceeding military orders charges against Lieutenant A., for his involvement in a shooting incident which caused the severe injury of a Palestinian teenager three years ago. According to the indictment, on December 19, 2005, a riot took place in a Palestinian village near the northern West Bank settlement of Tekoa. During the riot, several teens began stoning the IDF troops present at the scene, among whom was A. » Read more