Middle East News: World Press Roundup

McClatchey Newspapers contrasts the very different morning commutes for an Israeli and a Palestinian to illustrate how lack of Palestinian freedom of movement is one of the major obstacles to peace (1.) A Los Angeles Times opinion by Professors Walt of Harvard and Mearsheimer of Chicago University label as 'false friends of Israel' U.S. presidential candidates that facilitate self-destructive policies by offering unconditional political and financial support (3.) The Washington Post examines expectations in the Middle East regarding the visit of President Bush to the region this week (4.) Editorials in the Baltimore Sun (6) and Boston Globe (7) urge President Bush to use the influence of the U.S. to do all that is necessary to achieve progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations (6.) An Independent (UK) editorial faults the Bush administration for its belated engagement in Mideast peacemaking while acknowledging that an opportunity exists for it if serious effort is applied (10.) BBC (UK) looks at why the Har Homa settlement issue has become such a flash-point for Israeli-Palestinian relations and the future of peace negotiations (13.) Arab News (Saudi Arabia) examines how Israel's 'absentee law' is used to expropriate Palestinian land in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem for the building of the Har Homa settlement (15.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar is critical of the continuing Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territories as a danger to Israel's future existence (16.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Tel Aviv university senior political science lecturer Eyal Chowers suggests a new paradigm for Israelis and Palestinians to express their national identities through (18.)

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Straddling Cultures, Irreverently, In Life And Art ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - January 7, 2008 - 6:07pm Being an Arab Israeli has always been a complex affair, at times almost a contradiction in terms. For Sayed Kashua, 32, an Israeli-born Arab journalist and author, it just got more complicated. » Read more

Substance, Not Smiles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun (Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:09pm Jerusalem is draping itself in the flags of the city, Israel and the United States in honor of President Bush's visit this week, perfect for the essential photo op. And that's all this trip sounds like it's shaping up to be since neither the president nor his advisers have identified any policy or message that Mr. Bush will relay to advance the commitments made at the Annapolis peace summit. And that's just unacceptable. » Read more

Bush's Mideast Mission ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe (Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:10pm IN AN effort to bring about enormous changes at the last minute, President Bush will arrive in Israel Wednesday to begin an eight-day trip to a half-dozen countries in the Middle East. This will be his first state visit to all the countries on his itinerary except Egypt, and Americans must hope this belated trip to such a strategically vital region means Bush now recognizes the mistake he made in waiting so long. » Read more

Surprising Lessons From Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Emily Schaeffer - January 7, 2008 - 6:12pm Six years after Sept. 11th and the ensuing war on terror, what seemed a temporary situation has become a protracted conflict, with everyone from the Bush administration to competing presidential candidates offering recommendations for change. Proposals vary from withdrawing troops from Iraq to reforming the military commissions in Guantánamo. But amid an open-ended war on terror, would any of these comparatively small changes really matter? » Read more

Leading Article: A Belated Awakening To Middle East Obligations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent (Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:15pm Given how central the Middle East has been to US foreign policy in recent decades, it is remarkable that it has taken George Bush the best part of seven years to make his first visit to Israel as President. There have, of course, been extenuating circumstances: the preoccupation with terrorism and Afghanistan after the attacks of 11 September 2001; the ill-conceived and mismanaged war in Iraq; and Mr Bush's own home-body temperament. Even at the best of times, he was a notoriously reluctant traveller. » Read more

Israel "committed To Dismantling West Bank Settlements" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Fred Attewill - January 7, 2008 - 6:18pm Israel today said it was committed to acting "expeditiously" to dismantle unauthorised West Bank settlement outposts and would tell that to President George Bush when he arrives for talks on Wednesday. A spokesman for the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, did not set a deadline for the removal of the outposts, which are typically makeshift encampments often set up by hardline settlers. » Read more

Storm Grows Over Jerusalem District ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Martin Patience - January 7, 2008 - 6:19pm Yellow cranes swivel in the winter sun on a hill in south-east Jerusalem; occasional bursts of drilling puncture the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. In almost any other part of the world this scene would go largely unnoticed. But for Israelis and Palestinians the issue of construction at Har Homa/Jabal Abu Ghneim has rapidly become a political battleground. The Israeli government announced plans last month to build 300 new apartments at the Har Homa development in occupied East Jerusalem, drawing a furious diplomatic response from the Palestinians. » Read more

Israel Uses Absentee Land To Build Settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Mohammed Mar’i - January 7, 2008 - 6:22pm The Israeli Housing Ministry expropriated land belonging to residents from West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour in accordance with the “absentee law” for the construction of more than 1,000 housing units in East Jerusalem’s Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim. The ministry’s move is in violation of both an instruction from the Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to stop applying the absentee law in East Jerusalem and explicit promises by Israel to the United States that it will not apply that law in Jerusalem’s eastern quarters. » Read more

Another Obstacle To Zionism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - January 7, 2008 - 6:23pm After recognizing "Jewish population concentrations" in the territories, President George W. Bush brought down from the attic the old American position under which the settlements are an obstacle to peace. Bush was not entirely accurate. The settlements are not an obstacle to peace. What would happen if the Palestinians were to announce tomorrow morning that they welcome the settlers and are relinquishing their demand for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with its capital in East Jerusalem? » Read more

Peace And The Nation-state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Chowers - (Opinion) January 7, 2008 - 6:25pm » Read more

January 7, 2008 - Vol. 9, Issue 18 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now by Middle East Peace Report - January 8, 2008 - 6:04pm NO OUTPOST CRACKDOWN, PART I: On the eve of President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel, Peace Now held a demonstration at the site of the largest unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost. This outpost, known as Migron, was constructed on privately-owned Palestinian land and the Israeli government has repeatedly expressed to the High Court of Justice its intention to remove it. At the rally, former Knesset Member and Peace Now leader Mossi Raz said that all illegal outposts “must be evacuated now, and the settlements as well. » Read more

On First Trip To Israel, Bush Hopes To Inject Vigor Into Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael Abramowitz, Jonathan Finer - (Opinion) January 8, 2008 - 6:05pm In the six weeks since Israeli and Palestinian leaders left Annapolis, Md., pledging to end "bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples," violence has escalated over long-standing territorial disputes and security concerns, leaving little optimism here on the eve of President Bush's visit that the fledgling dialogue will bring peace. » Read more

Adulation, Gratitude Await Bush In Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - January 8, 2008 - 6:11pm George W. Bush arrives in Israel on Wednesday in the ­twilight of his presidency, with his international clout diminished by the war in Iraq and his popular support eroded both at home and abroad. In Israel, however, the US president will be greeted with nothing but adulation and gratitude. From the prime minister downwards, Israelis continue to hold Mr Bush in high esteem, thanks to his unwavering support for the country in its struggle with Arab neighbours and militant Palestinian forces. » Read more

Action, Please, An Interview With Ali Jarbawi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons (Interview) January 8, 2008 - 6:14pm bitterlemons: Are you optimistic about US President George W. Bush's visit? Jarbawi: Palestinians are not optimistic. We always hear a lot of talk and promises but on the ground we see the opposite. Settlements are expanding, Israeli army incursions continue unabated, there are arrests, and land is confiscated. All these Israeli policies continue and we hear only promises. We need action rather than words. bitterlemons: What exactly do you see Washington's role as being? » Read more

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