Headlines for 05-18-08

Deposed Hamas PM urges Egypt to open Gaza border unilaterally


Israel, Palestine discuss peace in private: Rice


Bin Laden calls on Muslims to end Israeli Gaza blockade: website It called on Muslims, especially those in Egypt, to work to break the "unjust blockade" on Gaza, which has resulted in "dozens of deaths."


Lutherans condemn anti-Semitism and back Palestinian rights


Olmert: Bush reassured Israel Olmert added that he and the U.S. president also had in-camera discussions "on the most sensitive and important issues regarding bilateral relations, including the issues that top the agenda, namely the Iranian and Syrian issues, the situation in Lebanon, the negotiations with the Palestinians and the situation in the Gaza Strip."


Hamas insists on prisoner swap for Shalit


Abbas said to be weighing resignation Mahmoud Abbas told an Israeli lawmaker that he could resign if there is no progress in talks on founding a Palestinian state.


Palestinian factions say ready to face Israeli offensive into Gaza


Bush castigated by leading Palestinian


Investors' conference to stimulate Palestinian economy, but closure regime imposes limits


Bomb outside Christian school in Gaza A bomb exploded outside a Christian school in the Gaza Strip on Friday, causing damage but no injuries, witnesses said.


Palestinian top diplomat extends condolences over China's deadly earthquake


Report: US willing to mediate between Israel, Syria London-based al-Hayat newspaper quotes Israeli official as saying President Bush has asked Turkey to boost its mediation efforts, in bid to distance Syrians from Hizbullah


Seattle divestment initiative challenged An Israel advocacy group is going to court to stop a Seattle ballot initiative on divestment.


Fraser, Leibler spar over Hamas An Australian Jewish leader and a former prime minister are squabbling over negotiating with Hamas.


Israel must be held to same nuclear scrutiny as Iran


Obama courts Jewish vote as doubts persist Stepping up to a microphone, flanked by Israeli and American flags, Obama sounded notes carefully tailored to the crowd of 1,200. With a practiced deftness, he praised Zionist leaders Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion, cited the Holocaust and recalled an Israeli helicopter ride that reaffirmed for him "the dangers faced by this particularly narrow strip of land."


Israeli aircraft over Gaza under constant threat of Hamas fire: ex-Israeli air force chief


Palestinians in Qatar mark 60 years of ?Nakba?


On one street in Beirut, all are welcome Hamra was mostly farmland west of the old downtown before World War II. It began to swell as a commercial and intellectual hot spot during the 1950s, when it was first paved. A flood of Palestinian intellectuals and merchants fleeing the newly established state of Israel settled here.


First blood The creation of a viable Jewish state required not only expansion but also expulsion - seizing territory to acquire strategic depth and facilitate national development while removing as many Palestinians as possible to make room for Jewish immigrants and prevent the emergence of a potential fifth column.


Hilda Silverman tirelessly pursued peace in Mideast She denounced some of Israel's actions toward Palestinians, then stood firm as many Jews labeled such criticism a betrayal.


Carter Is A Model Of What Ex-Presidents Should Do If one really wants to seek objective understanding of the situation in the Middle East they can find it in The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Watt.


Palestinians still have right to return


Cameras record Gaza's gruesome reality


Passion beyond the political IF the real Rachel Corrie was anything like the astonishing young woman portrayed in this production, then she ought to be a role model for young people everywhere, indeed, for us all.


Israel?s ?American Problem? the best way to bring about the birth of a Palestinian state is to reverse ? not merely halt, but reverse ? the West Bank settlement project. The dismantling of settlements is the one step that would buttress the dwindling band of Palestinian moderates in their struggle against the fundamentalists of Hamas.



Paris march marks Nakba At least 400 protesters, according to Paris police, marched Saturday to commemorate the day Israel declared its independence in 1948. The protesters chanted slogans such as "Zionists, fascists, you are the terrorists" and called for the right of Palestinians to return to their pre-1948 homes.




Palestinians demand regular army for new state


Readers weren't supposed to see notes wonders "How on earth did The Post (and other big city papers) miss the enclosed story about Israel's U.N. ambassador calling Jimmy Carter a 'bigot,' and the U.S. protest that followed?