Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Heather Sharp - January 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The bloodied children are clearly civilians; men killed as they launch rockets are undisputedly not. But what about the 40 or so young Hamas police recruits on parade who died in the first wave of Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza? And weapons caches are clearly military sites – but what about the interior ministry, hit in a strike that killed two medical workers; or the money changer's office, destroyed last week injuring a boy living on the floor above?

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What 'yes' means
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mati Steinberg - (Opinion) December 9, 2008 - 1:00am

Finally, six years after it was conceived and in the six years in which it has been reaffirmed annually, the Arab Peace Initiative has merited a discussion among the Israeli public. When the Arab world unanimously said "no," we didn't ask about its intentions. When the Arab world says "yes" to Israel, yes to normalization and an end to the conflict, the puzzled expressions multiply as to what exactly is meant by "yes."

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A mockery, not a compromise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Lara Friedman, Hagit Ofran - November 27, 2008 - 8:00pm

As a new American president prepares to take office, and as Israel prepares for national elections, the government of Israel has announced a "compromise" on the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron. The deal makes a mockery of government pledges to deal seriously with illegal settler activity. It also challenges the seriousness of Israel's commitment to achieving peace with the Palestinians. Understanding why requires a closer examination of the details hidden behind the announcement.

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Palestinians will need Barack Obama's helping hand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Yasser Abed Rabbo - November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

President-elect Barack Obama's defiantly positive campaign for change has inspired hope not only in the millions of Americans who voted for him, but also in the billions of others worldwide who could not. Across the Middle East, as elsewhere, expectations are building that his presidency will herald a new era for America's role in the world.

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Israel police remove protest tent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israeli police have pulled down a protest tent set up by a Palestinian family evicted from their home of 52 years in East Jerusalem. They also arrested three international activists and one Palestinian. Fawzia al-Kurd, 57, had been sleeping in the tent since she and her disabled husband were forced from the house last week on the basis of a court ruling. Jewish groups have claimed ownership of the site as part of efforts to settle the Israeli-occupied east of the city.

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Quartet in Final Push Before Bush Term Ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
November 5, 2008 - 8:00pm

Representatives of the Quartet, the four international players trying to outline a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are meeting in Sharm A-Sheikh on Sunday in a bid to push forward the peace process before U.S. President George W. Bush’s term ends in January. Officials from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia will meet in the Egyptian resort to assess their progress up until now. They also want to ensure that talks will continue after general elections take place in Israel in February.

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Advance the dialogue regardless of transition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Gilead Sher - November 2, 2008 - 8:00pm

Global challenges of economy and security become an ever-growing concern in transition periods such as the present one. In that context, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other geopolitical developments in the Middle East represent a myriad of problems of leadership, legitimacy, continuity and practicability. The concurrent transition among the terms in office of the relevant actors in the arena--the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority--should be meticulously prepared for.

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Farming Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Statesman
by Ben White - October 30, 2008 - 8:00pm

n what is becoming somewhat of an annual tradition, recent weeks have seen dozens of stories in the international media about the difficulties facing Palestinians during the olive harvest season. Ever since the start of the Second Intifada in 2000, the West Bank olive harvest has been extensively covered by the press, with reporters accompanying Palestinian farmers and villagers out to the groves.

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Bimkom: Israel strangles Area C development
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Dan Izenberg - October 26, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Civil Administration in the West Bank is using a deliberately restrictive planning policy to strangle Palestinian development in Area C and preserve as much land as possible for settlements, the human rights organization Bimkom charged in a new report due to be released this morning. The report, entitled "The Forbidden Zone," accuses the military authorities in the West Bank of severely violating Palestinian human rights.

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Symbol of Peace Stands at Divide Between Troubled Jerusalem’s East and West
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 16, 2008 - 8:00pm

One recent autumn evening, under a full moon, a monument to tolerance was unveiled on a ridge high above this revered and contested city, sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews. A soaring bronze column split down the middle, with a spindly, gilded olive tree reaching up through the chasm, it seemed to encapsulate both the promise and the fragility of peace in a city increasingly on edge.

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