April 30th, 2008

Middle East Peace Must Include Solution For Palestinian Refugees, Ban Ki-moon Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations News Service April 30, 2008 - 6:30pm A sustainable peace in the Middle East will have to factor in a viable and just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a United Nations meeting convened in Paris to assess the condition of the refugees and examine the role of the world body in alleviating their plight. » Read more

Israeli Ex-generals, Palestinian Officials Say Israel Can Remove 10 Key Checkpoints ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press April 30, 2008 - 6:29pm Israel should remove 10 major West Bank checkpoints to give a badly needed boost to the Palestinian economy and can do so without compromising security, a group of Israeli ex-generals and Palestinian officials said in a joint report Wednesday. The 10 checkpoints cause major disruptions to Palestinian trade and movement, said the report, whose authors include two former chiefs of Israel's military government in the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinians 'losing Hope' For Peace Deal - Rice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press April 30, 2008 - 6:27pm US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told an American Jewish group that young Palestinians are losing hope for a peace agreement with Israel. Her comments came during a sobering speech on Tuesday evening to the American Jewish Committee at their 102nd annual meeting in Washington. Rice is set to leave early on Thursday for more Middle East peace talks with Arab and Israeli leaders, after a meeting in London designed to raise more economic support for the Palestinians. » Read more

New Gaza Tragedy Threatens Cairo Truce Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - April 30, 2008 - 6:23pm This much is clear: A devastating blast Monday in Gaza killed five members of the same family – a mother and four children. But whose ammunition was responsible has turned into another bitter dispute as Israeli and Palestinian officials each blame the other. » Read more

Israel’s Pride And Prejudice At 60 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Dominique Moïsi - (Opinion) April 30, 2008 - 6:23pm If 60 is for an individual the age of maturity, it is a very young age for a state. Israel remains, for the lack of a better word, an adolescent state, the young incarnation of a very old dream. It is an adolescent torn between pride and resentment on one hand, and hope and fear on the other. » Read more

Israel Gets Ready To Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe (Editorial) April 30, 2008 - 6:22pm IN A MESSAGE to Syria's President Bashar Assad last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert affirmed that Israel would give all the occupied Golan Heights back to Syria in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement. This move was belated but wise. It could alter the Middle East chessboard for the better, greatly reducing the chances of a disastrous new regional conflagration. » Read more

April 29th

Go For It, Olmert ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) April 29, 2008 - 5:35pm It seems too good to be true. But when the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comes out of a meeting with the president of Syria with the news that Bashar Assad is prepared to work out a peace agreement with Israel and make the region a safer place, it's worth a try. » Read more

Rights Groups: Israel Violating International Law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviram Zino - April 29, 2008 - 5:34pm Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations issued a joint statement Tuesday, demanding that Israel lift all the restrictions imposed on the transfer of fuel into the Gaza Strip. According to the statement, these restrictions "severely and unprecedentedly harm the health and welfare of the Strip's residents," while "seriously violating international law." » Read more

King, Mubarak Warn Against ‘lack Of Enthusiasm’ For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times April 29, 2008 - 5:32pm His Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday warned against reluctance in peace efforts, stressing that the Palestinians should see tangible results on the ground as soon as possible. Lukewarmness and reluctance to push the peace process forward, they said at their Sharm El Sheikh summit, would exacerbate the situation and lead to further tension and frustration in the region, a Royal Court statement said. » Read more

Those Who Look The Other Way Are Accomplices To Israel's Crimes In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) April 29, 2008 - 5:30pm The latest slaughter in the Gaza Strip is generating the predictable claims and counter-claims about responsibility for the loss of innocent lives. The Palestinians say a mother, her four children and another youth were killed by Israeli tank fire, while the Israelis insist that explosives belonging to militants were accidentally set off. » Read more