Eldad to PM: Quit and get ready for jail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


MK Arye Eldad (NU-NRP) on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down and prepare himself for life behind bars. "A man who is suspected of taking bribes shouldn't lead Israel, because we can't be sure of his motives. A leader must have clean hands; someone whose judgment is in doubt can't make decisions on behalf of the citizens of Israel," Eldad said. He spoke to a special recess Knesset session called at the request of opposition parties to discuss the legitimacy of Olmert and his government continuing in power.


Israel may abduct Ahmadinejad, Eichmann kidnapper hints
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


Former Mossad agent Rafi Eitan hinted in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that Israel may abduct Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in order to bring him before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. "It could very well be that a leader such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suddenly finds himself before the International Criminal Court in The Hague," the Minister for Pensioners' Affairs told the German publication in an interview published Monday.


Police source: Olmert likely to face jail time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


There is a good chance that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could be convicted of money laundering, a crime which carries a maximum 10-year jail sentence, a police source said Monday. While a bribery charge is regarded as much harder to prove, Olmert would not be able to easily evade the money-laundering charges, the source added. "I don't see how Olmert could get out of this rap, it is unlikely that he'd be able to use these felonies to get a plea bargain," one source said.


Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No (29)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestinian Center For Policy And Survey Research
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 28 and 30 August 2008. This period witnessed a relative consolidation of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip and the release by Israel of about 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to President Mahmud Abbas.


The 2008 Democratic Party Platform and the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus
by Stephen Zunes - September 4, 2008 - 8:00pm


The excitement over the nomination of Barack Obama as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party has been tempered by some key foreign policy planks in the 2008 platform, particularly those relating to the greater Middle East region. These positions appear to run counter to Obama's pledge early in the primary race to end the mindset that led to the Iraq War.


Jenin?s Theatrical Oasis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


Artsworld's Mona Ibellini travelled to Jenin and finds that one of the key figures of the Palestinian intifada has swapped weapons for the stage. Zakaria Zubeidi has featured near the top of Israel's most wanted list for many years. But the head of the Jenin branch of the al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade now believes that children's theatre is as important a method for achieving Palestinian statehood as armed conflict. "One of my first poignant memories in life was waking up in a hospital with a bullet wound when I was thirteen and a half," Zubeidi says. "At 14 I was imprisoned."


Saudi Arabia Urges Arab ?Help? to End Palestinian Rift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Monday urged for an Arab push to help end inter-Palestinian rifts and re-establish moderate Palestinian rule in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Prince Saud Al Faisal's remarks came during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. The top Saudi diplomat appeared to back an Egyptian proposal to send Arab troops to the coastal Strip ruled by Hamas. "It's about time that the Arab countries take a solid and decisive stance against those who shed Palestinian blood and deepen the Palestinian division," Saud said.


Arab League Chief Says Angry with Palestinian Groups
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 8, 2008 - 8:00pm


The head of the Arab League said on Tuesday that he was angry with fractious Palestinian political groups and that sanctions against them were being discussed by Arab governments. Egypt, the main mediator between often rival Palestinian groups, has been holding bilateral talks with minor groups in preparation for similar talks with the two main groups -- Fatah and Hamas. "I am extremely angry with the Palestinian organizations," Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the league, told a news conference in an unusually harsh criticism of the Palestinians.


B'Tselem: Israel cutting off Gaza from West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
September 9, 2008 - 8:00pm


Israel is taking unilateral steps in order to institutionalize a new reality of separation between the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and the one living in the West Bank, human rights group B'Tselem stated in a new report released Wednesday. The report warns against harming Palestinians' human rights and their possibility to realize their right for self-definition.


Palestinians: Delay in IDF checkpoint led to son's death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 9, 2008 - 8:00pm


A Palestinian couple from the West Bank city of Nablus claimed Wednesday that an IDF soldier delayed them in a checkpoint when they were on their way to a local hospital, causing the woman ? who was pregnant ? to give birth to a stillborn baby. Muayed Abu Raja and his wife Nahil, of the Palestinian village of Kafr Kusra, south of Nablus, were expecting their second child, when Nahil began experiencing severe abdominal pain last Thursday.



American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017