September 4th

'Gov't doesn't know where it's going' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Following reports of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's plan to approve hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank before considering a brief settlement freeze, opposition leader Tzipi Livni said on Friday that the government did not know where is was headed and was playing a dangerous game of trying to please everyone. "Israel's leaders, the elected government, in my opinion, still hasn't made a choice between two different outlooks. One, Jewish existence in every part of Israel, and two, the existence of a Jewish democratic state," she said in a speech at an IDF pensioners' event. » Read more

Erekat: Approval of construction unacceptable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Reports that Israel plans to approve the construction of hundreds of housing units in the West Bank before implementing the settlement freeze that was agreed upon with the United States has angered the Palestinian leadership. Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Friday the planned Israeli move is "unacceptable". Earlier Friday an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "The prime minister plans to approve the construction of hundreds of news housing units in Judea and Samaria, before the freeze." » Read more

Embassy source: Doubtful US signed off on Israeli decision ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Hours after the angered Palestinian response to Israel's plans to authorize the construction of hundreds of new housing units in the West Bank before implementing a settlement freeze it became apparent that the plans were not necessarily approved by the United States. Kurt Hoyer, spokesman for the US embassy in Tel Aviv, said Friday Washington would be unlikely to accept anything "contrary to the spirit of negotiations they've been undertaking" and added it was "doubtful" the US had signed off on the Israeli decision. » Read more

Hamas said ready to sign Shalit deal this weekend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshal is planning to finalize a prisoner swap deal for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit during a rare visit to Cairo this weekend, senior Palestinian sources told the Saudi daily Al-Watan on Friday. Hamas spokesman Taher A-Nunu confirmed that Meshal was traveling to Cairo on Saturday for a round of talks with Egyptian officials, attended by the organization's top-brass from Gaza and Damascus. » Read more

Yossi Sarid / Divide Jerusalem, before we lose it forever ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Sarid - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Believers the world over do not believe the ape was their ancestor. They are correct - man is apparently descended from the wolf. A pack of Arab wolves lynched a Jewish man in Tel Aviv and a pack of Jewish wolves preyed on an Arab man in Jerusalem this week. They know no God, so what do we expect of the poor apes? » Read more

Abbas: Netanyahu's West Bank construction plan 'unacceptable' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned approval of the construction of hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements is "unacceptable," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday in Paris. "What the Israeli government said [about the planned construction] is not useful," Abbas said after a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "It is unacceptable for us. We want a freeze on all settlement construction." » Read more

Abbas sees Israeli settlement freeze by October ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Thursday that he hopes for Israel to agree to a settlement freeze on occupied Palestinian land by the end of September. "Concerning the peace process, we reaffirmed that we were entirely disposed to go forward with negotiations for the (Palestinian territories') final status if Israel stops settlement building," Abbas said. "This is the main concern of the American administration and of all of our European friends with France leading," he told a press conference alongside French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner as he began a visit to France. » Read more

Aide: Netanyahu considering settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Matti Friedman - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be willing to consider suspending construction in the West Bank for several months — but first plans to authorize hundreds of new apartments there, an aide said Friday. The U.S. has been pressing Israel to agree to a settlement freeze, and the Palestinians have said they would not resume peace talks unless Israel suspends construction on lands they want for a future state. Friday's statement was the first time an aide has said in the name of the prime minister's office that such a move could be imminent. » Read more

Israel to approve hundreds of new settler homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Marius Schattner - September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Israel will approve construction of West Bank settlement homes before it considers a freeze sought by Washington, a top government official said on Friday, sparking Palestinian outrage. The plan is also certain to anger the US administration, which has pushed for a freeze of Jewish settlements in an effort to restart the stalled Middle East peace process. "In the next days the prime minister will approve construction starts and then he might consider a freeze for a limited time under certain conditions," the official told AFP, asking not to be identified. » Read more

Checkpoints become friction points as Palestinians throng Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 4, 2009 - 12:00am Israel deployed police heavily in Jerusalem as tens of thousands of Palestinians headed to the city for noon prayers on the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Armed police and border guards were seen in what seemed like every street and alley of Old City surrounding cities. For Palestinians from the West Bank, Friday was a rare chance to visit their capital and pray at Islam’s third holiest site: the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Thousands of Palestinians from Jerusalem and communities inside Israel were also expected. » Read more