October 20th

Barak refuses to discuss Gaza probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The security cabinet on Tuesday did not discuss the matter of establishing an independent inquiry into Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last winter, at the request of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Barak opposes an Israeli probe into the offensive as a response to the Goldstone Commission's report. Goldstone in Gaza. During the meeting, the security cabinet discussed different ways to deal with the report. Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz gave the cabinet a number of options, including putting together a commission of inquiry.

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PM to decide on inquiry committee on Goldstone claims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The Cabinet is set to convene Tuesday morning in order to debate the international battle waged by Israel against the reverberations of the Goldstone Report, which claims Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet announced whether he will order the establishment of an inquiry committee on Operation Cast Lead. Meanwhile Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi have expressed their objection to such a move while the Justice Ministry said it may lend its support.

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Ministers set up task force to ease West Bank settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mazal Mualem - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The defense and interior ministers agreed on Monday to appoint a task force to facilitate construction in the West Bank. A similar team, which was responsible for establishing the ownership of West Bank lands, operated until about three years ago under the auspices of the Israel Defense Forces' Civil Administration. Officials say the team's work is essential to issuing building permits in the West Bank.

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Top IDF officer warns: Settlers' radical fringe growing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The extremist fringe of West Bank settlers is growing, a senior officer on the Israel Defense Forces General Staff warned this week. Though most West Bank settlers are law abiding, the officer said, recent years have seen an upswing in violent attacks by extremist settlers against both IDF troops and neighboring Palestinians.

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Palestinians angered over Al-Jazeera broadcast of mock anthem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Al-Jazeera Arabic played a mocking parody of the once Palestinian national anthem “My Homeland,” titled “It was my homeland” during an interview with Fatah and Hamas leaders from a Beirut studio Saturday, angering Palestinians. The lyrics of the song, originally a poem written by Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan put to music by Lebanese artist Mohammad Flaifel, served as the national anthem until the late 80s. The poem was an ode to the land, the people, the holy sites and the trees of Palestine. The opening lyrics of the song Al-Jazeera played were as follows: My homeland, My homeland

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Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

As the Obama administration tries to broker a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a dark truth lurking: force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk. The results of the violence may prove short-lived — and possibly counterproductive; condemnation of Israel and Hamas is likely to grow after the United Nations Human Rights Council voted Friday to endorse a report detailing evidence of war crimes in Gaza.

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The West Bank's gold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

For centuries, olive harvesting here has been a mostly local industry. Farmers, their relatives and neighbors beat the trees with sticks or strip the olives from branches by hand, then cart them to a local press and sell or trade the oil in nearby markets. Harvest workers keep a share of the crop for their labor, and olive press owners keep a share of the oil -- a testament to the small-scale, bartered nature of the undertaking.

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October 19th

Dallas-area Muslims fear backlash from arrests tied to terror plot
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Dallas News - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

North Texans were both angry and relieved last month when federal agents arrested a Jordanian teenager in a failed plot to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. But for area Muslims, the arrest of 19-year-old Hosam "Sam" Smadi evoked yet another emotion – fear. "Being a Muslim in America today is not easy," said Hadi Jawad, a longtime Dallas business owner and a volunteer at the Dallas Peace Center. "We feel under siege. There is open season on our faith. Muslims are painted with a broad brush."

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The UN Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone report putting diplomatic pressure on Israel, but Russia joins the US in asserting that it will not permit a debate in the Security Council. The controversy has damaged the popularity of President Abbas, who is now only slightly more popular than Hamas leader Hanniyeh according to a new poll. Asharq Al-Awsat reports Abbas may be considering calling for elections in January in spite of objections from Hamas. The BBC profiles Hamas-Fatah rivalry in Qalqilya. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly says that an agreement has been reached with the United States on settlements. Patrick Seale argues that Israel should understand that President Obama’s patience is not endless. Hussein Ibish outlines what would be at stake for Israel and the Palestinians in a third intifada.

What would be at stake in a third intifada?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

As the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially East Jerusalem, is balanced on a knife edge and could erupt at any moment into a new explosion of violence or even a third intifada, it is crucial to review what is at stake for all parties should such a catastrophic turn of events occur. Far too many actors and commentators are casually viewing the present extremely dangerous situation, and even welcoming the prospect of a third intifada or the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, or are calling for less dramatic but also extraordinarily dangerous scenarios.

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