Middle East News: World Press Roundup

An opinion by David Ignatius in the Washington Post examines the fading hope of Annapolis (2) while an opinion by Aaron David Miller in the Los Angeles Times discusses the American Jewish communities commitment to Israel (3). An opinion in the Telegraph cautions that the halting of peace talks will only be a victory for the militants (7). BBC News reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved a plan to build up to 750 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank (8). In the Daily Star, Mouin Rabbani warns that Fatah must reinvent itself or risk irrelevance (10). An editorial in the Middle East Times analyzes a recent Policy Focus by the American Task Force on Palestine (12).





Fatah Must Reinvent Itself, Or Risk Irrelevance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Mouin Rabbani - (Opinion) March 10, 2008 - 5:43pm


With preparations accelerating, it seems increasingly likely that Fatah, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, will hold its Sixth General Conference during 2008. Yet given the advanced state of disintegration in which the movement finds itself, it may well be a case of too little too late. Simply put, Fatah's very survival now hangs in the balance.


Israeli Intel Report Paints Grim Picture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
March 10, 2008 - 5:45pm


Israel's intelligence community painted a bleak picture of threats facing the Jewish state. The report – an annual assessment somewhat similar to Washington's National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, was delivered to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday.   The report singles out Iran and Hamas as the two most pertinent threats to the Jewish State. It comes on the heels of an attack against Jewish religious students in Jerusalem last week, the worst such attack in four years.  


Gaza - What's Their Problem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
(Editorial) March 10, 2008 - 5:46pm


If you want a clear understanding of the explosive situation in Gaza take a look at a most informative report by the American Task Force on Palestine published last week. The report titled, "What Lies Ahead for Gaza?" is a must read.  


Illegitimate Use Of Mourning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) March 10, 2008 - 5:49pm


We can assume that the young people who harassed Education Minister Yuli Tamir outside the Mercaz Harav yeshiva as she emerged from there yesterday after consoling the mourners, were not sent to do so by the rabbis who head the yeshiva. And nevertheless, the unbridled incitement shouted by the youths found an echo among the national-religious leadership, its rabbis and its educators.





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