November 13th

Mideast radicals fill space left by peace impasse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Marjorie Olster - November 13, 2009 - 1:00am

Iran's closest allies in the Middle East are seizing on a deadlock in U.S.-backed peace efforts to try to sway a frustrated Arab world to their side.

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Israel challenged on Gazan's ejection from West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - November 13, 2009 - 1:00am

Gaza-born Berlanty Azzam, 21, was two months from receiving her bachelor's degree from Bethlehem University when the past caught up with her. During a routine stop at a West Bank checkpoint on Oct. 28, an Israeli guard noticed Gaza City as the town of residence on her ID, placed her under arrest for being in the West Bank without permission and, within hours, had her deported back to the Gaza Strip, blindfolded briefly and in handcuffs.

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Palestinian Officials Push for Delay in Elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held on their scheduled date in January, Palestinian Authority election officials said Thursday. The announcement removed some of the immediate uncertainty surrounding the future of the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, who said recently that he would not run for a second term.

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November 12th

At Arafat memorial, Pres. Abbas reaffirms Palestinian determination for statehood, lays out strict conditions for talks. French leaders voice doubts about Israeli interest in peace. Hamas may sign Egyptian reconciliation proposal by end of the month, and Fatah leaders say the scheduled election may be postponed. Israeli settlers go on tree felling spree, build fences to keep Palestinians off of their own land in the occupied West Bank. The Guardian highlights the plight of Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam deported by Israel from the West Bank to Gaza and the implications of this practice. Reports suggest Pres. Obama asked PM Netanyahu at their meeting to take steps to bolster Abbas in light of his possible resignation. Numerous commentaries argue that the peace process is hopelessly deadlocked. Ameen Estaiteyeh says that ATFP deserves more recognition as a pro-Palestine, pro-peace organization. The Media Line interviews ATFP President Ziad Asali.

Netanyahu told Obama: Peace talks must yield deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Most of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama this week took place in private, and it centered mainly on the Palestinian issue. This is what Netanyahu told the people he briefed after the meeting.

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Fragmenting Palestinian land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ben White - (Opinion) November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

A young student deported from the West Bank to Gaza is just the latest victim of Israeli efforts to sever ties between the territories Ben White guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 November 2009 11.00 GMT Twenty-one-year-old Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam was seized by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank last month. Bound and blindfolded, she was forcibly deported to the Gaza Strip. Berlanty was in her final semester at Bethlehem University in the West Bank, and was returning from a job interview in Ramallah.

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Washington Insider: "Politics always interferes with policy"
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Media Line - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Dr Ziad J Asali, founder and president of the American Task Force on Palestine, in conversation with Michael Friedson, executive editor of The Media Line News Agency. Dr. Ziad J. Asali is the president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine, an organization that in a few short years has made a strong presence in Washington and Capitol Hill speaking on behalf of the Palestinian people. Dr. Asali was interviewed at The American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem by The Media Line’s Executive Editor Michael Friedson.

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Obama's Middle East Strategy Stalls
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Voice of America - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

From the beginning of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top foreign policy priority. After nearly 10 months of diplomacy, however, the peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Some Middle East analysts say the failure to make progress is due, at least in part, to missteps made by the Obama administration.

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Palestinians say dozens of trees cut down by settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian farmers from the West Bank village of Burin, located near the settlement of Yitzhar, discovered Thursday morning that dozens of their olive trees were cut down. Akram Amram of Burin told Ynet that at around 5:30 am he had discovered 97 uprooted olive trees on his land. "I am not embarrassed to admit that when I discovered the massacre which took place on my land, I cried," he said. "These trees are more than 60 years old and I raised them just like I raised my kids."

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Washington Insider: "Politics always interferes with policy"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Michael Friedson - (Interview) November 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Dr Ziad J Asali, founder and president of the American Task Force on Palestine, in conversation with Michael Friedson, executive editor of The Media Line News Agency. Dr. Ziad J. Asali is the president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine, an organization that in a few short years has made a strong presence in Washington and Capitol Hill speaking on behalf of the Palestinian people. Dr. Asali was interviewed at The American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem by The Media Line’s Executive Editor Michael Friedson.

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