October 12th, 2007

Damascus Understands That It Needs Peace With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Shlomo Ben-ami - (Opinion) October 12, 2007 - 2:12pm An Arab-Israeli peace requires a comprehensive approach, because the problems at stake are intertwined. Not only are key issues such as Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees insoluble without an all-Arab consensus, but any country that is left out of the peace process is bound to persist in its role as a revolutionary power bent on regional destabilization. » Read more

One Reason For The Absence Of Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist October 12, 2007 - 2:08pm TWO months ago Heftsiba, an Israeli construction firm, went bust. One reason for its woes was a court order last year to freeze work on a big housing project on an Israeli settlement just inside the West Bank. The land, it turned out, had in effect been stolen from private owners in a neighbouring Palestinian village, Bilin. Yet after the bankruptcy, the same court ruled that the apartment blocks—and their prospective buyers, who had broken in and occupied them at the news of Heftsiba's impending collapse—could stay. » Read more

Islamist Leader Hints At Hamas Pull-out From Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - October 12, 2007 - 2:04pm Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip, took a significant step towards reconciliation with the Palestinian President yesterday, saying that its rule of the tiny coastal territory was only “temporary”. » Read more

Palestinian Students Continue To Face Exclusion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Conal Urquhart - October 12, 2007 - 2:02pm The Israeli army is continuing to bar Palestinian students from Israeli universities, in spite of an order from the Israeli high court that it relax its restrictions. The army was asked to explain its policy in March 2006, but it has so far asked for delays on seven occasions. The delays mean that Palestinian students will miss the start of the Israeli term on October 15. » Read more

Stalemate Threatens Mideast Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Bourdreaux, Paul Richter - October 12, 2007 - 2:00pm After prodding the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table for the first time in nearly seven years, the Bush administration now confronts a stalemate that threatens to undermine the latest peace initiative and further diminish American influence in the Middle East. » Read more

Clinton Steps Away From Pro-israel Lobby On Measure To Rein In President ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 12, 2007 - 1:06pm Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has built a reputation for strictly adhering to the pro-Israel line, but she now appears, for the first time, to be supporting legislation that is opposed by pro-Israel lobbyists. Clinton announced last week that she would co-sponsor an amendment, proposed by Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, that would require the president to seek congressional approval before taking military action against Iran. » Read more

Accord Needed Before Mideast Conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mark Lavie - October 12, 2007 - 1:04pm President Bush should not convene his planned Mideast peace conference next month if Israel and the Palestinians have not achieved an agreement in advance, a Palestinian negotiator said Thursday. Israel has been pressing for a vaguely worded document that would gloss over the toughest issues still outstanding _ borders, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Palestinians prefer a detailed preliminary agreement with a timetable for creating a Palestinian state, though it is not clear if they would refuse to agree to less. » Read more

On The Road To Annapolis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) October 12, 2007 - 1:02pm It’s still looking like the international Middle East conference will take place in November at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s a good venue, providing Camp David-like security and easy and fast access to Washington, DC. Should peace break out, Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert will be able to get to the White House within an hour to announce it with the President at their side. You shouldn’t hold your breath. » Read more

Olmert, Abbas Narrow Land Gap, Other Snags Remain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous - October 12, 2007 - 12:58pm The gap is narrowing between Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the amount of territory Israel would hand over to a Palestinian state, people close to the talks said a month ahead of a U.S.-sponsored conference. But Israeli, Palestinian and Western officials say sketching the boundaries of a future state may be the easy part -- real progress, they say, depends on narrowing differences over the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, on which little progress can be discerned so far after closed-door meetings. » Read more

Gaza Banks Out Of Cash As Israeli Banks Halt Business ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, Taghreed El-Khodary - October 12, 2007 - 12:57pm Gaza’s banks have run out of cash, an economic adviser to Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in Gaza, said Thursday. The cash shortage followed a decision by Israeli commercial banks to halt all business transactions with Palestinian bank branches in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. “People responded by withdrawing their deposits,” said Ala al-Araj, the adviser to Mr. Haniya. The spate of withdrawals brought about the cash shortage. » Read more