December 11th

Time for an Obama intervention
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - December 10, 2008 - 1:00am

When the outgoing Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was in Washington late last month to bid farewell to President George W. Bush, whose term ends on January 20, the two unpopular leaders understandably reminisced about their close relationship, the American leader being considered Israel's closet friend when compared to former American presidents.

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Giving peace in Palestine no chance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Michael Young - December 11, 2008 - 1:00am

Rarely a day goes by without someone offering new advice to the incoming Obama administration on how to deal with the Middle East. This advice is usually based on a simple principle: If George W. Bush pursued a specific policy, Barack Obama must do the opposite.

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Palestinians favour elections in 2009: poll
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
December 11, 2008 - 1:00am

Most Palestinians believe that Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas’s term ends in January and they support holding new elections next year, according to a poll released on Thursday. The same poll found that Abbas holds a 10-point lead over his rivals in the Islamist Hamas, which has said it will refuse to recognise him as president when his constitutionally mandated four-year term expires on January 9.

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Poll: If elections were held today, Fatah would win over Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
December 11, 2008 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah movement would beat the radical Islamic Hamas movement if elections were held today, according to a Palestinian public opinion poll published Thursday. Support for Hamas has nevertheless stabilized after months of decline, said the poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research.

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Lebanon refugees fear for future
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Natalia Antelava - December 11, 2008 - 1:00am

Ruins and rubble are all that is left of Nahr al-Bared, a camp for Palestinian refugees near the Lebanese city of Tripoli. Piles of ravaged concrete tower over the Mediterranean, cutting into the grey clouds of the winter sky. As we pass a battered army checkpoint the scale of destruction emerges - mind-boggling and depressing at the same time. "It was scary, very scary," our guide Fady Tayyar says as we drive into the camp accompanied by the Lebanese army. No-one is allowed to enter Nahr al- Bared without permission.

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Putting the Arab Peace Initiative Into Action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Ghaith Al-Omari - December 11, 2008 - 1:00am

The fact that more than five years after its publication, the Arab Peace Initiative continues to be a topic of conversation is a testament to its strength. Its recent resurgence presents an opportunity for Arabs, Israelis and Americans alike to breathe new life into the shaky and uncertain Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

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December 10th

The Arab World’s first stand-up comedy festival is held in Amman, Jordan (1). In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Barack Obama pledges to reach out to the Muslim world during his presidency (2). Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party is accused by rivals of promoting extremism and isolation (4). Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari urges President-elect Obama to make Middle East peace a top priority for his administration (5). An Israeli settler, filmed shooting at Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron, is freed by a Jerusalem court (6). Israel approves a money transfer to the impoverished Gaza strip (7).

Barak: Israel will act in Gaza when time and place are right
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 10, 2008 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Wednesday to discuss the future of Israel's policy on the Gaza Strip, after the ongoing cease-fire with Hamas comes to end next week. Just hours before the meeting, a Qassam rocket struck the western Negev, following a two-day lull in fire from Gaza. The prime minister would not allow any details of the meeting to be released to the public, but topics on the agenda included Israel's response to Hamas in light of the militant group's continued violations of the truce.

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Israel Xmas Scrooge for Bethlehem winery
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - (Blog) December 9, 2008 - 1:00am

For 125 years, the Roman Catholic Cremisan Monastery near Bethlehem has been producing its own brand of wine to help fund its work in the West Bank. The monastery recently started exporting wine to Europe, where it is used as communion wine. This year, though, because of long delays in getting permission from Israel to export the wine, Cremisan exporters say they won't be able to get wine to Europe for Christmas.

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Israel approves Gaza money transfer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
December 10, 2008 - 1:00am

Israel has approved a money transfer to impoverished Gaza to ease the cash crunch there. Israel has not allowed money to enter Gaza since October, causing cash shortages in local banks. Its refusal to let Palestinian banks send money to their Gaza branches is a part of a larger blockade imposed on the territory in response to Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza. Israeli officials say Defense Minister Ehud Barak agreed on Wednesday to transfer 100 million shekels ($25 million) to Gaza from banks in the West Bank. The transfer is expected to take place in the next few days.

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