Row over Rabin killer interview
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
October 30, 2008 - 8:00pm

Leading Israelis have condemned interviews by two televisions channels with the man who assassinated Israel's former Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. Short versions of the first interviews ever done from Yigal Amir's prison cell ran on Israeli television on Thursday. Amir has been moved to solitary confinement and denied telephone use and conjugal visits as punishment. The ultra-nationalist Jew, who opposed the Oslo peace process, has shown no remorse for shooting Rabin in 1995. The telephone interviews were conducted without the knowledge of the prison service.

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Masked settlers assault Palestinian photographers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 30, 2008 - 8:00pm

Masked Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian photographers Friday near the West Bank city of Hebron, injuring one, Reuters television footage showed. The confrontation came hours after Israeli troops tore down a building settlers had constructed without authorization in a bid to expand the Kiryat Arba enclave near Hebron. Half a dozen settlers masking their faces with scarves hurled rocks at several Palestinian photographers at the scene, striking Hazem Bader, of the French AFP news agency in the head. Fellow journalists escorted him away as blood dripped from the wound.

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EU presidency condemns Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 30, 2008 - 8:00pm

The European Union's French presidency called on the Israeli government Friday to take action to halt Jewish settlers from attacking Palestinians near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. "The European Union once again condemns in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence and brutality committed against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank," the presidency said in a statement.

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October 30th

A New York Times article profiles G.hos.t, an internet start-up company with offices in Israel and the West Bank (1). Israeli politician Yossi Beilin announces that he will retire from politics following the February elections (2). The Quartet will meet November 6 in Sharm el-Sheik to discuss the state of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks (3). A rocket fired from the Gaza strip results in the Israeli closure of cargo crossings (4). Israel is set to attend an interfaith meeting sponsored by Saudi Arabia at the United Nations (8). A group of Israeli Arab politicians seek to establish a political party to represent their community (11).

In the name of peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Editorial) October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

The 2009 elections will probably end with the establishment of a national unity government. The reason is political rather than geo-strategic. If Tzipi Livni wins she will not be capable of forming a stable center-left government, and therefore she will be forced to cooperate with both Labor and the Likud. If Benjamin Netanyahu wins, he will not want to form an extreme right-wing government, and therefore will choose to have both Kadima and Labor join him. If by some miracle Ehud Barak wins, his slim victory will not leave him any choice but to rely on Livni, Netanyahu and their parties.

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MKs mull umbrella party to represent all Israeli Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoav Stern - October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

A group of Israeli Arab politicians are seeking to establish a new party that would represent all members of their fragmented community in the upcoming general elections. The group, which is made up of former and currently serving MKs, has proposed that Science, Culture and Sport Minister Ghaleb Majadele (Labor) head the party, which is to work for the welfare of Israeli Arabs. Majadele's office has confirmed that prominent members of the Israeli Arab community have indeed proposed this to him. It said the minister would bring the matter to the Arab camp within Labor.

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Special situation status in Gaza- vicinity communities lifted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Hanan Greenberg - October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided Thursday not to extend the "special situation in the home front" status declared in the Gaza vicinity communities 18 months ago. A "special situation" order enables security forces to instruct the shutting down of schools, to operate essential industries and to close certain areas for traffic. The order was first applied on the Gaza communities in May 2007 and has since been extended several times. Barak's decision was made just a month shy of the scheduled end of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

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Police release settler who incited against soldiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

The police decided to release Qiryat Arba settler Shmuel Ben-Yishai from custody on Thursday afternoon, after completing his interrogation. Ben-Yishai was arrested earlier in the day for inciting against IDF soldiers following Saturday night's evacuation of an illegal outpost in the West Bank city of Hebron. He was released to his home under court restrictions.

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Israel Set To Attend Saudi-Organized Gathering
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Marc Perelman - October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

Israel will attend a high-level interfaith meeting sponsored by Saudi Arabia that is set to be held at the United Nations in November. The conference, formally organized by the president of the U.N.’s General Assembly, is a follow-up to another Saudi-sponsored interfaith meeting held in Spain over the summer. Israeli officials were not invited to attend that meeting.

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Lieberman: Mubarak can 'go to hell'; Peres, Olmert apologize
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shahar Ilan, Barak Ravid, Yoav Stern - October 29, 2008 - 8:00pm

The 2009 elections will probably end with the establishment of a national unity government. The reason is political rather than geo-strategic. If Tzipi Livni wins she will not be capable of forming a stable center-left government, and therefore she will be forced to cooperate with both Labor and the Likud. If Benjamin Netanyahu wins, he will not want to form an extreme right-wing government, and therefore will choose to have both Kadima and Labor join him. If by some miracle Ehud Barak wins, his slim victory will not leave him any choice but to rely on Livni, Netanyahu and their parties.

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