October 20th

Ministers set up task force to ease West Bank settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mazal Mualem - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am


The defense and interior ministers agreed on Monday to appoint a task force to facilitate construction in the West Bank. A similar team, which was responsible for establishing the ownership of West Bank lands, operated until about three years ago under the auspices of the Israel Defense Forces' Civil Administration. Officials say the team's work is essential to issuing building permits in the West Bank.


Top IDF officer warns: Settlers' radical fringe growing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am


The extremist fringe of West Bank settlers is growing, a senior officer on the Israel Defense Forces General Staff warned this week. Though most West Bank settlers are law abiding, the officer said, recent years have seen an upswing in violent attacks by extremist settlers against both IDF troops and neighboring Palestinians.


Palestinians angered over Al-Jazeera broadcast of mock anthem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 20, 2009 - 12:00am


Al-Jazeera Arabic played a mocking parody of the once Palestinian national anthem “My Homeland,” titled “It was my homeland” during an interview with Fatah and Hamas leaders from a Beirut studio Saturday, angering Palestinians. The lyrics of the song, originally a poem written by Palestinian poet Ibrahim Touqan put to music by Lebanese artist Mohammad Flaifel, served as the national anthem until the late 80s. The poem was an ode to the land, the people, the holy sites and the trees of Palestine. The opening lyrics of the song Al-Jazeera played were as follows: My homeland, My homeland


Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am


As the Obama administration tries to broker a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a dark truth lurking: force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk. The results of the violence may prove short-lived — and possibly counterproductive; condemnation of Israel and Hamas is likely to grow after the United Nations Human Rights Council voted Friday to endorse a report detailing evidence of war crimes in Gaza.


The West Bank's gold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am


For centuries, olive harvesting here has been a mostly local industry. Farmers, their relatives and neighbors beat the trees with sticks or strip the olives from branches by hand, then cart them to a local press and sell or trade the oil in nearby markets. Harvest workers keep a share of the crop for their labor, and olive press owners keep a share of the oil -- a testament to the small-scale, bartered nature of the undertaking.


October 19th

Dallas-area Muslims fear backlash from arrests tied to terror plot
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Dallas News - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

North Texans were both angry and relieved last month when federal agents arrested a Jordanian teenager in a failed plot to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. But for area Muslims, the arrest of 19-year-old Hosam "Sam" Smadi evoked yet another emotion – fear. "Being a Muslim in America today is not easy," said Hadi Jawad, a longtime Dallas business owner and a volunteer at the Dallas Peace Center. "We feel under siege. There is open season on our faith. Muslims are painted with a broad brush."


The UN Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone report putting diplomatic pressure on Israel, but Russia joins the US in asserting that it will not permit a debate in the Security Council. The controversy has damaged the popularity of President Abbas, who is now only slightly more popular than Hamas leader Hanniyeh according to a new poll. Asharq Al-Awsat reports Abbas may be considering calling for elections in January in spite of objections from Hamas. The BBC profiles Hamas-Fatah rivalry in Qalqilya. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly says that an agreement has been reached with the United States on settlements. Patrick Seale argues that Israel should understand that President Obama’s patience is not endless. Hussein Ibish outlines what would be at stake for Israel and the Palestinians in a third intifada.

What would be at stake in a third intifada?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) October 19, 2009 - 12:00am


As the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially East Jerusalem, is balanced on a knife edge and could erupt at any moment into a new explosion of violence or even a third intifada, it is crucial to review what is at stake for all parties should such a catastrophic turn of events occur. Far too many actors and commentators are casually viewing the present extremely dangerous situation, and even welcoming the prospect of a third intifada or the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, or are calling for less dramatic but also extraordinarily dangerous scenarios.


PA on a slippery slope
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) October 19, 2009 - 12:00am


IT is, of course, all the fault of Judge Richard Goldstone. He is to blame for the trouble we are having at the UN, both in New York and in Geneva. Now he is to blame also for the existential danger facing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). When the Goldstone Report was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, the Israeli government exerted heavy pressure on the US. The US exerted heavy pressure on Abbas. Abbas gave in and instructed his representative in Geneva to withdraw his request for a debate.


Abbas' indecision benefits Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am


The Goldstone Commission's report about the Gaza war, which was published by the UN last month, has generated intense debates about how to handle its findings and its recommendations, both in the corridors of the United Nations and beyond.



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