October 9th

Lose-lose situation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) October 9, 2009 - 12:00am Two weeks of continuous incitement by the Islamic Movement's northern branch, members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian clerics has generated a particularly volatile mixture. The escalation in Jerusalem surrounding the Temple Mount and its Al-Aqsa Mosque has led the world's most important Sunni cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to declare today "Al-Aqsa Day." In addition, there are no diplomatic negotiations under way with Israel. » Read more

Barak to Mitchell: Time to move peace process forward ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 9, 2009 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday told the visiting U.S. envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, that the time had come to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "The time has come to move forward to start the process and pass all of the obstacles, because this will help everyone," Barak said at the start of the meeting, according to a statement he released. "No obstacle is impassable." » Read more

ANALYSIS / Third intifada unlikely, despite Jerusalem tensions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 9, 2009 - 12:00am Nine years and 10 days after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada, tensions gripping the Temple Mount could once again lead to the eruption of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. Yet a third intifada would seem inconceivable now, for several reasons - West Bank Palestinians are tired, their economy has been improving, and the Palestinian Authority itself has no stomach for a worsening situation. » Read more

'U.S. furious over Israeli incitement against Obama' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - October 9, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. administration is furious over Israeli incitement against President Barack Obama, Democratic congressmen close to Obama told an Israeli source who returned from a visit to Washington this week. The congressmen even hinted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been personally involved. » Read more

Fatah official: Unity deal to be signed 25 October ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 9, 2009 - 12:00am The head of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, Palestinian Legislative Council member Azzam Al-Ahmad, said on Thursday he expected his party would finally sign a unity agreement with Hamas on 25 October in Cairo. "Egypt informed President [Mahmoud] Abbas that he would invite each Palestinian faction to Cairo on 24 October," he said, adding, "The agreement will be signed on 25 October." » Read more

UN envoy visits Al-Aqsa compound, urges calm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 9, 2009 - 12:00am The UN's special Mideast coordinator, Robert Serry, went to the Al-Aqsa compound on Thursday as a guest of the Waqf, in a visit facilitated by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, his office said. "[UN] Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has been very concerned at the recent clashes in Jerusalem, and I have been in contact with all sides in an effort to defuse tensions," he said in a statement that followed his visit. » Read more

Quantcast Abbas' steps toward peace talks are echoing loudly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Boudreaux - October 9, 2009 - 12:00am Hounded by his moderate supporters and militant rivals alike, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is facing a leadership crisis that will make it harder for the Obama administration to draw him into peace talks with Israel. For months, Abbas enjoyed broad Palestinian support for his refusal to meet with the Israelis unless they stopped expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Then he made two concessions that ignited fury at home and across the Arab world: » Read more

Obama envoy in uphill struggle for Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Steve Weizman - October 8, 2009 - 12:00am President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy finds himself increasingly hamstrung, with Israel's foreign minister on Thursday all but ruling out a peace deal for years to come and the Palestinian leader weakened by his decision not to push for a Gaza war crimes tribunal against Israel. Jordan's King Abdullah II added a gloomy warning that prospects for peace are "sliding into darkness." Obama envoy George Mitchell, visiting Israeli and Palestinian leaders for the second time in three weeks, is trying relentlessly to bring the sides together for talks, but the obstacles he faces are daunting. » Read more

Along Gaza, a Quiet (but Still Tense) Life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - October 8, 2009 - 12:00am At the last stop of the artists’ tour through this hazardous semi-desert, Yaron Bob fashions roses out of pieces of Qassam rockets fired out of Gaza at residents in the area. Mr. Bob repeatedly heats a metal band sawed from a rocket until it glows orange and pounds it with a hammer, working it into a slim stem and petals. He chose to make roses, he said, because he was “looking for a new symbol of peace, and an answer to death.” » Read more

Jerusalem's grand mufti: Israel wrong to block Al-Aqsa Mosque ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - October 8, 2009 - 12:00am As grand mufti of Jerusalem and orator of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Mohammed Ahmad Hussein has the power to sway millions of Muslims. But in his three years since being appointed mufti – a title that dates to the British Mandate and bestows guardianship over the Islamic holy places here – Sheikh Hussein has been relatively reserved. He chooses his words carefully, stays above the political fray, and, despite his ability to issue fatwas, has not made any Islamic rulings that have engendered controversy. » Read more