November 30th

Wikileaks: Israel assessed Abbas as weak, unpopular
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Senior Israeli defense and political figures described President Mahmoud Abbas as weak, unpopular and unlikely to survive politically past 2011, leaked US diplomatic cables showed on Monday. In meetings with US representatives, Israeli officials ranging from then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, to senior defense official Amos Gilad expressed doubt about Abbas's political longevity.

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Israel`s latest settlement plan angers Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli authorities on Monday approved a request for 130 new Jewish homes on the outskirts of annexed east Jerusalem, drawing an immediate protest from Palestinian officials. The Jerusalem municipal council approved a request that would rezone an area in the settlement of Gilo, near Bethlehem, allowing residential construction on a plot of land originally designated for a hotel. Elie Isaacson, spokesman for Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, said the rezoning decision was part of a plan to increase housing in the Holy City.

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Palestinian girl fights life-threatening condition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Paula Hancocks - November 28, 2010 - 1:00am

The second Aya abu Mouwais opens her eyes she starts crying. The 3-year-old is in pain every waking moment and has been for two years. She is suffering from oxalosis, a condition which occurs when the kidneys fail. Doctors in Israel say if the Palestinian girl doesn't have a liver and kidney transplant she could die within months. Aya's mother, Suhair, wakes her gently. The pain in Suhair's eyes is clear with each of her daughter's sobs. "It is so hard for me to see her like this," she said. Aya also has a broken arm, the dialysis she needs five days a week has made her bones brittle.

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Why I'm Building Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Salam Fayyad - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

When we launched our state-building plan for Palestine in August 2009, many dismissed it as an exercise in eggheadedness, extraordinary optimism, a dream. But here we are, feeling exceptionally, extremely validated by the scorecard so far: We have completed more than 1,500 projects, including the establishment of dozens of new schools, clinics, and housing projects and the construction of new roads throughout Palestine.

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November 29th

Israeli companies cash in on global counterterrorism. The UN marks the international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Leaked US diplomatic cables suggests Israel tried to coordinate the Gaza war with the PA, but the PA says it did not cooperate. They also cite Egyptian officials as saying neither Hamas nor Fatah was serious about Palestinian unity. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni says they show a common interest in peace. Tony Blair says Israel must do more to ease conditions in Gaza. Gaza resumes limited exports to Europe. Israeli soldiers wound four Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli officials approve another 137 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli human rights workers have video of soldiers shooting bound Palestinian prisoners. Israel launches another effort to improve its international image. The Independent profiles a Palestinian extremist in Gaza. Arab leaders accuse PM Netanyahu of rejecting peace. Hussein Shabokshi says Israeli secularism is dying. Rami Khouri says the lack of an Arab or Palestinian strategy facilitates one-sided US support for Israel. The Arab News says peace cannot depend on Israeli referenda.

Editorial: A nail in the coffin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

By requiring a two-thirds Knesset majority to cede land in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians and the Golan Heights to Syria, a new Israeli law raises the bar for passage. Putting any such withdrawals to a national referendum will subject international law to the whims of Israeli public opinion. The bill which Israel’s Parliament has passed will complicate peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria by making it very difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.

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Washington bends for Israel once again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - November 27, 2010 - 1:00am

The revelation in the United States Wednesday that Washington was offering Israel new security-related guarantees in return for a two-month extension of the partial moratorium on new Jewish colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories is neither surprising nor encouraging. It may reflect a continuation of the tradition in Washington that emphasizes a fawning and almost servile attitude to Israeli “security” concerns as the primary substantive issue in Arab-Israeli negotiations, which the Israelis astutely use as leverage in tactical negotiations to press their side of the negotiations.

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A Crisis in the Heart of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) November 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Ever since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, its media has been trying to sell the idea that Israel is a secular state that brought together its children from the Diaspora, returning them to the Promised Land, as was promised in their scriptures and religious teachings where they can live their lives according to socialist principles in collective communities called Kibbutzim [or a Kibbutz]. This is a Yiddish language word which was spoken predominately by Jews in Eastern Europe.

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Regional leaders accuse Netanyahu of 'rejecting peace'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - November 27, 2010 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV // Leaders from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon accused the Israeli premier yesterday of rejecting peace efforts in what appeared to be a bid to pressure Israel to accept a US plan that could lead to renewed talks with the Palestinians. Their charges came just hours after the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, lashed out at his successor for not heeding Washington's demand to halt new settlement projects in the occupied West Bank for three months to help restart negotiations.

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Banned Textbook Offers a Lesson in Mideast Politics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - (Analysis) November 24, 2010 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV — As Israelis and Palestinians spent recent weeks blaming each other for the breakdown in peace talks, they have found themselves in agreement on one thing: Education ministries on both sides have banned a history textbook that they deemed unsuitable for their students. What is found inside the textbook that has aroused the ire of education officials in the opposing camps?

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