November 30th

PM Fayyad explains the state-building program. Palestinians object to Israel's latest settlement expansion plan in occupied East Jerusalem. Leaked cables suggest Israel considered Pres. Abbas to be weak and unpopular and Pres. Peres called the Oslo agreements a mistake. A former PLO leader dies in Jordan. Fayyad is named among the world's top 100 thinkers. Aid groups say the Gaza blockade remains devastating. Israel has a new spy chief. The Non-Aligned Movement calls on Israel to cease settlement activity. Palestinians mark the 63rd anniversary of the UN partition plan. Gaza farmers are now exporting to Europe. Akiva Eldar calls PM Netanyahu unreliable. Israeli hummus is the target of a boycott campaign at Princeton. Abbas calls settlements a time bomb. Likud MKs and members call for Netanyahu's ouster. Hassan Barari says the Arabs must make continuing the occupation more costly than ending it. A sick Palestinian toddler's fight for her life is complicated by the occupation.

Gaza farmers satisfied as products exported
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Ahmed al-Dabba - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

GAZA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Gaza flower grower Hamdan Hejazi could not hide his happiness as his roses now can be exported to Europe despite an Israeli ban on export. Hejazi, who inherited the business from his ancestors, hopes to export more than 7 million roses to Holland if the borders remain open. Looking at the trucks carrying his flowers, he sighed with relief, hoping this season would compensate the losses he suffered during the past years of the Israeli blockade that started in 2006.

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We don't need WikiLeaks to know Netanyahu is unreliable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

So Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is elegant and charming but doesn't keep promises. That Netanyahu is elegant and charming is a matter of personal taste. As for the prime minister not keeping his promises, it's possible to ask: "What else is new, WikiLeaks?" Now if Mubarak had said Netanyahu did tend to keep his promises, that would have deserved a front-page headline - though more because of the doubt it would arouse about the Egyptian president's judgment than by virtue of its contents.

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Rights groups accuse Israel of ducking pledge to ease Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel has only marginally eased its three-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip, leaving business and construction largely frozen in the impoverished and war-damaged Palestinian territory, a report by several aid groups said Tuesday. The groups accused Israel of ducking promises to ease the blockade's effects on civilians, a pledge it made under pressure after a deadly Israeli commando raid in May on an international flotilla protesting the restrictions.

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Rights groups accuse Israel of ducking pledge to ease Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel has only marginally eased its three-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip, leaving business and construction largely frozen in the impoverished and war-damaged Palestinian territory, a report by several aid groups said Tuesday. The groups accused Israel of ducking promises to ease the blockade's effects on civilians, a pledge it made under pressure after a deadly Israeli commando raid in May on an international flotilla protesting the restrictions. A Palestinian girl stands by sacks of humanitarian aid in Shatie refugee camp, in Gaza City on June 6, 2010. Photo by: AP

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Hummus ignites Mideast conflict in U.S. Ivy League college
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Princeton University students voted Monday in a referendum by a pro-Palestine student group on whether to expand the school's hummus offerings. The student group Princeton Committee for Palestine wants university-run stores to offer alternative brands of the Middle Eastern chickpea dip because they say the only brand available is linked to human rights violations. The brand, Sabra, is owned by PepsiCo and Strauss Group, and Strauss' website says it supports members of the Israeli military.

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Abbas warns of settlement 'time bomb'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned Monday that Israel's settlement enterprise has become "a time bomb" that could destroy peace hopes at any moment. Abbas made the statement on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which is marked each year since 1977 on November 29. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a message to mark an international day for Palestinians that there was little sign of optimism by Palestinians or Israelis that a peace accord could be achieved soon.

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Likud MKs: PM doing what he fancies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

As talks between Israel and the United States on a new settlement construction freeze continue, the Likud party's hawkish camp clarified Monday that it was not going to make life easy for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some 200 Central Committee members and heads of the party's offices across the country took part in the conference at the Knesset, calling on the prime minister not to resume the building freeze.

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Palestinians mark 63rd anniversary of UN partition plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians Monday marked the 63rd anniversary of the UN partition plan, calling for the implementation of international resolutions that lead to the establishment of their independent state. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Ministry of Information said in a statement sent to reporters that the decision (partition plan) " was a dangerous turning point that kept the Palestinians paying heavy prices."

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Non-Aligned Movement reiterates call for end to Israeli settlement building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Maged Abdelaziz, the permanent representative of Egypt to the UN, said here Monday that Israel must stop infringing on the Occupied Palestinian Territories in order to allow a two-state solution to be negotiated in the Middle East. The Egyptian ambassador made the statement when he was speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at a UN meeting to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

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