September 16th

Aluf Benn / In wake of UN Gaza probe, how can Israel go to war again?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The United Nations' fact-finding mission into the Gaza offensive describes Israel as perpetrating war crimes - a police state which persecutes minorities - and tars the Palestinian leadership in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with similar accusations. If its findings and recommendations are accepted, the International Criminal Court in The Hague could call a summit meeting between the leaders of Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority on the defendants' stand.

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September 15th

A New York Times editorial examines what must be done to push the peace process forward. Mideast Envoy George Mitchell extends his stay in Israel in an effort to strike a final deal with Prime Minister Netanyahu on a settlement freeze, and both President Obama and the PA remain optimistic. Israeli President Peres reportedly meets with Saeb Erekat. An article in Haaretz examines the injustice and dangers of the occupation for both Israelis and Palestinians. A right-wing Israeli is convicted of incitement and sentenced to four months community service. Israeli peace activists criticize US tax exemption for settlement funding. J Street student activists promote pro-peace campus coalitions.

Artists deny calling for TIFF boycott over Tel Aviv series
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CTV News
by Cassandra Szklarski - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Artists angered by a spotlight on Israeli films at the Toronto International Film Festival insisted Monday they are not calling for a boycott as they continued to draw the ire of a growing list of celebrity critics. Filmmakers including Toronto's John Greyson, Elle Flanders and Palestinian-Israeli director Elia Sulieman held a press conference to refute charges they were blacklisting the festival's "City to City" program and its participants.

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Editorial: It’s time for action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Egypt has been quietly negotiating between Israel and Hamas for the release of Hamas prisoners held by Israel and also for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006. A deal appears imminent. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was also in the Egyptian capital a few days earlier and is expected there again this week. Neither of the two men would have turned up there if there were still a mountain of details to climb.

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Jordan an arena for Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Bickering within Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has come to the fore as never before. The divisions in the movement and their dubious relationship with Hamas have posed serious questions about the scope, if any, this movement is penetrated by Hamas.

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Assimilation threatens Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Let's face it, without the financing and the protection of Washington, Israel would be forced to abide by international laws and treaties like every other country on earth, else risk being labelled 'a rogue state'. If the United States pulled the rug from under its favoured ally, Israel would no longer be able to continue its policy of nuclear ambiguity, would be called upon to abide by UN Security Council sanctions, and would face serious censure for launching aggressive strikes and wars.

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Saudi Arabia: "Peace Built on Confidence-Building Measures Will Not Succeed"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

In a response to a letter from the United States Congress to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud urging the kingdom to make a dramatic gesture towards Israel as a confidence building measure to promote peace, Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel A. Al-Jubeir reiterated Saudi Arabia's position that an incremental approach to peace, or one built on confidence-building measures, will not succeed. “It has not succeeded over the past three decades and, we believe, will not succeed today.”

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Israeli peace groups target US fundraising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli peace activists are planning to ratchet up their campaign against groups in the United States that raise money for settlers by highlighting how tax exemptions are helping to fund the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Gush Shalom, a small peace group that advocates Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, is preparing to send details to the US tax authorities questioning the charitable status of several organisations.

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Op-Ed: Changing our campuses from polarized to pro-peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Lauren Barr - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Last spring, a pro-Palestinian club at American University in this city built a big tent on the main quad. Inside were posters demanding an immediate end to occupation. Outside the tent, some pro-Israel students protested, distributing pamphlets encouraging more U.S. support for Israel to protect against the Palestinian terrorist threat. It ended in bitter feelings and confusion among the onlookers. Did either side win?

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Peace in the Middle East is possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Benny Morris is one of today's most serious and disturbing pessimists about peace in the Middle East, because he used to be a card-carrying leftist and has been instrumental in uncovering Israel's role in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem in 1948. He reaffirms his pessimism in a recent article in the Guardian, and says Barack Obama is taking on mission impossible; that his attempt at renewing the peace process is doomed to failure.

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