Borderline outcast?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Roula Khalaf - (Analysis) April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

It has been a tough few months for Israel's diplomatic corps. At the start of the year, diplomats were fending off accusations that Israel was using excessive force in its offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. After that conflict they faced a torrent of allegations that their actions had amounted to war crimes, claims that they deny.

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Judge named to lead Gaza inquiry is known for fairness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux, Robyn Dixon - April 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Jerusalem -- Richard Goldstone, a quiet, self-effacing jurist from South Africa, agonized for days over the job offer: Unravel the accusations and counter-accusations of war crimes related to Israel's winter assault on the Gaza Strip.

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Reaching People on Both Sides of the Arab-Israeli Divide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Ghassan Rubeiz - (Opinion) April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Writing fairly about the Arab-Israeli conflict often feels like walking on thin ice. Arab readers advise me to be "bold" in reporting on Palestinian suffering. In contrast, pro-Israeli readers advise me to be more sensitive to the "Jewish perspective," I try, and often fail, but I continue to try.

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The Journey of Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - April 4, 2009 - 12:00am

Even after the death of his three daughters at the hands of Israel in the Jabalia Refugee Camp during Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish has persisted in promoting peace, and has continued in his search for justice and equality, treating any Israelis that need [medical] treatment. This may come as a surprise to many people.

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The Gaza War & What All Sides Must Do
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Encylopaedia Britannica Blog (Opinion) - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The recent war in Gaza proves yet again what all reasonable people understood about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many years: there is no military solution for either side, and both peoples’ hopes for a better future depend on reaching a peace agreement with each other.

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Driver Shot Dead After Rampage in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Palestinian driver of a construction vehicle flipped over an Israeli police car and rammed an empty bus here on Thursday, injuring two police officers before he was shot dead, police said. Police later identified the assailant as a Palestinian resident of Beit Hanina, a predominantly Arab neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man, Mari al-Radeideh, 26, was married and the father of one child. Jerusalem’s deputy police commander, Niso Shahar, told reporters: “We have no doubt that it is a terror attack.”

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Palestinian health care 'ailing'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Lancet medical journal report highlights how 10% of Palestinian children now have stunted growth. The paper describes the healthcare system in the Palestinian territories as "fragmented and incoherent". An Israeli government spokesperson said the Lancet had failed to seek its view, and said many Palestinians had accessed medical care in the country. Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government, called the report one-sided. He said: "This is propaganda in the guise of a medical report."

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5 Qassams fired after IAF kills Gaza gunmen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Five Qassam rockets and a mortar shell were fired on the western Negev Thursday in response to an Israeli air strike on a terror cell in the Gaza Strip that left three gunmen dead and another wounded. The first rocket fell just before 9 am in an open area in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. About an hour later, two more rockets were fired from the Strip, landing in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. In both incidents there were no reports of injuries or damage.

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The monumental folly at Sharm el-Sheikh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

The international pledges at Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday of some $4.5 billion in aid to the Palestinians to rebuild the Gaza Strip and promote the development of the West Bank seem like a monumental folly in view of the surrounding political context of this gesture. The financial generosity of the donors was largely offset by their political cowardice on two fronts: in challenging Israel to live according to the norms of law in its treatment of the Palestinians under its occupation; and in coming to grips with Palestinian political realities, especially the legitimacy and role of Hamas.

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Clinton: Israel's demolition of East Jerusalem homes harms peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday blasted Israel's plans to demolisg Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem as a violation of its international obligations and "unhelpful" to Middle East peace efforts. "Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the 'road map'," Clinton said, referring to the long-stalled peace plan.

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