October 5th

Arsonists set fire to mosque in West Bank town
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm

BEIT FAJAR, WEST BANK - Arsonists set fire to a mosque in this Palestinian town early Monday, charring Korans, burning holes into the carpet and scrawling "revenge" in Hebrew near the doorway. The attack, which residents blamed on Jewish settlers, threatened to stir passions amid a crisis in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks over settlement construction. It was strongly condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

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October 4th

Israeli soldiers are convicted of using a nine-year-old boy as a human shield. Palestinians say peace talks depend on a settlement freeze extension. The Washington Post looks at the definition of “Jewish state.” Aaron David Miller identifies five myths about Middle East peace. The LA Times looks at one of the largest Israeli settlements, and at a major West Bank highway, and says FM Lieberman should go. The Arab League will meet on Friday to discuss negotiations. Israeli forces kill a Palestinian man in Jerusalem. An Irish Nobel laureate is challenging Israel's decision to prevent her entry. Since peace talks began in 1991 settlements have continued to expand. Palestinians and Israelis are blaming each other for threats to continued negotiations. FM Lieberman is a key cabinet vote on settlements as pressure mounts on PM Netanyahu to reject American offers. Palestinians say they plan to invest $2 billion in Jericho. Ha'aretz looks at the possibility of a third intifada. Leonard Fein looks at David Grossman's new book. Uri Avnery says former PM Olmert's views on peace should be taken seriously.

Israeli police kill Palestinian in E. Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Jeffrey Heller, Ali Sawafta, Dan Williams - October 3, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Israeli paramilitary border police killed a Palestinian on Sunday after he entered East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank without a permit. A police spokesman said the man, 37, was shot while trying to grab a border policeman's pistol. A Palestinian who said he witnessed the incident, which occurred before dawn, disputed the police account.

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Israeli police kill Palestinian in E. Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Jeffrey Heller, Ali Sawafta, Dan Williams - October 3, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Israeli paramilitary border police killed a Palestinian on Sunday after he entered East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank without a permit. A police spokesman said the man, 37, was shot while trying to grab a border policeman's pistol. A Palestinian who said he witnessed the incident, which occurred before dawn, disputed the police account.

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Israeli Supreme Court rebukes Irish Nobel laureate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Aisha Mohammed - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

An Irish Nobel peace laureate called Israel an "apartheid" state during a deportation hearing before the country's Supreme Court Monday, prompting a rebuke from a justice who told her to keep her "propaganda" to herself. Israel has banned Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 66, from entering the country because of her attempt to breach the Gaza naval blockade aboard a vessel in June.

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Arab Peace Initiative to hold urgent session
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 2, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Arab Peace Initiative will hold an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Friday in Sirtre, Libya over direct negotiations before meeting for an extraordinary Arab League summit, the deputy Arab League chief said. Ahmad Bin Hali told reporters Saturday that President Mahmoud Abbas will address the committee and updated officials on US efforts to save talks from collapse in light of Israel's decision not to extend its settlement freeze in the West Bank.

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Peace talks come and go, but a settlement grows
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Matti Friedman - October 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The American president was pushing hard for a Mideast peace agreement when six Jewish families arrived on this West Bank hilltop early one morning with cribs, refrigerators, Israeli flags and flatbed trucks carrying mobile homes. White House condemnation came quickly: "Settlements are an obstacle to peace and their continuation does not contribute to the development of a peace process which we have all been working toward." It was April 16, 1991.

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Not on the same page
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) October 2, 2010 - 12:00am

One can't help but wonder: What would former Israeli Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon or Yitzhak Rabin have done if their foreign ministers had delivered jaw-dropping speeches to the U.N. General Assembly contradicting their policies on peacemaking with the Palestinians, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's did this week?

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Israel, Palestinians start to blame each other as talks look shaky
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

The latest round of the U.S.- sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were stumbling as the two sides differed on the issue of whether or not Israel should extend its 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank after it ended last week. Analysts said that both Israel and the Palestinians are now trying to escape being blamed for delaying the peace talks, while reaffirming close relations with the Washington. BLAME GAME STARTS

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Did Obama appeal to Netanyahu to extend the settlement freeze?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 2, 2010 - 12:00am

With Israel's ten-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements on the West Bank ending earlier this week, speculation is rife about what this will mean for the current round of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians under the supervision of U.S. President Barack Obama. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to walk away from the talks if Israel does not extend the freeze.

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