October 5th

The U.N. Human Rights Council postpones its scheduled debate on the Goldstone report into the Gaza war, and Palestinian President Abbas faces an angry backlash for agreeing to the delay. Disturbances between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police at the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount continue, but in spite of warnings from Prime Minister Fayyad analysts do not anticipate an eruption of violence. The Washington Post profiles Palestinian mayor and Brewer David Khoury. The Ma'an news agency outlines Egyptian proposals for Palestinian national reconciliation. Ha'aretz reports that Vice Prime Minister Ya'alon recently canceled a trip to the UK fearing possible arrest for war crimes. UNRWA plans to teach Gaza children about the Holocaust. In the Arab News, ATFP President Ziad Asali argues that Palestinians should trust President Obama.

Palestinians should trust Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Ziad Asali - October 4, 2009 - 12:00am

THINGS have changed over the past decade between Palestinians and the United States, and much for the better. Yasser Arafat was enticed to attend the Camp David meeting in 2000 with the promise that he would not be blamed if it failed. It did, and he was. Last week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was invited to attend the New York meeting without any such promise. He was not blamed, and the meeting was not a failure. The meeting dealt with both an immediate crisis and a long-term strategic goal.

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Why Obama's critics are wrong
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

In parallel with the United Nations General Assembly meetings held in New York last month, US President Barak Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas.

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UN to teach children about Holocaust in Gaza schools
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The United Nations' refugee agency is planning to include the Holocaust in a new human-rights curriculum for pupils in its Gaza secondary schools despite strident opposition to the idea from within Hamas. John Ging, the UN Relief and Works Agency's (UNRWA) director of operations in Gaza, told The Independent that he was "confident and determined" that the Holocaust would feature for the first time in a wide-ranging curriculum that is being drafted.

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Fresh clashes at Jerusalem shrine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The protesters threw stones and bottles at the police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Several Palestinians are reported to have been detained, including a former minister, Hatem Abdulqader. The Israeli police said they had closed the compound because Palestinians had planned a mass gathering there. Palestinians say they are trying to protect the site, known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, from Jewish hardliners, who they fear intend to desecrate it.

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Diplomacy: Regional forecast: A thaw between Israel and the Gulf
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Guzansky - (Opinion) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

As part of its attempt to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian discussions, the US administration has in recent months put forth a significant effort to persuade different Arab nations, headed by the Gulf states, to make certain gestures toward Israel. While in geopolitical terms the Arab-Israeli arena and the Persian Gulf arena are separate, the Persian Gulf states are nonetheless directly or indirectly involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and are influenced by Israeli-Palestinian relations.

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Analysis: US backs Israel, but leaves door open for external Cast Lead probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Dan Izenberg - (Analysis) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The address last week by US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner to the UN Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Report must have been music to Israel's ears. Posner said almost exactly what Israel has been trying to say, without much success, ever since the report was published last month. Here are some of those statements: • We believe that the document is deeply flawed and disagree sharply with its methodology and many of its recommendations, including their extraordinarily broad scope.

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Arab reporter wounded during Jerusalem riots slams police conduct
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sharon Roffe-ofir - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

A reporter for the Arab-Israeli news website PLS48.net was injured during the riots that broke out Sunday morning at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem's Old City. He claims a police officer struck him with a baton and disappeared. Police reject the claims. Reporter Abdallah Zidan arrived at the Temple Mount at dawn to cover the prayers for his website, which is sponsored by the Islamic Movement's northern branch.

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PA source: US to press Israel on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian sources told Ynet the United States has reiterated its commitment to the Palestinian Authority in recent days to reach a peace deal with Israel within two years, based on the Road Map and the 1967 borders. The sources said that in light of the PA's position on the Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the Americans said they would continue to pressure Israel in the matter of settlements, and said this would be put into action in the coming days with special Mideast envoy George Mitchell's visit to the region.

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Vice Premier and ex-IDF chief cancels U.K. visit over arrest fears
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uri Blau - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am

Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon recently canceled a planned trip to Britain for fear of being arrested there. Ya'alon was invited to London to attend a fund-raising dinner for Benji's Home, a group home for soldiers with no family in Israel. The project is the initiative of the parents of Maj. Benji Hillman, who was killed in the Second Lebanon War. Ya'alon was asked to attend the dinner by the British branch of the Jewish National Fund, which is helping the Hillmans raise money for the project, and said he would if the Foreign Ministry's legal department okayed it.

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