About 4 mln Palestinians live in West Bank, Gaza Strip: report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 9, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is estimated at 4.05 million, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Thursday. About 2.51 million of the population lives in the West Bank and 1.54 million in the Gaza Strip, PCBS said in a report issued ahead of the World Population Day which falls on July 11, adding there are 2.06 million males and 1.99 million females. The city of Hebron is the highest populated area in the West Bank, as the report said some 600,000 people live there. » Read more

Netanyahu signals no extension of settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Thursday he would not extend beyond September a 10-month moratorium on new housing starts in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. "I think we've done enough. Let's get on with the talks," he said, when asked in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations whether he would extend the limited freeze he put in place to coax the Palestinians into peace negotiations. » Read more

Analysis: Finally, presidential empathy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am Watching Barack Obama work his charismatic magic on Channel 2 interviewer Yonit Levy on Thursday night, and through her on the Israeli public, one was quickly reminded afresh of how it was that this remarkable politician defied immensely improbable odds to become president. » Read more

Palestinians say Israeli PM’s call for direct talks is just a ploy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am From Ramallah to Gaza, Palestinian reactions to the announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington that Israel wants to move immediately to direct negotiations may best be described as a collective shrug of the shoulders. There is “nothing new” in any of the statements that have come out of Washington, said Ghassan Khatib, head of the Palestinian government’s media office in Ramallah. » Read more

Obama urges Israel to seize chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said in a rare interview with an Israeli television station he thought it may be possible to achieve a Middle East peace deal in the next few years and urged Israel to seize the chance. "We probably won't have a better opportunity than we have right now. And that has to be seized," Obama told Channel 2 television in remarks broadcast on Thursday, two days after his talks at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Netanyahu and Obama should do some reading ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am It was my intention while cruising the Danube River — which is disappointingly muddy and not blue as Mozart claimed — for two weeks last month aboard a comfortable Viking boat with my wife that my attention would be mainly focused on the Fifa World Cup and the beautiful countryside and its rich history. » Read more

The Summit of Misleading ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Zuheir Kseibati - (Blog) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am One cannot deny Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s success in clearing his page with American President Barack Obama, assuming it was darkened not due to the killing of the Turks on the Freedom Flotilla, but also due to the embarrassment caused to the White House and the besieging of its efforts to revive the Palestinian negotiations track with an endless series of settlement projects. » Read more

Palestinians brace for US pressure after Netanyahu's White House visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am It's an axiom of Arab-Israeli peacemaking that the new rapport between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would leave Palestinians in an awkward spot. After the Obama administration pushed Mr. Netanyahu over the past year to rein in West Bank settlements, there are signals in the wake of Netanyahu's White House visit on Tuesday that US pressure could shift to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

What's lurking beneath the smiles at the Obama-Netanyahu lovefest? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am It finally had to happen, after several abortive efforts. A high-level US-Israel diplomatic lovefest occurred at the White House between Pres. Obama and PM Netanyahu on Tuesday. As both governments had a strong vested interest in making the event successful, it was all smiles, firm handshakes and affirmations of undying friendship. The word of the day was “excellent,” a term repeated ad nauseum by both leaders. » Read more

ISRAEL: Six years later, UN says barrier is still a big problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am Six years ago, on July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague gave an advisory opinion on Israel's construction of a part-concrete, part-fence barrier running along its borders with the West Bank. The court stated that in addition to being "contrary to international law," the construction of the barrier does not justify Israel's security objectives. » Read more