February 24th, 2009

Abbas: Hamas must recognize Israel to gain world legitimacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday a new national unity government that includes rival Hamas must be in place and internationally recognized to manage humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank. Abbas said he hopes the upcoming round of reconciliation talks would lead Hamas to accept deals with Israel agreed to by previous Palestinian administrations even if they are not in line with the group's own political platform. » Read more

An Intra-Arab Calm before the Dialogue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Mohammad Salah - (Opinion) February 22, 2009 - 1:00am Postponing the intra-Palestinian dialogue came as no surprise, as all indications have shown that the Palestinians are not yet ready for dialogue. However, the real surprise was when Egypt announced a few weeks ago that the Palestinian factions would embark on dialogue on February 22nd. At that time, dialogue seemed illogical in light of the conflicting interests, clashing positions and different agendas. Also, it was not logical for the "brother enemies" to hold a dialogue before Egypt secures a truce between Israel and Hamas. » Read more

Syria has more need to talk than the US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National February 24, 2009 - 1:00am With two congressional delegations having visited Damascus since the US presidential election, Barack Obama appears to be keeping his promise to engage with Syria as part of his regional diplomacy strategy. The heads of the foreign relations committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate met the Syrian president, Bashir al Assad, purportedly to gauge the country’s openness to negotiation. » Read more

Peace With Syria Could Catalyze Middle East Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Cesar Chelala - February 24, 2009 - 1:00am Benjamin Netanyahu plants trees in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with his family and friends from his political party such as Moshe Bugi Yealon (Former IDF Chief of Staff-pictured L). ... (Rapport via Newscom) » Read more

Obama's goad to Damascus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor February 24, 2009 - 1:00am As a Middle East way station for terrorists, Syria can't be ignored. Candidate Barack Obama pledged during the campaign to engage Syria in contrast to President Bush's attempt to isolate it. Now a limited engagement has begun and it's time to ask what President Obama will give up as he tiptoes toward the likelihood of bazaar-like haggling with Damascus. » Read more

Hasty Interpretations of Developments...and of US Dialogue with Iran and Syria ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - February 20, 2009 - 1:00am There is an urgent need for redefining priorities and for profound thinking about the choices available to issues that pertain to the fate of the Middle East and of its relations with the outside world, with the aim of setting a comprehensive and lucid framework to prevent the shower of rumors, claims, predictions and impressions, as well as their harmful results. Among the issues that require responsible focus are the following: » Read more

February 23rd

Al Qaeda's Zawahri tells Hamas don't accept truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Inal Ersan - February 23, 2009 - 1:00am Al Qaeda's second-in-command urged Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip not to succumb to Arab pressure for a truce with Israel and vowed to support fighting against the Jewish state. The militant leader, in a recording posted on the Internet on Monday, also called on Muslims in Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia to press ahead with fighting "crusaders" -- a term used to denote the West -- and their agents. » Read more

Four Palestinians dead in tunnel collapse at Egyptian border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 23, 2009 - 1:00am Four Palestinians were killed on Sunday when a tunnel used for smuggling between the Gaza Strip and Egypt collapsed on top of them, medics said. The victims were between the ages of 17 and 25, they said. The tunnels were thought to have collapsed after torrential downpours that hit the region over the last several days. Smuggling tunnels have mushroomed along the Gaza-Egypt border since 2006, when Israel turned the screws on the impoverished territory in response to the electoral victory of Hamas in legislative polls. » Read more

Israel-Hamas arms embargo urged ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News February 23, 2009 - 1:00am Amnesty International has called for a freeze on arms sales to Israel and Palestinian groups such as Hamas following the recent Gaza conflict. The human rights group said it had evidence both Israel and Hamas had used weapons sourced from overseas to carry out attacks on civilians. It called for the UN Security Council to impose the embargo on all parties. Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the conclusions of the report, in which Amnesty accuses each of war crimes. » Read more

Hundreds of Gazans head to Egypt as crossing opens ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) February 23, 2009 - 1:00am Hundreds of people went into and out of the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Egypt opened the Rafah crossing, the enclave's sole crossing that bypasses the Jewish state, a Hamas official told AFP. The Rafah crossing opened at around 9 a.m. and was expected to remain open for three days, said Adel Zurub. After seven hours, some 420 people had left Gaza and 230 entered the Palestinian coastal territory, he added. » Read more