October 23rd, 2007

Israel: Missile Shield Before West Bank Pullout ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press October 23, 2007 - 11:05am Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Israel must have a missile defense system in place to protect it from Palestinian rocket fire before it could carry out a large-scale pullback in the West Bank, an official said Wednesday. Military experts said it would take between two and a half and seven years to develop a system that would protect Israel from the type of crude rockets that Palestinian militants use. » Read more

Push For Mideast Peace Plan Gains Momentum Ahead Of Upcoming Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 23, 2007 - 11:04am Israeli officials are giving the first signs that they are preparing for negotiations on a final-status peace agreement with the Palestinians. Both Israelis and Palestinians are readying for an international meeting set to discuss the Middle East conflict in November, but until now the Israelis have been wary of looking at this meeting as an entry point to final-status peace talks. » Read more

Restrictions On Palestinians Decried ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Samuel Sockol - (Special Report) October 23, 2007 - 11:02am An Israeli human rights group charged Tuesday that Israel has used concrete barricades, fences, checkpoints and other measures to impose restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank that are "unprecedented in scope and duration." » Read more

Don't Miss This Opportunity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) October 23, 2007 - 11:01am After seven bad years - years of terror, a diplomatic freeze, Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections and its takeover of Gaza - empty words about a "diplomatic horizon" and barren meetings between representatives of the parties are giving way to genuine diplomatic processes and practical plans for solving the conflict. » Read more

The Hebron Tactic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 11:00am For about 25 minutes, they behaved liked lords of the land: One man, followed later by a young guy, descended from Mitzpeh Yair, one of the unauthorized outposts in the southern Mt. Hebron area, and prevented a United Nations jeep from traveling. UN directives prohibit leaving the vehicle in such cases, in order to avoid an escalation of friction. » Read more

A Necessary Conference - With Impediments In Tow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eli Podeh - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:59am American President George Bush's call for an international conference in the autumn has, on the face of it, created a diplomatic horizon. The overt diplomatic arena, and apparently also the covert one, is teeming with activity while the American patron is trying to arrange a gathering that will be suited to all its participants. This conference is likely to be the finale of the Bush era, and therefore, from the American point of view, it must succeed. » Read more

Fatah: The 'moderate' Alternative? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah by Caelum Moffatt - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:57am Recently, President Mahmoud Abbas urged the PLO Central Council to support his decision to call early elections. The usually composed Fatah leader showed signs of agitation in his address, directing his words towards his rivals Hamas, the victors of the bloody battle for Gaza over a month ago. ‘We will not wait for approval from those sitting over there in Gaza or from those sitting abroad…Hamas dug their own grave with their own nails as a result of the crimes they carried out in Gaza.’ » Read more

Ayoon Wa Azan ( Both Are Wrong ) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al Hayat by Jihad El-khazen - (Opinion) October 23, 2007 - 10:55am The present situation in the Palestinian territories has placed me in a position of objection par excellence as I oppose everything that is taking place in Palestinian politics today.  » Read more

Even Comatose, Israel's Sharon Casts A Long Shadow ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Der Spiegel by Christoph Schult - October 23, 2007 - 10:53am Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been lying in a coma for more than a year and a half now, but his sons have not given up hope that he will recover. Political camps haven't given up claiming his support for their sides. Sheba Hospital on the outskirts of Tel Aviv looks like a small, self-contained city. Eight-hundred-and-fifty doctors and 2,000 nurses work on a campus the size of 80 football fields. The rehab center is located in the eastern section of the complex, and the respiration rehabilitation department is on the building's first floor. » Read more

October 22nd

Abbas Insists No Dialogue With Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) October 22, 2007 - 2:51pm Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday insisted there would be no dialogue with Hamas until the Islamists return Gaza to his legitimate authority after seizing the territory in June. “What Hamas did was a destructive operation which helped those who don’t want to see an independent Palestinian state,” Abbas told journalists after talks with Eygptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian port of Alexandria. » Read more