The hundred years' war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Editorial) January 8, 2009 - 1:00am

WITH luck, the destructive two-week battle between Israel and Hamas may soon draw to an end. But how long before the century-long war between Arabs and Jews in Palestine follows suit? It is hard to believe that this will happen any time soon. Consider: Israel’s current operation, “Cast Lead”, marks the fourth time Israel has fought its way into Gaza. It almost captured Gaza (behind a pocket containing a young Egyptian army officer called Gamal Abdul Nasser) in 1948, in the war Israelis know as their war of independence.

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Birth Pangs of a New Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report
by Mouin Rabbani - (Opinion) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am

Shortly after 11:30 am on December 27, 2008, at the height of the midday bustle on the first day of the Gazan week and with multitudes of schoolchildren returning home from the morning shift, close to 90 Israeli warplanes launched over 100 tons of explosives at some 100 targets throughout the 139 square miles of the Gaza Strip. Within minutes, the near simultaneous air raids killed more than 225 and wounded at least 700, more than 200 of them critically.

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Solution to Gaza crisis requires pan-Arab effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - January 4, 2009 - 1:00am

The intensification of the military operation in Gaza has not yet led to a similar increase in the Arab states' diplomatic efforts. A lasting diplomatic solution to the Gaza situation demands more than an agreement between Hamas and Israel - it demands pan-Arab reconciliation. Turkish Prime Recep Tayyip Erdogan's shuttle diplomacy took him to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, and it seems he is now coming to understand the tremendous weight of the mission he has taken upon himself.

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Escaping the Gaza ghetto
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune
by Kevin Clarke - January 1, 2009 - 1:00am

It's hard to watch the mayhem in Gaza, watch the bloodied faces of children and anguished parents, hard even to watch the death mask of even the most ardent, Israel-hating member of Hamas as he is carted off to his grave, easier to turn it off, and not think about this complex, seemingly intractable mess that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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The Blood of Gaza…A Business Venture!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - December 28, 2008 - 1:00am

A grim and bloody theatrical play named the "Palestinian cause" has been recurring for decades, with the same scenes, and lies; there is nothing new except for its victims. [A play with] opportunistic factions and Israeli crimes, and Arab denunciation and condemnation. What is the difference between what is happening in Gaza and what took place in the Israeli-Hezbollah War [2006 Lebanon War]?

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Gaza Incursion Nears; Hamas Mulls Renewal of Suicide Bombing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - December 22, 2008 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM -- Over the weekend, a barrage of rockets hit Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip following the end of a six-month truce between Israel and the Islamic resistance movement Hamas. While Israeli security officials prepare for a possible large-scale military invasion into Gaza, Hamas officials have said that they may renew suicide bombings. Hamas accused Israel of reneging on promises to open Gaza crossings and lift the economic blockade that has caused major suffering to the coastal territory's 1.5 million citizens, the vast majority of them civilian.

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Loving The Two-State Solution to Death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - December 19, 2008 - 1:00am

It didn’t take long for the “two state solution” to move from the category of radical to banal, but that is what has happened. Today the “two-state solution” is everyone’s favorite remedy. And yet it is farther from realization than ever. Its fate may, in fact, be that rare instance of a concept being killed by kindness.

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Quartet makes fresh bid to revive talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
December 17, 2008 - 1:00am

The UAE participated in a meeting held by the Arab liaison group of the Arab League with the Middle East Quartet to discuss ways of reviving Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and stepped up calls to both sides to take the necessary steps to bolster negotiations. The Quartet, in a top-level meeting hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called on the Palestinians to continue their efforts to reform the security services.

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New face of law and order in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Mick Hume - December 16, 2008 - 1:00am

The traffic policeman doing Michael Jackson-esque moves outside the Stars and Bucks café in busy Ramallah attracts a lot of attention. To many however, the sight of any Palestinian uniform in the West Bank is still a novelty. The dancing policeman is the face of a new force — trained in Jordan with US and European support — in an attempt to establish Palestinian law and order in the West Bank.

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Abbas, Bush to hold 'farewell' meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
December 12, 2008 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to Washington for a "farewell" meeting with President Bush, a Palestinian official said Friday, as impending leadership changes raise questions about the future of peace talks. The Palestinian leader will meet Bush at the White House on Dec. 19, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said. The two will discuss peace negotiations with Israel, he said, but "it will also be a farewell meeting between the two men."

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