October 7th

Labor expects new settlement freeze as payoff for loyalty oath ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am Labor party ministers angered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's snap decision to back a controversial citizenship loyalty oath said late Wednesday that they expected a new freeze in settlement building as a payoff. Netanyahu neglected to inform his Labor coalition partners that he had approved a right-wing minister's draft of a new oath that would require any non-Jew taking Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state." » Read more

Hamas, Fatah to hold 2nd round of reconciliation talks in Damascus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 7, 2010 - 12:00am DAMASCUS, Oct.6 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian two major factions Hamas and Fatah will hold 2nd round of reconciliation talks in Damascus on October 20, the Damascus-based Hamas official Ezzat al- Rashaq told Xinhua Wednesday. "The two movements have agreed to meet again in Damascus to resume discussion over putting an end for the dispute and to tackle the unresolved issue which is the unifying of security bodies," al-Rashaq said. » Read more

News Analysis: What if current round of Israeli-Palestinian talks fail? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn, Geng Xuepeng - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks will remain at a standstill until Friday's meeting of the Arab League (AL) in Libya. The organization is due to decide whether or not to back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' position not to continue with the negotiations until Israel extends its moratorium on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a 10-month freeze that expired on Sept. 26. » Read more

Israel bombs Hamas base in Gaza, no one hurt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am GAZA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Israeli war planes bombed a Hamas Islamist training camp in the Gaza Strip before dawn on Thursday following a rocket launching from the enclave a day earlier, Israeli military sources and Hamas officials said. There were no casualties in the two raids carried out near Gaza City shortly after midnight, Hamas said. The strike came hours after Israel said a rocket fired from the coastal territory struck in an open area in its south, also causing no casualties. » Read more

Palestinian sees no serious talks with Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A senior Palestinian official said on Thursday he saw no hope of a serious peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in some of the darkest comments to date on the U.S.-mediated talks. Yasser Abed Rabbo's remarks signalled deep Palestinian skepticism about the outlook for the talks, which began on Sept. 2 but have been on hold since an Israeli moratorium on new settlement building in the West Bank expired last week. The United States wants the talks to continue and has been trying to find a formula to save the negotiations. » Read more

Report: Abbas and Netanyahu to meet in Paris ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 7, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel's Army Radio quoted sources who said that President Mahmoud Abbas and would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two weeks in Paris. The purpose of the meet would be determined by the decision of the Arab League later this week, the source said, though analysts expect the Arab Peace Initiative Follow-up Committee to agree with the PLO and give Abbas the mandate to walk away from talks if Israel does not agree to a settlement construction freeze. » Read more

Jordan Valley settlement expands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 7, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Settlers in the northern Jordan Valley settlement of Mehola began large-scale construction projects on Wednesday night, reports from the Palestine News Agency WAFA said. Official sources told the agency that the settlers were adding new housing units in the western side of the settlement. Governor of Tubas Marwan Tubasy said three housing units had already been added during the past week, with several concrete pouring machines seen entering and exiting the settlement. » Read more

US seeks ways to support Fayyad plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 7, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (Ma'an) -- As American-led efforts to push forward peace talks continue, officials made clear on Wednesday that continued support for the Palestinian Authority was on the agenda. Meetings between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East Quartet Envoy Tony Blair were used both as a platform for updates on the peace-talk push, but also to review "how to increase support for the Palestinian Authority and the ongoing institutional efforts." » Read more

Palestinian Nation-Building Reaches Halfway Point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America October 7, 2010 - 12:00am Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority speaks in a panel discussion 'Peace and Beyond in the Middle East' as Israeli President Shimon Peres, right, listens during Clinton Global Initiative Meetings in New York, 21 Sep 2010 (file photo) Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is midway through an ambitious two-year effort to build his government's institutions in order to build a viable Palestinian state if peace negotiations with Israel are successful. Analysts are mixed in their reviews about the results of this nation-building. » Read more

ISRAEL: Yom Kippur war protocols declassified, provoking debate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am A few months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved new regulations allowing state archives to extend classification of material from a period of 50 years to 70. The decision was made following pressure from Israel's security services and likely connected to an ongoing petition by journalists over access to archives kept by individual government bodies (in violation of the law, evidently) such as the Mossad and the Atomic Energy Commission. Documents whose due date was coming up cover Israel's first two decades but may now be released to scholars and the public in 2018. » Read more