December 9th

Gaza sources: Swap deal up to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am The implementation of a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas is waiting for an Israeli decision, according to Palestinian sources involved in the negotiations. "Our demands are clear. We made them clear to the German mediator and we have done all we can for the deal to executed," one of the Gaza sources told Ynet. Israel continues to keep silent about the deal. On Tuesday, a Palestinian source told Ynet that the German mediator has asked Hamas to refrain from leaking details of the prisoner swap deal to the Arab press. » Read more

Israel has made settlers of all its citizens ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) December 9, 2009 - 1:00am Would any of the settlers who opposed the Civil Administration inspectors this week be living in the territories had the governments of Israel not established and encouraged them? Would the Gush Katif evacuees have moved to mobile homes in Ariel in the expectation of spacious permanent housing had the government clearly declared that this was forbidden - because the settlements will be evacuated in the near future for a peace agreement - and that evacuation-compensation money would not be paid to anyone who moves to the West Bank? » Read more

U.S.: Only Israel, Palestinians should decide Jerusalem's future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am Shortly after European Union Ministers announced their support for the division of Jerusalem between Israel and a future Palestinian state on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that the fate of Jerusalem should only be determined by Israel and the Palestinians in talks. » Read more

Netanyahu: PA has made strategic choice to delay peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday of having chosen to postpone peace negotiations with Israel indefinitely as a "strategy." "It appears that the Palestinians have adopted a strategy of delaying negotiations with Israel, and this is in order to refrain from meeting the demands of Israel and the international community, which require comprises on the Palestinian side," Netanyahu told the cabinet. » Read more

Khreisha: PLO can extend Abbas' term ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 9, 2009 - 1:00am The PLO’s Central Council is authorized to extend president Abbas’ term as he is president of both the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, the second deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Hassan Khreisha said on Wednesday. But, Khreisha told Ma'an that the Central Council is not authorized to extend the PLC’s term because the body is supposed to remain in charge until new lawmakers are elected. Khreisha pointed out that late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat extended his term, and thus it is legal for Abbas to do the same. » Read more

PA officer sentenced to death for collaboration ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 9, 2009 - 1:00am A Palestinian military court in Ramallah sentenced a security officer to death by firing squad on Wednesday after he was found guilty of collaboration with Israel, Palestinian judicial sources said. Identified only by the initials AD, the condemned was sentenced to death in accordance with article 131 of the Palestinian Military Law of Punishment of 1979. The defendant confessed to having been recruited by the Israeli intelligence service in 1992 to spy on Palestinian activists and fellow security officers concerning armament and movement. » Read more

Popular Fatah Leader Complicates Prisoner Swap ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Charles Levinson - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am Marwan Barghouti, the popular imprisoned Palestinian leader, embodies the promise and the peril Israel faces as it negotiates with Hamas to trade hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for a long-held Israeli soldier. Islamist Hamas says Mr. Barghouti tops the list of approximately 1,000 prisoners it is demanding Israel free in exchange for Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who Hamas has held captive in Gaza for more than three years. » Read more

Israel's Settlement Freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) December 7, 2009 - 1:00am Distracted by the crucial debate over Afghanistan, many Americans may have missed a pivotal event in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. On Nov. 25, Israel's government announced a 10-month construction freeze in Judea and Samaria—the areas generally known as the West Bank. Though some projects already begun will be completed and essential public buildings like medical clinics and schools will be approved, no new housing permits will be issued. » Read more

Palestinians struggle to build in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Tom Perry - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am In the occupied West Bank, a bedouin community whose school is made out of car tires and mud faces the same problem as a developer planning a whole new Palestinian town: building controls imposed by Israel. As Israel enforces a partial, temporary freeze on building in its West Bank settlements, Palestinians and their government are struggling to develop their communities in large areas of the territory that fall under full Israeli jurisdiction. » Read more

E.U. moderates stance on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - December 9, 2009 - 1:00am The European Union's foreign ministers on Tuesday softened their call for a division of Jerusalem between Israel and the Palestinians, saying that the city should be shared but that the two sides should negotiate the details. The statement, issued in Brussels, marks a diplomatic victory for Israel in a contest with the Palestinians for international support. » Read more