Popular Palestinian PM "not running for anything"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - April 7, 2009 - 12:00am

West Bank villagers killed a fatted calf Tuesday to welcome Salam Fayyad, the affable, and supposedly outgoing, prime minister who may currently be the most popular leader among the Palestinians. They added boiled mutton from two sheep to dozens of trays piled high with spiced rice and drenched with yoghurt, for the traditional welcoming dish of mansaf. There was also 30 kg of honey-dripping sweets from Nazareth as dessert.

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Deceptive unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Talks on forming a united Palestinian Authority government between West Bank-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas commenced in Cairo last week. Egypt is sponsoring the talks, with the tacit blessings of the international community. This is a mistake. The Obama administration should take a close look at the likely consequences of such an arrangement.

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Control Of Gaza Subject Of Debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Craig Whitlock - January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

As Palestinians begin thinking about how to rebuild the bombarded Gaza Strip, the biggest hurdle quickly became apparent: Who will be in charge? European countries, oil-rich Arab kingdoms and the United Nations have all pledged money or aid since Israel declared a cease-fire Sunday in the military offensive it launched Dec. 27. But none of the donors wants to deal with Hamas, the Islamist movement that still controls Gaza but is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union and the United States.

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Control Of Gaza Subject Of Debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Craig Whitlock - January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

As Palestinians begin thinking about how to rebuild the bombarded Gaza Strip, the biggest hurdle quickly became apparent: Who will be in charge? European countries, oil-rich Arab kingdoms and the United Nations have all pledged money or aid since Israel declared a cease-fire Sunday in the military offensive it launched Dec. 27. But none of the donors wants to deal with Hamas, the Islamist movement that still controls Gaza but is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union and the United States.

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On Day of Heavy Fighting, Moves Toward Gaza Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Griff Witte - January 16, 2009 - 1:00am

After one of the most violent days of Israel's nearly three-week-old war against the Hamas movement in Gaza, the conflict appeared late Thursday to be moving toward a diplomatic solution.

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Ceasefire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - January 9, 2009 - 1:00am

It is obvious who is losing the Gaza war. But who is winning? First the losers. Hamas is losing. It made the mistake of believing its own propaganda about Israelis having lost the determination to fight for their state. For some reason, Hamas decided that the veterans of 1948, 1967, and 1973 had produced cowardly, unpatriotic, and inept descendants. Big mistake.

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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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The Gaza blame game
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Rosa Brooks - (Opinion) January 8, 2009 - 1:00am

How to be stupid . . . . . . Hamas style Refuse to recognize Israel. Remind the world that the establishment of Israel in 1948 was accompanied by the often violent displacement of 700,000 Palestinians, but ignore the fact that more than 60 years have gone by, making it a bit late for a do-over. Ignore the fact that most Israelis weren't even born in 1948, and that Israel is recognized as legitimate by an overwhelming majority of the world's states. Keep insisting on its destruction.

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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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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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