Muslims, Christians and Jews combine on a major study of Jerusalem. Israeli PM Netanyahu angrily rejects any notion of Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood, and Israeli officials say West Bank territories could be unilaterally annexed. PLO officials say Pres. Abbas tenure could be extended, or that the PLO will assume the responsibilities of the PA. IDF chief rabbi says those who show mercy will be damned. The JTA profiles a new "planned" Palestinian city in the West Bank.

Between a rock and a hard place
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

It is almost impossible to adequately convey the present degree of Palestinian despair but the recent announcement that President Mahmoud Abbas might resign and that the rest of the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership may follow – in effect dissolving the PA – should provide some indication.This seems to many to be the only real remaining weapon the Palestinian leadership has, albeit something of a doomsday scenario. Abbas and the others clearly feel all their other options have been systematically foreclosed.

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New voices for Palestinian conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Although the peace process is at an impasse, two recent debates about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have started to redefine some of the most fundamental issues of the conflict: the first started in the US and focuses on the nature and appropriateness of the unconditional American support for Israel; the second is taking place in Israel itself and addresses such fundamental issues as the very nature of being a Jewish state, and, crucially, the wrongs the Palestinian people have suffered.

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Washington Committed to Middle East Peace Process- US Officials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Mina Al-Oraibi - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Many questions are being asked whether it is possible to resume peace negotiations in the Middle East that can achieve real and concrete results after the peace process has been faltering over the past few months. A total of 10 months have passed since US President Barack Obama announced his determination to bring peace to the Middle East on his first day in the White House. However, there have been no indications that such a peace would be reached.

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Watchdogs target left-wing Israeli university scholars
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the “witch-hunt” tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn. The watchdog groups IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor are believed to be stepping up campaigns after the recent publication in a US newspaper of an Israeli professor’s call to boycott Israel.

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Plans for new Palestinian city in West Bank raise hopes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Dina Kraft - November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Dusk has fallen on a terraced hillside and workers clearing the red earth hurry to finish planting trees in the twilight, their labor the initial step in the construction of the first-ever planned Palestinian city. The city, with a construction price tag of some $350 million, already has its city limits registered, a name -- Rawabi, Arabic for hills -- and funding from the government of Qatar. It’s located about five miles north of Ramallah.

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Palestinian push for an independent state causes Israeli alarm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Interview) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian leaders from President Mahmoud Abbas down have alarmed Israeli ministers by swinging their weight behind a planned effort to secure UN backing for a unilaterally declared independent state in the West Bank and Gaza. In an innovative strategy which would not depend on the success of currently stalled negotiations with Israel, the leaders are preparing a push to secure formal UN Security Council support for a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders as a crucial first step towards the formation of a state.

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Israel 'personally attacking human rights group' after Gaza war criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Chris McGreal - November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

America's leading human rights organisation has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organised campaign" of false allegations and misinformation, including "extremely personal attacks" on its staff, in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza.

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Press split on Palestinian statehood move
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Arab and Israeli press commentators are divided over a possible move by Palestinian leaders to ask the UN to recognise an independent Palestinian state. They have also been considering the warning issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israeli countermeasures. Some in the Arab world feel that the Palestinians have been left with little alternative, since Middle East peace talks have "gone astray" and "reached gridlock".

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PA confirms PLO to take over parliament
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - November 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Political maneuver against Hamas: Salim Zanoun, chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), confirmed Sunday evening that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was planning to take over the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The plan was first revealed by Ynet on Saturday. Zanoun, who spoke to Palestinian trade unions in the West Bank city of Nablus, confirmed that the PNC would decide in its meeting next month to transfer the authorities of the PLC to the PLO's Central Council.

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