Hamas: Israel won't get better deal on Shalit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Just hours after Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a group of students that Gilad Shalit's release won't be "at any price", a Hamas official told Ynet that Israel is trying to make talks on the kidnapped soldier's release more difficult. "The Shalit family is paying the price of the negotiation ploys that their government is trying to carry out in a bid to present a better deal than its predecessor," said the Hamas official. According to him, Israel is trying to bide time by presenting new versions of the deal. » Read more

Outcry over violence in Israel ignoring occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The most amazing thing about the wave of murders in recent weeks has been the collective Israeli stupefaction at the discovery of violence in our midst. Once again we have displayed our talent for excluding from the discourse the daily violence inherent in our continued domination over the Palestinians and their land. » Read more

Israeli, Palestinian ministers meet for first time in half a year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom met with Palestinian Economic Minister Bassem Khoury in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the highest level talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials in half a year. The meeting was the first between an Israeli and Palestinian Authority minister since Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's government took office in March. Until Wednesday, the Palestinian ministers had boycotted their Israeli counterparts. During the talks, which were held at the King David Hotel, the ministers discussed economic proposals to improve life for the Palestinians. » Read more

Fayyad visits family of teen killed by Israeli army ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited Al-Jalazoun refugee camp near Ramallah on Tuesday evening to offer condolences to family of 15-year-old Muhammad Nayif who was killed by Israeli forces in the morning. Fayyad expressed his sorrow and sadness reminding of Muhammad’s father, a Palestinian intelligence officer who was also killed by Israeli forces seven years ago. » Read more

PA, Israeli ministers hold economic talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Minister of National Economy Bassem Khoury met with Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem on Wednesday in what is believed to be the first minister-level meeting since the current Israeli government came to power. The meeting was said to address bureaucratic ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including entry permits for businesspeople, the export of milk products from the West Bank to Israel, and medical treatment for Palestinians in Israel. » Read more

Settler burden weighs on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Age by Jason Koutsoukis - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am ON ITS website, the Shomron Liaison Office makes an earnest pitch for would-be settlers to join the movement. ''Have you heard about the growth of hilltop communities in Judea and Samaria?'' reads a flyer. ''Do you want to be part of the action? Become a pioneer and claim your stake in Jewish history.'' Promoting a six-day volunteer program at the outpost of El Matan that is home to about 11 families, the flyer promises room, board and other activities including building and planting. » Read more

Israel PM vowed not to freeze settlements: minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank, according to one of his ministers quoted on Wednesday. "I heard the prime minister say with my own ears that he has no intention of freezing construction in the settlements or in Jerusalem," the English-language Jerusalem Post quoted minister without portfolio Yossi Peled as saying. "He said there is no agreement to freeze construction in the settlements. I am telling you this first-hand," he told members of Netanyahu's hawkish Likud party on Tuesday evening. » Read more

Mitchell, Israelis to meet Wednesday in New York ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace will meet two Israeli officials in New York late on Wednesday as part of his push to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. officials said. The envoy, George Mitchell, is due to see Yitzhak Molcho and Mike Herzog to follow up on his talks in London last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bringing about a freeze on Israeli building of Jewish settlements. » Read more

Mitchell, Israelis to meet on settlement deal: diplomat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli officials were to meet Wednesday with US envoy George Mitchell as an Israeli diplomat said both sides moved toward an understanding on the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Tuesday that Mitchell would meet in New York on Wednesday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's chief of staff Michael Herzog. He expected a statement to be issued afterward. » Read more

Hamas Objects to Possible Lessons on Holocaust in U.N.-Run Schools in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The prospect of United Nations-run schools in the Gaza Strip teaching children about the Holocaust has sparked fierce resistance this week from leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement and forced international officials to confront a situation fraught with political risk. U.N. officials, who say they are only discussing changes to a school program on human rights, have not commented directly on whether any new curriculum will reference the Holocaust. But Hamas leaders, saying any such reference would "contradict" their culture, are moving quickly to head off the possibility. » Read more