October 26th

An end to Bethlehem's unholy row
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jill Hamilton - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

This week Mahmoud Abbas confronted yet another impasse in the peace talks with Israel. However, on Monday, when he visited the 1,500 year-old Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the alleged birthplace of Christ, he could boast a significant triumph in a longstanding stalemate.

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Some Question Insistence on Israel as Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - (Analysis) October 24, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The more stridently Israel insists on Palestinian recognition of it as the nation-state of the Jewish people, the more adamantly the Palestinian leadership seems to refuse. As a result, some senior Israeli officials are beginning to question the wisdom of the policy of their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made recognition of the legitimacy of the Jewish nation-state a prerequisite for any final agreement with the Palestinians.

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Trading beyond the Green Line: the real deal for Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Raja Khalidi - (Opinion) October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The Bank of Israel earlier this month issued a report on Israeli-Palestinian trade links that should make policymakers on both sides of the Green Line ponder deeply the premises of current and future economic relations.

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Talking Peace and the Diaspora, do Jews outside of Israel have a role?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Dina Kraft - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Cloistered away in a snug meeting room with stone-faced walls and arched doorways across from Jerusalem's Old City, some of the most important Jewish communal leaders in the world came together recently to wrestle with a question: Is there a role for the Diaspora in Israel's decision making on peace? The answer: Yes and no.

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Cantor: Take Israel out of foreign aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
October 24, 2010 - 12:00am

A Republican Congress would seek to remove funding for Israel from the foreign operations budget, a GOP leader said. U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican whip and the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, told JTA that a GOP-led House would seek to defund nations that do not share U.S. interests, even if it meant rejecting the president's foreign operations budget. Cantor, of Virginia, said he wants to protect funding for Israel should that situation arise.

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Rights of Return and Recognition Cannot Be Swapped
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

In a recent New York Times essay, published Oct. 14, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael B. Oren, argues forcefully on behalf of the call by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. “Affirmation of Israel’s Jewishness,” he writes, “is the very foundation of peace, its DNA.”

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Vatican rejects “chosen people” claim, calls on Israel to end “occupation”
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Russia TV
October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

A high-ranking Israeli official on Sunday slammed a statement from Catholic bishops, who called for international organizations to lead the cause of Palestinian statehood. Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Bustros sparked an interreligious firestorm when he suggested that Israel was “using Scripture” to continue its occupation of Palestinian territory.

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October 25th

The lull in Middle East peace talks may become permanent. Hamas says it will destroy “illegal” structures on public land. The PA says the new planned Palestinian city can absorb settlement workers. Saudi Arabia pledges $100 million in aid to the PA. Settlers confirm work has begun on up to 600 new housing units. Israel says talks are the only option. US midterm elections may affect policy and negotiations. Palestinians are angered by new incentives for settlers to move to Jerusalem. Akiva Eldar says the Oslo Accords have turned into a tool of the occupation. The Israeli military prepares for a possible PA ban on area A incursions. The Pope says peace is possible and urgently needed. Elyakim Haetzni condemns settler violence. Hamas is accused of turning a blind eye to extremist vandalism. Israel is investigating a Gaza war atrocity. Lawrence Wright has a one-man performance about the war. Abdullah Iskandar questions whether talks could lead to a Palestinian state. Gwynne Dyer says Israel's new loyalty oath is an effort to change the subject. The Arab News says only justice for the Palestinians can ensure Israeli security.

Wrong path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Opinion) October 24, 2010 - 12:00am

It is high time Israel and Jews realized that the path they continue to tread is not calculated to achieve a Middle East settlement that is just and durable. Though the world community, the peace brokers and the parties involved have repeatedly called on Israel to be more flexible and settle for an acceptable and just peace in the region, the Jewish state’s intransigence and unbridled quest to change the demographics of the region with new settlements dashes all hopes for peace.

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Wrong path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Opinion) October 24, 2010 - 12:00am

It is high time Israel and Jews realized that the path they continue to tread is not calculated to achieve a Middle East settlement that is just and durable. Though the world community, the peace brokers and the parties involved have repeatedly called on Israel to be more flexible and settle for an acceptable and just peace in the region, the Jewish state’s intransigence and unbridled quest to change the demographics of the region with new settlements dashes all hopes for peace.

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