Caught In A Vicious Cycle Of Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Alon Ben-meir - March 19, 2008 - 7:28pm

The killing by Israeli undercover troops of four Palestinian militants in Bethlehem on March 12, raises questions not as much about Israel's right to self-defense but about the context and the circumstances under which this right is exercised. Even the right to self-defense and matters of national security must be balanced against the prevailing conditions.

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Wait For A New Us Administration Before Panicking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) March 18, 2008 - 7:00pm

Before everyone starts considering closing down the Palestinian Authority (PA), ending peace talks, unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state or deciding to opt for a one-state solution, we should all calm down and wait another 10 months until January 2009, when a new administration takes office in the United States.

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Hamas Wages Iran’s Proxy War On Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by Marie Colvin - March 10, 2008 - 5:37pm

The Hamas commander was in a hurry. Hunched forward in a navy-blue parka, with the wind-chapped skin and drawn eyes of someone who had been outdoors all night, he had just returned from the front line with Israel. The whine of drones overhead signalled that his enemy was hunting for blood. For someone who had survived the fiercest fighting between Israelis and Palestinians since 2000 and the deaths of scores of his fellow fighters, the commander, already a senior figure in his late twenties, appeared remarkably composed.

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The Recent Gaza Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Americans For Peace Now - March 7, 2008 - 6:29pm

Over the past few days Israelis, Palestinians, and the world have witnessed the unfolding of a serious and dangerous military escalation between Israel and Hamas. This crisis is a symptom of failed policies, irresponsible actions, and a lack of strategic thinking. Further escalating the violence in Gaza may deal a fatal blow to the credibility and viability of the peace process, and would erode support for the peace process among both Israelis and Palestinians.

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Mideast Turning Point
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Claude Salhani - (Opinion) March 7, 2008 - 6:23pm

After the misplaced euphoria brought about by the Annapolis peace summit and a naive belief by some that the Middle East dispute could be solved in less than 12 months — a typically mistaken assumption of the region — events have now taken a turn for the worse.

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Hamas: Cease-fire Deal Must Include West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury, Yossi Verter And Barak Ravid - March 6, 2008 - 7:41pm

Hamas said Thursday that any Gaza Strip cease-fire with Israel must include an end to Israel Defense Forces operations in the West Bank, as Egypt launched talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a bid to secure a truce. Hamas spokesman in Gaza Ayman Taha told A-Shams Radio that the Hamas delegation dispatched to the Egyptian city of El-Arish on the Sinai Peninsula had returned to the Strip.

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'this May Be The Last Chance'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gidi Weitz And Meron Rapoport - (Interview) March 6, 2008 - 7:39pm

Yasser Abed Rabbo is worried and one of the reasons for this becomes immediately apparent when we meet: An armed guard escorts him into his office on the third floor of a building in Ramallah midday on Saturday. "Who is he protecting you from - the Israelis or Hamas?" we ask. "From Hamas," he says without hesitating.

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Rice Encircled By Mideast Troubles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Sana Abdallah - March 5, 2008 - 7:49pm

The mission of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to restart the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations was Tuesday facing serious challenges as the Palestinian leadership insisted that Israel first halt its military operations in the Gaza Strip. Following talks with Rice in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said he was committed to the peace process, but blamed the Israeli attacks and the siege of Gaza for sabotaging the negotiations.

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What Lies Ahead for Gaza?
Policy Focus by ATFP - March 5, 2008 - 1:00am

The confrontations last weekend between Hamas and Israel in Gaza have brought two facts into sharp focus. First, Hamas and Israel have locked themselves into a logic of progressively increasing violence that – unless broken – will inevitably lead to a wide scale land operation against Gaza. Second, unless accompanied by a policy of strengthening the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad by enabling them to deliver concrete results, the strategy of pressuring Hamas will not work and would likely be counterproductive.

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On The Path To Bitter Disappointment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uzi Benziman - (Opinion) March 3, 2008 - 7:02pm

It was hard not to be confused yesterday by the reports and statements concerning the aims of the Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Ehud Barak explained on Israel Radio that the operation is meant "at the end of the day" to stop the Qassam rocket attacks, but in and of itself it will not end the shooting. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was even more unequivocal: During the cabinet meeting he stated, "Israel has no intention to end the fighting against terror," and that "over the coming days we will hold security discussions...

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