Rattling the Cage: A taboo question for Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) December 31, 2009 - 1:00am There's a question we Israelis won't ask ourselves about the Palestinians, especially not about Gaza. The question is taboo. Not only won't anyone ask it out loud, but very, very few people will dare ask it in the privacy of their own minds. However, I think it's time we start asking it, privately and in public. If we don't, I think there's going to be Operation Cast Lead II, then Operation Cast Lead III, and each one is going to be worse than the last, and the consequences for Palestinians and Israelis are going to be unimaginable. » Read more

Peace talks framework may bridge goals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - December 31, 2009 - 1:00am When US Mideast envoy George Mitchell arrives here in early January he is expected to declare a framework for peace talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian demand for a state based on the 1967 lines, with Israel's goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders, The Jerusalem Post has learned. » Read more

Journey to nowhere ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) December 31, 2009 - 1:00am Well, here we are. A new year begins at midnight, and for the Middle East, 2010 will be a year of negotiations. Peace envoys are warming up at the starting line, document writers are polishing draft agreements for the envoys, advisers are coming up with their own phraseology, pundits are piling up verbiage, photographers are aiming their cameras, and diplomats are packing their bags and sharpening their tongues. George Mitchell will be here soon, Benjamin Netanyahu has already been to Cairo, Mahmoud Abbas is on his way. In the end there will be a summit. » Read more

Shin Bet: 2009 was quiet year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hanan Greenberg - December 30, 2009 - 1:00am The year 2009 saw a significant decline in the number of attacks both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank compared with previous years, according to data released Wednesday by Israel's Shin Bet to mark the end of the year. At the same time, many attempts by terror groups from the Gaza Strip to plant booby traps inside Israel were thwarted by removing the devices from the Strip into the Sinai, and from there to Israel. » Read more

PCBS: 10.88 million Palestinians in the world, half in diaspora ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 31, 2009 - 1:00am The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report on the Palestinian population worldwide, noting a decrease in family size for the population living in Palestinian territories. The report counted a total of 10.9 million Palestinians worldwide by the end of 2009, with 2.5 million in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, 1.5million in the Gaza Strip and 1.25 million living in Israel. More than half of the world Palestinian population, the report noted, live in the diaspora. » Read more

Zahhar: Hamas still open to swap deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 31, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas has not ruled out a prisoner exchange with Israel, one of the movements top leaders said upon returning from talks on the issue in Damascus. Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar told Ma’an, “Hamas did not close the door on the Shalit deal. Hamas is demanding that Israel release some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in return for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza. Zahhar said Hamas is still holding internal consultations on the prisoner deal, and other issues, including reconciliation with Fatah, and the steel wall Egypt is building on the border with Gaza. » Read more

Israel's Right in the 'Disputed' Territories ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Danny Ayalon - December 30, 2009 - 1:00am The recent statements by the European Union's new foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton criticizing Israel have once again brought international attention to Jerusalem and the settlements. However, little appears to be truly understood about Israel's rights to what are generally called the "occupied territories" but what really are "disputed territories." » Read more

Middle East quagmire had another good year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Etgar Keret - (Opinion) December 29, 2009 - 1:00am In 2002, at the height of the second Palestinian intifada, a new kind of illegal gambling sprang up in Israel: suicide-bombings roulette. » Read more

A Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - December 30, 2009 - 1:00am He can be impulsive. She has a touch of bossiness. Next-door neighbors for nearly a year, they talk, watch television and explore the world together, wandering into each other’s homes without a second thought. She likes his mother’s eggplant dish. He likes her father’s rice and lamb. » Read more