October 8th

Israel kills two Hamas militants in W.Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Yosri Al-Jamal - October 8, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli troops shot dead two Hamas commanders in the West Bank on Friday, in a raid against militants Israel blamed for the killing of four Jewish settlers a month ago. Security forces killed the two militants in an early morning raid in Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank which has long been a focal point of Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the operation was "a quick response to the murder of the four Israelis". » Read more

Israel Signals Settlement Compromise to Save Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Gwen Ackerman - October 8, 2010 - 12:00am Israel signaled that a compromise may be reached in a dispute over settlement construction in the West Bank that threatens to derail U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians. Incentives offered by the Obama administration to Israel may allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push through his Cabinet a limited renewal of the 10-month freeze on West Bank settlement construction that expired last month, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. said. » Read more

Source: Abbas hints at resigning if talks fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 8, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud may submit his resignation after meeting with Arab leaders for an emergency Arab League session in Sirtre, Libya, a source told Ma'an on Friday. The source said Abbas hinted at resigning from his post if peace talks with Israel failed during a meeting of the Palestinian National Council of Amman, which he attended before heading to Libya for the session. » Read more

Hamas tells PA to 'unleash West Bank resistance' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 8, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas has called on the Palestinian Authority to "unleash the resistance in the West Bank" by releasing political prisoners from jail and ending security coordination with Israel, a spokesman said. Sami Abu Zuhri said "Israel's continued offenses and invasions in Hebron come within the context of escalating Israeli crimes and attacks," following the killing of two Al-Qassam Brigades leaders on Friday, a statement read. "This attack comes with talks that the occupation is using as a cover to continue these crimes," the spokesman said. » Read more

Al-Qassam vows revenge over Hebron killings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 8, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas' military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades vowed Friday that it would respond to the killing of two senior commanders during an Israeli raid in Hebron. Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaidah said the militia would "reply in a suitable way to such a crime," to the killing of Nashat Al-Karmi, a senior military commander and Maamoun Al-Natsha, a local Hebron commander. The killings, the spokesman said, would not "break the resistance and the fighters ... resistance fighters are free to reply at any time at any place." » Read more

Israel loyalty oath bill stirs Arab-Israeli unease ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's cabinet next week will consider a bill that would require non-Jewish candidates for Israeli citizenship to pledge allegiance to the country as a Jewish state. The bill, backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for an amendment to Israel's citizenship law to include "a Jewish and democratic state" in a mandatory oath of loyalty. » Read more

Will Abbas get, and accept, a two-month settlement freeze? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am A senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has signaled that his side will not abandon peace talks if Israel extends a West Bank settlement construction slowdown for two months. » Read more

For Israeli army, tests of accountability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am A YouTube video showing a dancing Israeli soldier shimmying near a bound and blindfolded Palestinian woman went viral on the Internet this week, embarrassing the Israeli military and fueling fresh debate about morals and accountability in the armed forces. The army's chief legal officer ordered a military police investigation of the clip, which was posted two years ago but publicized this week on an Israeli television program. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued an emphatic condemnation. » Read more

Examining an Activist’s Death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Andy Webster - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am “Rachel,” Simone Bitton’s fascinating if uneven documentary about Rachel Corrie, the activist killed in Gaza in 2003, shares a goal with “My Name Is Rachel Corrie,” the controversial Off Broadway play from 2006. Both lionize this 23-year-old protester from Olympia, Wash., who was crushed under a mound of dirt pushed by an Israeli bulldozer clearing a Palestinian area. » Read more

U.S. Believes Arab States Won’t Scuttle Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am The Obama administration believes it has persuaded Arab states not to scuttle the fledgling Middle East peace negotiations, officials said Thursday, despite the Israeli government’s refusal to freeze Jewish settlements and a vow by the Palestinians to walk away if Israel did not. With the Arab League’s meeting on Friday expected to deliver a pivotal decision on the future of the talks, the United States has appealed to Jordan and other Arab nations to stop short of pushing the Palestinians to break off the negotiations. » Read more