September 24th

UNITED NATIONS: Israel's absence during Obama speech draws attention ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Blog) September 23, 2010 - 12:00am President Obama's call Thursday in an address before the U.N. General Assembly for Israel to extend its West Bank construction moratorium got little reaction from the Israeli delegation. That's because they weren't there. As Obama spoke about the importance of supporting U.S.-brokered peace talks, television cameras panned to empty chairs at Israel's U.N. desk. » Read more

Obama calls on Arab nations to support peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Christi Parsons, Paul Richter - September 24, 2010 - 12:00am President Obama on Thursday pushed Arab nations to provide more political and financial support for the Middle East peace effort, warning that they should not risk the failure of the latest initiative if they truly seek an independent Palestinian state and stability across the region. Obama deplored efforts — assisted by some Arab and Muslim countries — to isolate or "delegitimize" Israel. » Read more

Israel plays down scope of future settler projects ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - (Analysis) September 24, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Israel urged the Palestinians on Friday not to abandon recently resumed peace negotiations over the imminent expiry of a West Bank settlement moratorium, saying any new construction projects would be limited in scope. The scheduled end on Sunday of the 10-month partial halt to building in Jewish settlements has drawn Palestinian threats to quit the talks sponsored by U.S. President Barack Obama, who has repeatedly called on Israel to extend the freeze. » Read more

September 23rd

NY Jewish group calls Fayyad meeting 'unprecedented' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 23, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met with leaders from The Israel Project in New York on Tuesday, telling his audience that he would try to eliminate incitement against Israelis as talks continue. A statement from the group called the event, and its question and answer period "unprecedented," saying some 65 business, political and religious leaders from America's Jewish community attended the event, held in a private Manhattan home. » Read more

Jerusalem flare-up after Israeli kills Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am An Israeli security guard killed a Palestinian in an Arab neighbourhood of Jerusalem on Wednesday, triggering clashes between police and rioters, including in the compound of the al-Aqsa mosque. Police said they entered the plaza to push back Palestinians who had thrown rocks at the nearby Jewish prayer site, the Western Wall. The Palestinians withdrew into the mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or further confrontations, a spokesman said. » Read more

Poll: Slim majority support peace negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 23, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A public opinion poll released Thursday suggests that just over half of Palestinians support negotiations with Israel. But a larger majority, 59 percent, say Palestinians were coerced into entering the talks, the first since 2008. Only one-third of respondents believe the negotiations will succeed, according to the poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center. » Read more

Settlement must stop if Israel wants talks to go on: Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 23, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday told Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that settlement must stop if Israel wants direct peace talks between the two sides to go on and succeed. Palestinian state-run news agency "Wafa" quoted Palestinian Presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeineh as saying that Abbas' statements were made during a meeting with Barak in New York. The leaders are attending the 65th General Assembly convention of the United Nations together with most of the world's leaders. » Read more

Outgoing Israeli army chief warns of local violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 23, 2010 - 12:00am The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has warned that the regions could fall into wide-scale violence if the recently launched Middle East peace talks fail. Confrontations with the Palestinians would be "inevitable" if the Israeli-Palestinian direct negotiations come to a halt, local daily Ha'aretz quoted Anhkenazi as addressing the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on Tuesday. He estimated, however, that the potential violence would not be on a par with confrontations in the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. » Read more

Turkey lauds UN report on Gaza flotilla ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz September 22, 2010 - 12:00am Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu praised Thursday the UN Human Right Council's report on the Gaza flotilla, telling Anatolia news agency that the report was fair, impartial and used strong evidence. The report, compiled by three United Nations appointed human rights experts, said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine activists, earlier this year. » Read more

Peretz, Thomas, and the Middle East double standard ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe by Matthew Duss - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am LAST JUNE, veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas was fired for telling Jews to “get the hell out of Palestine.’’ While many were deeply and rightly offended by Thomas’s remarks, it was a sad end to a storied journalism career. » Read more