January 7th, 2008

Bush Faces Mideast Obstacles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - January 7, 2008 - 6:04pm President Bush heads to Israel and the West Bank this week, hoping his first visit as U.S. leader will open the throttle on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. But in the six weeks since Bush declared at an international gathering in Annapolis, Md., that "the time is right" to make peace, two perennial obstacles to Mideast peacemaking have already reared up: Israeli settlements and violence. » Read more

Just Going To Work, Palestinians And Israelis Travel Different Roads ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News by Dion Nissenbaum - January 7, 2008 - 6:03pm Before they set out for work each morning, neighbors Naim Darwish, a Palestinian Muslim, and Jacob Steinmetz, an Israeli Jew, begin their days in quiet meditation. In the pre-dawn chill, Darwish sets his Muslim prayer rug on the floor facing Mecca. In the soft morning light, Steinmetz throws on his prayer shawl and turns toward Jerusalem. Then the lives of these West Bank neighbors diverge. » Read more

January 4th

Time For Deal Running Out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sever Plocker - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:44pm For several years now, and certainly since the second Intifada’s outbreak, Palestinian economist demanded in every forum that the Paris Agreement, which in 1994 created a uniform external border for Israel and Palestinian for the purpose of duty collection, be annulled. The Palestinians viewed this duty collection amalgamation as a tangible and irritating expression of Israeli occupation. » Read more

When Ehud Meets George ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:42pm The finishing touches are being applied to preparations for next week's presidential visit. After more than 2,500 days in the White House, George W. Bush will grace the Holy Land with his presence, and Ehud Olmert can notch up an achievement denied to his predecessor, Ariel Sharon - of hosting an American president. The script for such an occasion almost writes itself. The president will visit all the usual Israeli and Jewish sites of history, heartbreak and heroism, identifying with our suffering and marveling at our achievements. » Read more

Israel’s Quiet War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Fred Schlomka - (Opinion) January 4, 2008 - 2:41pm While Ehud Olmert and Abu Mazen were wheeling and dealing at Annapolis, several Israeli government ministries and security agencies were deploying their combined resources in a massive operation aimed at Israel’s southern Negev Desert. While the eyes of the world are on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel is in the middle of a campaign to complete the displacement of Palestinian Arabs who also are Israeli citizens. » Read more

Lurching From Crisis To Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al- Ahram by Marian Houk - January 4, 2008 - 2:40pm The Israeli Defence Ministry's programme to punish all Gazans for Qassam missiles fire into Israeli territory is apparently moving into a new phase. A second round of fuel cuts reportedly started on 30 December, with a military-ordered reduction of some 35-43 per cent (depending on what numbers are used as the baseline) in the amount of gasoline that will now be supplied to the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Yo, Anyone Who Fears Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist January 4, 2008 - 2:35pm THE smart people are getting out of Jerusalem next week. Traffic mayhem is assured as George Bush and his entourage, about 800 souls, guarded by thousands of Israeli police, are whisked about in a fleet of armoured vehicles, complete with a bespoke helicopter brought in to fly the president to Capernaum, in northern Israel, where Jesus chose his apostles. » Read more

Bush Calls On Israel To Dismantle Wildcat Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) January 4, 2008 - 2:33pm US President George W. Bush called on Israel to dismantle wildcat settlement outposts on occupied Palestinian land, in an interview published on Friday ahead of his visit to the region next week. "We expect them to honour their commitments," Bush said in the interview with Israel's mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily. » Read more

Pakistan, Palestine, And Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Analysis) January 4, 2008 - 2:32pm A few hours after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, I happened to catch an interview with a group of Pakistani university students who were part of a stunned mass of grieving people on the streets of Karachi.  They all looked and sounded secular, educated and western.  The reporter asked them about Bhutto's death, prospects for democracy in Pakistan, and what they thought about the United States. » Read more

Ahead Of Visit, White House Talks Friendship With Israel — And Pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - January 4, 2008 - 2:30pm The message from the White House on the eve of President Bush's first presidential visit to Israel is that his staunch support for the Jewish state has set the stage for peace — and given him room to exert some pressure on Jerusalem. Bush launches an eight-day tour of the region next Wednesday, beginning with three days in Israel and the West Bank and continuing to Persian Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. » Read more