The Siege Of Gaza Is Going To Lead To A Violent Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seumas Milne - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:40pm


There is, it seems, an unbridgeable gap between the western world's apparent recognition of the dangers of Palestinian suffering and its commitment to do anything whatever to stop it. This week the collective punishment of the people of Gaza reached a new level, as Israel began to choke off essential fuel supplies to its one and a half million people in retaliation for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance groups. A plan to cut power supplies has only been put on hold till the end of the week by the intervention of Israel's attorney general.


A Mis-step On The Path To Middle East Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Jon B. Alterman - (Commentary) November 1, 2007 - 2:38pm


Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is bringing the wrong people together in Annapolis, near Washington, in November. Belatedly deciding that the time has come for the Bush administration to put energy and focus into Arab-Israeli peacemaking, her effort to gather Israeli and Palestinian leaders and whatever other dignitaries will join her is not only too little, too late. It is also the wrong thing to do.


Israel Ready To Negotiate On Jerusalem, Its "third Rail"?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - October 29, 2007 - 6:45pm


The last time Israeli leaders sat down for meaningful peace talks with Palestinian negotiators, then-Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert led a march around the Old City's ancient walls to protest any plans to divide his adopted home. "No concessions on Jerusalem," Olmert said on the eve of the 2000 Camp David summit. "For 33 years, Israel has said there will never be a compromise on Jerusalem. Do you think we were joking?"


Hawkish Handlers Guide Giuliani On Foreign Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Marc Santora, Micheal Cooper - October 25, 2007 - 11:27am


Rudolph Giuliani's approach to foreign policy shares with other Republican presidential candidates an aggressive posture toward terrorism, a commitment to strengthening the military and disdain for the United Nations. But in developing his views, Giuliani is consulting with, among others, a particularly hawkish group of advisers and neoconservative thinkers. Their positions have been criticized by Democrats as irresponsible and applauded by some conservatives as appropriately tough, while raising questions about how closely aligned Giuliani's thinking is with theirs.


Internal Divisions Make It A Bad Time For Israeli-palestinian Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
by Suheir Abu Oksa Daoud - (Opinion) October 24, 2007 - 2:20pm


While Israeli and Palestinian teams seek to iron out conditions for renewed peace talks in Annapolis this fall, deep divisions among the Palestinian and Israeli political leaderships doom any Middle East peace summit to failure.


Lower Expectations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 1:25pm


On one level, the American initiative to convene a peace meeting at Annapolis marks a positive transformation in the American approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But on another, it reflects a continuation of the past.


If Hamas Isn't In The Game
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Danny Rubenstein - (Opinion) October 22, 2007 - 11:28am


The Olmert government in Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, are in the midst of renewed political activity, encouraged by intensive American efforts. There have been frequent meetings, discussions of an agreement of principles and plans for a regional conference. Although there still are many problems in the field, like the amnesty agreement for wanted men that the two sides haven't managed to finalize, there certainly has been progress.


Elections One Way Out Of Impasse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Hanan Ashrawi - (Interview) October 22, 2007 - 11:09am


bitterlemons: President Mahmoud Abbas has called for early elections. Do you support the idea of early elections? Ashrawi: I support the idea of elections. I think elections are an absolutely necessary instrument of democracy and therefore the only way to settle disputes and allow the public to elect representatives and hold their representatives accountable. Elections are an essential tool for the creation of a responsible system of good governance.


U.s. Supports Abbas At Expense Of Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Joshua Mitnick - October 19, 2007 - 8:25pm


The U.S. is beginning work on tens of millions of dollars worth of aid projects aimed at boosting the Palestinian economy and President Mahmoud Abbas at the expense of Hamas. Along a mile-long stretch of road leading to Ramallah — the seat of Mr. Abbas' government — bulldozers ripped up a street notorious for its crater-sized potholes and sprawling traffic backups at the Israeli military checkpoint near the Qalandiya refugee camp.


Breaking The Taboo: Why We Took On The Israel Lobby
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Eric Chinski - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:30pm


Why did your article "The Israel Lobby," which was published in the London Review of Books in 2006, provoke such heated discussion around the world? James Traub wrote in The New York Times Magazine: " 'The Israel Lobby' slammed into the opinion-making world with a Category 5 force." How would you describe the reaction?



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