December 13th

Aiming To Translate Politics Into Hope For Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - December 13, 2007 - 12:55pm Tony Blair had that practiced politician’s half grin, his eyes in semi-focus, as the Palestinian minister of tourism, Khouloud Daibes, showed him around a display of Palestinian products at the Chamber of Commerce here Tuesday night. Mr. Blair, the former British prime minister and now the Western envoy for Palestinian development, posed for photos with businessmen and praised the quality of the local marble tiles. » Read more

Democrats Show Beltway "strength," Avoid Being Depicted As Weak ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Salon.com by Glenn Greenwald - December 13, 2007 - 12:54pm Democrats show Beltway "strength," avoid being depicted as weak (updated below - Update II) In the world of the Beltway pundit, Bush Dog Representative, and Democratic strategist, this is how Democrats prove how "strong" and tough they are and avoid being demonized as "weak" and "soft"; this is all just from today: From The Hill: From The Washington Post: From CNN: From The Hill: » Read more

Icrc Says Israeli Clamps Worsen Gaza And W.bank Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Stephanie Nebehay - December 13, 2007 - 12:50pm Israeli restrictions have caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank that is growing worse, leaving hospitals unable to treat the sick and keeping farmers off their land, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the neutral humanitarian agency called on Israel to "lift the retaliatory measures which are paralyzing life in Gaza" and urged Palestinian factions to stop targeting civilian areas and putting lives at risk. » Read more

First Palestinian Policewomen Begin Work ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Dalia Nammari - December 13, 2007 - 12:48pm Palestinian pedestrians gawked at the unusual sight of female police officers directing traffic in Ramallah on Wednesday, the first batch of women to venture into a job traditionally reserved for men in the West Bank. The women wore uniforms of navy blue pants and light blue shirts and many donned navy blue headscarves, a sign of Muslim modesty. Some male police officers sneered at the women as they directed traffic and kept pedestrians from jaywalking on their first day on the job. » Read more

December 12th

From Annapolis To Har Homa ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) December 12, 2007 - 5:44pm U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded explanations from her Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, last week about the plan to build another 300 apartments in the Har Homa neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Rice did not make do with posing a question to Livni; she hastened to go public with the Bush Administration's objections to the plan. » Read more

Two Non-states ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) December 12, 2007 - 5:40pm Who says there is no cooperation between the Palestinian Authority/Fatah and Hamas? Indeed, ever since June the two sides have been working energetically, in a kind of pas de deux of demonstrative pirouettes, so that the Gaza Strip will become another quasi-state entity with its three governing authorities - executive, legislative and judiciary - separate from those in Ramallah. All three branches are acting outside the delegated powers of the PA president, with the help of a separate police force and a system of taxation, collection and other payments. Two non-states for one people. » Read more

Hamas - If We Can Kill Them, We Can Talk To Them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) December 12, 2007 - 5:39pm Call their bluff. Hamas this week inched one notch further toward some form of accommodation with a reality it cannot bring itself to stomach. Israel should do no less. In an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ahmed Youssef, senior political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, wrote at the weekend that the Bush administration cannot at once "preach about exporting democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan and ignore the democratic process in Palestine." » Read more

Israel 60 Years On - Partition Or Apartheid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Gwynne Dyer - December 12, 2007 - 5:36pm Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was just back from the Annapolis summit where President George W. Bush tried to reboot the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. More importantly, November 29 was also the 60th anniversary of the United Nations vote that divided British-ruled Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. That promised Arab state still doesn’t exist, of course, but if the peace talks fail to produce it in the end, Olmert told the newspaper Haaretz, then Israel is “finished”. » Read more

The Middle East Needs A Lot, But Not More Weapons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Raja Kamal - (Commentary) December 12, 2007 - 5:35pm The United States Congress will soon debate the decision of the Bush administration to sell $20 billion in sophisticated weapons to several Arab countries. This package is being presented by the White House as a way of promoting stability in a Middle East threatened by Iran's ambitions and the rise of terrorism. Congress should flatly decline the sale on the grounds that arming the Arab world is neither in the best interest of the region nor that of the US in the long run. » Read more

Construction Threatens Mid East Peace Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Tim Butcher - December 12, 2007 - 5:33pm The light in the night sky near Bethlehem this Christmas will be no heavenly portent but a safety beacon on a crane in a nearby Jewish community so controversial it threatens to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Har Homa, largely overlooked on the world stage since construction began roughly ten years ago, has surged up the international agenda since Israeli authorities decided this week to build 307 new homes there. » Read more