Israel Backs Larger Deployment Of Palestinian Forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - March 25, 2008 - 5:54pm

Israel said on Tuesday it would allow up to 600 members of a Palestinian security force trained in Jordan under a U.S. program to be deployed in a West Bank city once considered a hotbed of militant activity. Israel hopes the Defence Ministry decision, announced ahead of a weekend visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will help blunt Western and Palestinian complaints that it was not doing enough to bolster U.S.-backed peace talks and a Palestinian "law and order" campaign in the occupied West Bank.

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Palestinians And Israelis Call For Stepped Up International Support To Achieve Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 25, 2008 - 5:47pm

The Palestinians and Israelis called Tuesday for stepped up international support to achieve peace, especially from the U.N. Security Council. In separate speeches to the council, the Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour and Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman said their leaders' agreement last November to reach a peace settlement by the end of the year needs greater backing from the international community if it is to work.

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Olmert's Agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) March 24, 2008 - 6:05pm

Who says that our prime minister does not have an agenda? It is true that on occasion Olmert has said that there is no need for the prime minister to have an agenda - he simply needs to do his job. It is also true that since he came into office, Olmert has adopted and discarded agendas whenever it suited him. First there was "convergence," then victory over Hezbollah, and then Annapolis. He feels that the mantle of the man dedicated to bringing peace to Israel suits him, and that he will not let anything, no matter what, get in his way.

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Cheney Meets Israelis And Palestinians To Promote Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 24, 2008 - 5:49pm

Vice President Dick Cheney met Sunday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders here and in the West Bank city of Ramallah in what American officials described as an effort to promote the peace process. But Israeli officials seemed more interested in seeking Mr. Cheney’s help with broader regional issues, chief among them the perceived threat from Iran, while Palestinian officials expressed deep pessimism about the peace process and prospects of success.

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Pressure? What Are You Talking About?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) March 20, 2008 - 6:31pm

To tell the truth, I didn't ask him," Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch said in response to a question from U.S. Representative Gary Ackerman (Democrat, N.Y.). The person who wasn't asked was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the question that wasn't asked was whether he planned to run for a second term in a year.

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Erakat Warns Pa Could Fall Apart If Peace Fails To Break Out This Year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 20, 2008 - 6:23pm

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat warned Wednesday that failure to reach a peace deal with Israel this year could lead to a collapse of the Palestinian Authority. "If we fail to produce an agreement in 2008 ... we may disappear," Erakat said. "The impact will not be limited to Israel and the Palestinians," he warned. "Watch the region."

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Mccain Backs Israeli Reprisals In Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - March 20, 2008 - 6:19pm

Touring a war-battered town, Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he understands Israel's tough response to Palestinian rocket fire, adding that there is no point in negotiating with the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas regime. The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting also praised the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, saying he is committed to reaching a peace deal with Israel — though McCain is not meeting Palestinians this time.

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Stalemate Is Increasing Hamas' Popularity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 19, 2008 - 7:31pm

The likelihood of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks making real progress this year is very slim, but that does not keep the parties from meeting and making hopeful statements. US President George W. Bush's planned trip to Israel in May looms for many as a critical moment when any progress toward a permanent peace accord will have to be clear.

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Israel's 'religious Right' Gains Clout, Complicating Peace With Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - (Opinion) March 18, 2008 - 6:48pm

On a hilltop far enough from the existing Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev that one needs directions to get here stands the framework of a settlement meant to house up to 750 families. Eli Yishai stood on an unfinished balcony of one of the new development's shell homes. He's a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the leader of the religious party Shas, which is feted by some and decried by others for having broken Israel's "settlement freeze."

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American Intervention Now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 17, 2008 - 6:52pm

A senior American official quoted yesterday in Haaretz predicted that despite the upcoming presidential elections, and in advance of his visit to Israel in May, President George W. Bush will increase the pressure on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to achieve significant diplomatic progress. The American intervention will be evident already at the end of the week, with the arrival of Vice President Dick Cheney for talks in the region. Immediately after him, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to arrive here. Recently, Rice has not concealed the U.S.

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