Israeli PM calls timeline for Palestinian pact 'unrealistic'
Financial Times (UK) Jul 28, 08 4:45 PM CDT
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Ehud Olmert said today it is "unrealistic" to expect a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement by the end of the year. The Israeli PM and Palestian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas pledged last year to make a deal by the end of 2008, and their inability to do so is a blow to President Bush's hopes for the situation to be resolved before he leaves office, reports the Financial Times .
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Israel to dismantle some barriers to trade, travel in West Bank
Times (UK) May 13, 08 11:00 AM CDT
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Tony Blair announced an economic deal today between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at boosting business in the West Bank, the Times of London reports. The agreement, the first brokered by the former British PM in his role as Middle East peace envoy, will see Israel remove four military checkpoints and withdraw security forces—seen as a key step toward Palestinian statehood.
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Hatred of Jews pervades media in Gaza, worries Fatah
New York Times Apr 1, 08 10:32 AM CDT
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In the 15 years since the Oslo accords, the Palestinian Authority under Fatah has tamped down anti-Semitic rhetoric. But in Hamas-controlled Gaza, incitement to violence against Jews has been amped up in everything from sermons to television cartoons. The New York Times investigates how virulent hatred of Jews—not just Israelis—compounds the difficulties of the peace process.
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First installment of $550M for strapped Palestinian Authority
Reuters Mar 19, 08 6:47 PM CDT
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The US promised today to transfer $150 million in aid to the economically ailing Palestinian Authority, marking the first installment of $550 million the US pledged at a donors' conference in December, Reuters reports. The contribution will be the largest single donation since the Authority was launched in 1994, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.
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President reiterates threat at beginning
of Mideast visit
Washington Post Jan 9, 08 3:12 PM CST
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President Bush called Iran a "threat to world peace," and reaffirmed America's support for Israel today in the first visit to that country of his presidency. Bush's tough talk came in response to the harassment of US ships by Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz last weekend. "There will be serious consequences if they attack our ships," Bush said.
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Contested settlement threatens to undo Annapolis process
Haaretz (Israel) Dec 26, 07 9:30 AM CST
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Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas will meet tomorrow in hopes of resolving the settlement crisis that is threatening to derail the Annapolis peace process. Haaretz reports that the Israeli PM and the Palestinian leader will discuss a contested tender by the Israeli housing ministry for 307 homes to be constructed in Har Homa, a southeast Jerusalem neighborhood beyond the Green Line, the pre-Six Day War border.
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60 nations meet in Paris to bankroll the Palestinian Authority
Reuters Dec 17, 07 2:50 AM CST
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Representatives of more than 60 nations meet in Paris today to discuss providing aid to the Palestinians. Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, locked in a power struggle with Hamas in Gaza, is hoping to secure $5.6 billion in aid over the next three years. The US has promised $550 million. The talks are part of the process to forge an agreement on Palestinian statehood next year.
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First Palestinian policewomen start work
Associated Press Dec 13, 07 3:20 AM CST
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The first Palestinian policewomen have begun working in the West Bank city of Ramallah—directing traffic, making security checks, conducting house searches, and turning heads. They're the first women to complete training programs sponsored by the European Union, the AP reports. They sport uniforms of navy pants and light blue shirts, with many wearing headscarves to preserve the Islamic sense of modesty.
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Bush jump-starts peace talks a day ahead of Annapolis summit
Washington Post Nov 26, 07 4:01 PM CST
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On the eve of the Mideast peace summit, which begins tomorrow in Annapolis, President Bush held separate talks with Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas today in the Oval Office, reports the Washington Post. Between meetings, Bush thanked both leaders for participating in the talks and said he was “optimistic” that a peace agreement could be reached.
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Jordan would assume control in exchange for truce with Palestinians
Times (UK) Oct 8, 07 4:50 PM CDT
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Israel appears willing to consider splitting Jerusalem to achieve peace with the Palestinians, ahead of a critical November summit in Annapolis, Md. A deputy PM said almost “all Palestinian neighborhoods would be transferred.” The Jewish state reportedly has also considered transferring the city’s holiest site—already partly administered by Jordan—to Amman, the London Times reports.
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Plans to cut off electricity, supplies and fuel
CNN Sep 19, 07 8:04 AM CDT
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Israel’s Security Cabinet declared Hamas-controlled Gaza a “hostile entity” in a unanimous vote today, and plans to cut off almost all the region’s electricity, supplies and fuel shipments. Only essential food and medicine, and enough fuel to run hospital generators will be allowed in. Hamas described the decision as “a declaration of war,” reports the Guardian .
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Fatah accidentally bankrolls rival's
security forces
BBC Aug 9, 07 2:56 PM CDT
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To victors in Palestinian factional fighting went the spoils, if temporarily, the BBC reports. Officers of Hamas' security force, which wrested control of the Gaza Strip from rival Fatah in June, were notified yesterday that Fatah had paid their salaries. The West Bank-based, Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority rushed to correct its error—but not before hundreds cashed paychecks.
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Alan Johnston handed over to Hamas after 114 days in captivity
BBC Jul 4, 07 4:28 AM CDT
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Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter held by an Islamist faction in Gaza for 114 days, was released early today, saying it was "fantastic" to be free. The reporter was handed over to officials of Hamas, now in control of the Gaza Strip, by his captors, a militant splinter group called the Army of Islam.
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