September 16th

A captive Palestinian market ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rachel Shabi - (Opinion) September 16, 2009 - 12:00am It's boom time in the West Bank – the right kind of boom this time. Weeks ago, you couldn't flick on an Israeli TV or radio channel without hearing the good news. Parts of the international press did the same, with a flurry of articles pronouncing the West Bank open for business. The boost in financial fortunes is attributed to Israel easing up on some checkpoints, the Palestinian Authority (PA) police tackling city street crime and the Israeli government's promotion of something called economic peace. » Read more

Middle East peace effort's missing key: female negotiators. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Rachel Brown - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives of the MiddleEast Quartet debate whether evictions of Palestinian families are a barrier or catalyst to a two-state solution, Israeli and Palestinian women alike confront the realities of the conflict on the ground. These women work toward a sustainable peace as committee members, as demonstrators, and as mothers raising and educating their children despite occupation. But their representation in formal negotiations is inadequate. » Read more

Israel threatened with international law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ian Black - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am Controversy surrounded Richard Goldstone's investigation for the UN Human Rights Council into the Gaza war from the very start, with Israel flatly refusing to co-operate because it regarded it as irredeemably biased. But Palestinians and their supporters will see it as an authoritative if long overdue indictment. » Read more

UN seeks close Gaza scrutiny ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Barbara Plett - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am The probe, headed by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone, concludes that Israel "committed actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity" during its Gaza offensive in December last year. It asks the UN Security Council to call on Israel to conduct "appropriate investigations," to monitor them, and to refer the matter to the ICC if they're deemed not to meet international standards. The report found that the firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups also amounted to war crimes, and called for a similar process of accountability for the Gaza authorities. » Read more

Parties bargain ahead of peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Laura Rozen - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am Like its predecessors in trying to solve the vexing riddle of Middle East peace, the Obama administration has sought to manage expectations for progress. But despite the best efforts of Washington, parties on all sides of the conflict now anticipate an early moment of truth for the young administration: the possibility that President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce an agreement next week, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting, to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. » Read more

US to extend settlement talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News September 16, 2009 - 12:00am He has held an extra unscheduled meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with another due on Friday. The US is seeking a moratorium on settlement building that would be acceptable to the Palestinian side. It hopes to re-launch peace talks with a Israeli-Palestinian-US summit at the UN General Assembly later this month. Bilateral talks have been suspended since December and Mr Mitchell has spoken of his "sense of urgency" to get them resume them. 'Positive conclusion' » Read more

Geneva Initiative relaunches its grassroots peace recipe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am Talk about a settlement freeze distracts negotiators from the real issues - such as Jerusalem and refugees - that truly block the path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, former Meretz Party leader Yossi Beilin told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. He spoke on the same day that US special envoy George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss halting construction in West Bank settlements. » Read more

Israelis who spoke at Goldstone committee: State must wake up ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Edelson - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am The State of Israel officially condemned on Tuesday the Goldstone Report which accuses the IDF of committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, but the Israelis that testified before the special UN-appointed inquiry commission actually welcomed the harsh report, and urged the government not to ignore its conclusions. "Israel should wake up and take it upon itself to investigate the claims," said Attorney Majd Bader, who testified before the committee on behalf of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. » Read more

Inquiry Finds Gaza War Crimes From Both Sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Neil MacFarquhar - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am A United Nations fact-finding mission investigating the three-week war in Gaza last winter issued a highly critical report on Tuesday detailing what it called extensive evidence that both Israel and Palestinian militant groups took actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity. » Read more

Palestinians: State within 2 years with Obama's support ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his meeting with the American statesman Tuesday told Ynet that the US commitment to reach a peace deal within two years was clarified during the meeting. The Palestinians estimate the Americans are adopting de facto the plan presented by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. » Read more