December 17th

Israelis Continue to Abuse Palestinian Prisoners ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - December 17, 2008 - 1:00am Israel released over 200 Palestinians from Israeli jails in a "goodwill gesture" Monday. This followed the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha and was an attempt to boost the waning popularity of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Several prisoners spoke to the assembled local and international media about their time in detention. They accused the Israelis of maltreating and physically abusing detainees despite Israeli claims that torture and the abuse of prisoners have been outlawed and no longer occur. » Read more

Brown urges Olmert to lift curbs on Palestinian economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) December 17, 2008 - 1:00am British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday urged Israel's caretaker leader Ehud Olmert to ease constraints on the struggling Palestinian economy. Brown held talks with Olmert at Downing Street a day after joining Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, at a forum in London to promote British investment in the Palestinian territories. The pair also discussed the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Brown described Monday as a "barrier that's got to be overcome" in the Middle East peace process. » Read more

Bush to meet Abbas on Friday: White House ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) December 17, 2008 - 1:00am President George W. Bush plans to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday at the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Tuesday. "President Bush will welcome Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to the White House on Friday, December 19th," Perino said. "The president looks forward to discussing with him our shared efforts toward peace in the Middle East, including progress in building capable Palestinian institutions, fostering economic development, and training and deploying Palestinian security forces in the West Bank," she said. » Read more

Rockets hit Israel after killing of Islamic Jihad man ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) December 17, 2008 - 1:00am Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza responded to the killing of one of their members by Israeli forces in the Occupied West Bank by firing rockets into Israel on Tuesday. The retaliation by Gaza-based fighters was met with an Israeli air strike on the impoverished territory later in the day. » Read more

Charities…Again! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - December 17, 2008 - 1:00am The issue of charities has been raised once again in news reports in light of the recent Mumbai terror attacks. Accusations have been levelled against the Pakistani Islamist movement Lashkar-e-Taiba for carrying out the attacks and Pakistani authorities have cracked down on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Islamabad’s largest charitable organization. » Read more

UN adopts Middle East resolution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News December 17, 2008 - 1:00am The draft describes US-brokered talks between Israelis and Palestinians as "irreversible" and urges greater diplomatic efforts to secure a deal. The resolution is the first on the Middle East issue adopted by the 15-member council in almost five years. It passed by 14 votes to zero. One council member, Libya, abstained. The draft calls on both parties to "refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations". It also urges an "intensification of diplomatic efforts" to build lasting peace in the Middle East. » Read more

December 16th

Palestinian Charity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from WBUR by Robin Young - December 15, 2008 - 1:00am American Charities for Palestine founder Dr. Ziad Asali was interviewed by host Robin Young on WBUR’s “Here and Now” program, December 15, 2008. » Read more

Extend the truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Opinion) December 16, 2008 - 1:00am On Friday, the Gaza cease-fire will officially expire. On the face of it, there should be no doubt about it - the lull has in any case evaporated. Despite the launching of Qassam rockets and mortar rounds, or maybe even because of it, the question of whether to extend the truce or declaratively disavow it arises in full force. » Read more

Q&A with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali al-Saleh - December 16, 2008 - 1:00am In this in-depth interview, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talks to Asharq Al-Awsat on a range of issues including the recent inter-Palestinian talks held in Cairo, Hamas, the Israeli blockade, the Bush administration and the future of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Q) Let us begin with the inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo; did Hamas boycott the talks because some of its members were imprisoned in the West Bank? » Read more

‘Obama should address Mideast conflict to improve US reputation’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Mohammad Ben Hussein - December 16, 2008 - 1:00am Around 77 per cent of Jordan’s public believe US president-elect Barack Obama should tackle the Arab-Israeli conflict and end the American occupation of Iraq if he wishes to improve his country’s image in the region, a study revealed on Monday. Meanwhile, 10 per cent said that changing the current American policy related to the “war on terror” would subsequently change the US’ image in the region, according to the findings of a poll conducted by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan. » Read more