June 6th

Hamas Hails Fateh Call For Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times June 6, 2008 - 2:55pm The rival Fateh and Hamas factions were set to start reconciliation talks after the Islamists in the Gaza Strip on Thursday welcomed a call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for national dialogue. A year after the Islamists seized power in Gaza causing a political and territorial split, their political head in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said he welcomed the chance to talk as soon as possible. » Read more

Israeli Settlement Policies Threaten Palestinian Rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times June 6, 2008 - 2:53pm His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday warned that continued Israeli settlement policies threaten Palestinian rights to an independent state. During talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street, King Abdullah said achieving peace and living in security and stability in the region will not be realised through settlement construction or by ignoring historic rights of the Palestinian people. » Read more

Obama Defends Jerusalem Remarks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times June 6, 2008 - 2:51pm Democratic White House candidate Barack Obama on Thursday defended his remarks that Jerusalem should not be divided under any Israeli-Palestinian peace pact, saying a divided city would be "very difficult to execute." A day after sparking outrage among Palestinians when he told a Jewish group that Jerusalem must remain the "undivided" capital of Israel, Obama told CNN that the issue is still up to the two sides. » Read more

Hamas Member Killed, 10 Palestinians Hurt In Israeli Gaza Raids ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times June 6, 2008 - 2:48pm A Palestinian militant was killed and an Israeli soldier was wounded in clashes Friday just inside Gaza following a deadly mortar attack on the Jewish state, medical and military officials said. The member of the armed wing of Hamas died in an exchange of fire between militants and an Israeli military unit near the border, Gaza emergency medical services said. Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the impoverished territory, said in a statement its fighters had fired anti-tank rockets at the troops. » Read more

An Israeli-syria Deal Is Strategically Vital For Both ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Shlomo Ben-ami - June 6, 2008 - 2:46pm The resumption of peace talks between Israel and Syria after eight years of saber-rattling is not a diversion from the political troubles of Israel's lame-duck prime minister. Nor are the talks a Syrian ploy to avoid facing a Lebanese-international tribunal on the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. An Israeli-Syrian peace deal is strategically vital for both sides, and both sides know it. » Read more

War Clouds Recede In The Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat by Patrick Seale - June 6, 2008 - 2:41pm The troubled Middle East seems to be entering a period of relative calm. It could be no more than a temporary lull, but it is nevertheless more than welcome to its much-tried inhabitants, who have been living on jagged nerves for the past several years. The most important single development is probably the growing improbability of a U.S./Israeli strike against Iran. Fear of such a strike - and of its predictably catastrophic regional and global consequences - has kept the region in a state of nervous alert. » Read more

Confident Tony Blair Sells His Step-by-step Middle East Remedy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by Bronwen Maddox - June 6, 2008 - 2:37pm Tony Blair made a strong case yesterday for why it might be possible for outside brokers — such as himself — to lessen the damage done by the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock, even if they cannot yet resolve it. Speaking to a House of Commons committee, with many references to Northern Ireland (and, he might have added, to his creation of new Labour) he clearly drew on his belief in his personal ability to bridge incompatible positions. » Read more

June 5th

Officials: Hamas Seizes Control Of Gaza Water Agency Working With Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 5, 2008 - 6:27pm Hamas has seized control of the Palestinian water agency that is spearheading Middle East envoy Tony Blair's signature project in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Western officials said on Thursday. Hamas's takeover of the Palestinian Water Authority in Gaza cements the group's control over the territory and could cast doubt on the future of the North Gaza Sewage Treatment Works project - a centrepiece of an economic package touted by Blair to try to bolster the chances of a peace deal this year. » Read more

Gaza Students To Leave For Us ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English June 5, 2008 - 6:27pm Students from Gaza who were awarded scholarships to study in the US but prevented from travelling by Israeli authorities, have now been allowed to leave Gaza to begin their study programme.   The US consulate in Jerusalem said on Monday that the scholarships - earlier "redirected" by the Fulbright student programme - will be reinstated. bodyVariable350="Htmlphcontrol1_lblError";   » Read more

Hamas Calls On Palestinians To March To Rafah Crossing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna) June 5, 2008 - 6:26pm Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas called on Thursday on people in Gaza Strip to launch a demonostration on Friday from the strip to Egypt's Rafah crossing. The movement said in a statement the demonstration would be part of its ongoing efforts to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip. Hamas' public activities spokesman Ashraf Abu-Diyah urged people in the Gaza Strip to flock to the crossing main gate to mount pressure on Egypt to re-open the only exit to the Palestinian people after the Friday prayers. » Read more