September 17th

Sun, sea and grit: Israeli and West Bank women risk jail for day at the beach ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rachel Shabi - September 16, 2010 - 12:00am The day starts early, at a petrol station alongside a roaring Jerusalem road. The mood among the 15 Israeli women is a little tense, but it's hardly surprising – they're about to break the law and with it one of the country's taboos. They plan to drive into the occupied West Bank, pick up Palestinian women and children and take them on a day trip to Tel Aviv. » Read more

Peace talks highlight internal tensions in Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ehud Yaari - (Analysis) September 17, 2010 - 12:00am Unsurprisingly, the Hamas leadership – both in Gaza and Damascus, and less so in the West Bank – has greeted the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks with a flood of contrarian rhetoric. Characterizing the process as a “sellout” of the Palestinian “cause,” the movement argues that President Mahmoud Abbas lacks the necessary “mandate” to represent his people. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal went so far as to call Abbas “a zero,” amid accusations of “treason” and “betrayal.” » Read more

Shades of Algeria on the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward by Jacob Savage - (Opinion) September 15, 2010 - 12:00am A right-wing government that settlers believed would look after their interests instead enters into negotiations with an organization that established its position through terrorism. Outraged by the prospect of concessions, the angry settlers openly defy their government’s authority. Despite the onset of peace talks, bloodshed continues — and it is unclear how an agreement can actually be reached. » Read more

A donkey and peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) September 17, 2010 - 12:00am It's been a long time since negotiations elicited as many smiles and as positive an atmosphere as the Washington-Sharm-Jerusalem round of talks. The leaders, including two presidents and one king, enter closed sessions and emerge smiling, as though the meetings have turned into joke-telling competitions. Those setting the tone are U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington and his envoy here, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. » Read more

Barak may use legal loopholes to impose de facto settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - September 17, 2010 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak held initial discussions with defense officials this week about the approaching end of the building freeze in the West Bank. He is trying to find ways to restrict settlement construction by the Defense Ministry, which is the de facto authority in the West Bank, without issuing a new order to suspend construction when the moratorium ends on September 26. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday urged Israel to extend the freeze. She told Channel 10 this would be "extremely useful" for making progress in negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

Palestinian refugee agency presses Arabs for funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Marwa Awad, Dina Zayed - September 16, 2010 - 12:00am The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees called on Arab nations to give it more money on Thursday, saying a lack of funds was endangering its work supporting Palestinians scattered across their region. Arab leaders regularly condemn Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories but give less than 5 percent of the funds the agency uses to alleviate one of the world's longest running refugee crises, according to the agency's figures. » Read more

Palestinians able to establish a state - World Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Analysis) September 16, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority is well-positioned to establish a state but will remain dependent on foreign aid unless it can attract private investment and spur economic growth, a World Bank report said on Thursday. The report to donors by the poverty-fighting institution comes amid new U.S.-led peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at forging a deal on Palestinian statehood within a year. » Read more

Settlers make renewed attempt on Jlem home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 17, 2010 - 12:00am Jerusalem's Qeresh family said friends and neighbors helped them resist what witnesses described as an attempted home take over on Wednesday. The event reportedly began in the early morning in the As-Sa’diyah neighborhood in the old city of Jerusalem, as Israeli settlers entered a wing of the family home and allegedly began removing furniture. Family members said young men from the neighborhood came to the scene, and forcibly prevented the settlers from taking the furniture out of the home. » Read more

PA: Exports from Gaza 'within weeks' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 17, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority will take over the administration of the southernmost Gaza-Israel crossing "within the coming weeks," Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Ash-Sheikh told Ma'an Radio on Thursday. The official said that 95 percent of the structural changes to the crossing had already been completed, and once they were done the hand-over would be made. » Read more

Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 17, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli forces entered the home of a Hamas leader in Tulkarem on Friday morning and shot him three times in the neck and chest before withdrawing, family members said. Medics at the Thabit Thabit Hospital in Tulkarem confirmed that 38-year-old Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, a known Hamas leader, was dead, killed by three bullets to the neck and chest. Shelbaya lived in the Nur Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem. Security sources said he was assassinated during a raid on his home at 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning. » Read more