Goldstone: Israel could stop report with open inquiry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - October 18, 2009 - 12:00am Israel could stop the Goldstone report process if it openly investigated its army's conduct in the Gaza War, Richard Goldstone said. "If the Israeli government set up an appropriate investigation it would really be the end of the matter," said Goldstone, the former South African judge and international human rights prosecutor who authored the report alleging war crimes by both sides in last winter's war between Israel and Hamas. "The heart of the report would become pretty irrelevant if there was an open, bonafide investigation." » Read more

Obama's mettle is about to be tested ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Simon Tisdall - (Opinion) October 19, 2009 - 12:00am It's getting harder each day for the Obama administration to maintain the illusion of progress in Middle East peacemaking. The UN human rights council's vote to condemn January's Israeli assault on Gaza, furiously rejected by the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, at the weekend, was the latest blow to US efforts to kickstart negotiations on a two-state solution. Across the region, all the signs point not to reconciliation, but to renewed confrontation. As Washington talks about talks, the Arab world mutters ominously about the prospect of a third intifada. » Read more

Political struggle over West Bank town ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Heather Sharp - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am "The decision was purely political," says Wajih Qawas, fiddling with a string of prayer beads as he explains how he lost his job. Until a month ago, the softly-spoken management systems graduate was the mayor of the West Bank town of Qalqilya, although he has spent much of that time in Israeli prisons. The town of 40,000 was one of several major West Bank towns in which Hamas won control of municipal councils in elections in 2004 and 2005. Locals and outsiders alike wondered how a group known for suicide bombings would handle fixing potholes and sewage pipes. » Read more

Israel pulls textbook with chapter on Nakba ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Or Kashti - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am The Ministry of Education has taken the unusual step of collecting all copies of the history textbook, "Nationalism: Building a State in the Middle East" which was published about two months ago by the Zalman Shazar Center. They will be returned to the shelves only after corrections are made to the text, particularly with reference to the War of Independence. The book had already been approved by the ministry. » Read more

Why Israel failed in the Gaza war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yehezkel Dror - (Opinion) October 19, 2009 - 12:00am "Operation Cast Lead was the most planned operation in the annals of Israel's wars," Aluf Benn wrote in these pages over the weekend ("The noose tightens," October 16). Heaven help us for such planning, which was technically sophisticated yet one-dimensional. » Read more

Netanyahu: Israel and U.S. have resolved settlements row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero last Thursday that talks between Israel and the United States over construction in the settlements on the West Bank had ended. "We solved the matter of the settlements with the Americans," Netanyahu told his Spanish counterpart. "I cannot say more than that. If you are interested in hearing more details, ask in Washington," added Netanyahu. » Read more

Russia says won't let Goldstone Report reach Hague ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am Russia has made it clear to Israel that it will oppose a Goldstone Report discussion at the United Nations Security Council or at the International Criminal Court in Hague, although its representatives voted in favor of adopting the report accusing the Jewish state of committing war crimes at the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Ministry officials told Ynet on Sunday night. » Read more

Poll: Abbas approval plummets after UN delay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 19, 2009 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas lost significant public support over his role in delaying international action on a United Nations report that accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, a new opinion poll shows. The survey released on Sunday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) indicates that if an election were held today, Abbas would receive just 16.8 percent of the vote, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh 16 percent. A similar percentage said they would vote for Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi, who is currently in prison in Israel. » Read more

UN vote to endorse Goldstone report increases pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - October 16, 2009 - 12:00am The United Nations Human Rights Council's decision Friday to adopt the controversial Goldstone report on the Gaza war increases the pressure on Israel to conduct its own investigation into alleged war crimes. The council voted 25-to-6, with 11 abstentions, to endorse the report, which calls for both Israel and Hamas to investigate its allegations within the next few months. If either side fails to comply – and Israel has so far refused to do so – the report calls for the UN Security Council to take up the matter and consider referring it to the UN's International Criminal Court. » Read more

U.N. Panel Backs Gaza Report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Colum Lynch, Howard Schneider - October 17, 2009 - 12:00am The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday endorsed a controversial report on alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip, advancing a process that has roiled Palestinian politics and threatens to further derail the Middle East peace process. The vote drew condemnation from Israel's main political parties, while both the Islamist Hamas movement and the Palestinian Authority hailed the decision. » Read more