November 17th

Israel: New planning policy for East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat presented a controversial new city planning policy for East Jerusalem to the public on Tuesday morning, as East Jerusalemites celebrated Eid Al-Adha with friends and family. The re-zoning plan, according to a statement from the mayor's office, would take into account the "current unsatisfactory situation" and call for a freeze on all current demolition orders until the plan is approved and can go forward. The plan would have to be approved by the government of Israel before it could go ahead.

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US official to brief PA on talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

A senior US official will brief Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Thursday about the latest developments in efforts to renew direct talks with Israel. Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israeli radio that David Hale, a deputy to US Mideast envoy George Mitchell, would deliver "details and suggestions" in his briefing. He added that President Abbas would review Hale's suggestions with the PLO and Fatah, and with the leaders of Arab states.

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PA says it foiled Hamas plot to kill governor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority forces arrested Hamas members who were plotting to kill the governor of the West Bank city of Nablus, Jibrin Al-Bakri, PA officials claimed Wednesday. The officials, who declined to be identified, said the group that hatched the alleged plot was based in Nablus with a network extending throughout the northern West Bank. PA forces raided the group's headquarters, seizing weapons and cash, they said. The group were said to be members of Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, who were in direct contact with the Hamas-run government in Gaza.

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U.S. needs more than short-term dealmaking to aid Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

PERSISTENCE IN the face of setbacks is a necessity in Middle East peace diplomacy. But the Obama administration's efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks are less evocative of true grit than of desperate improvisation. According to reports in the Israeli press, the administration has now offered the government of Binyamin Netanyahu a gold-plated menu of incentives, including $3 billion worth of F-35 warplanes, in exchange for a 90-day renewal of a partial moratorium on West Bank settlement construction.

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Israeli officials say time growing short for West Bank peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM - Israeli intelligence and military officials have warned in recent days that if a peace deal isn't achieved soon the moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank could collapse and give way to more radical Hamas militants, backed by Iran and Syria, who already rule the Gaza Strip. The warnings come as the United States makes a last-ditch effort to revive talks between Israel and the Palestinians that stalled almost as soon as they resumed in September.

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An Israeli Novelist Writes of Pain, Private and Public
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Book Review) November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — In the middle of David Grossman’s latest novel, “To the End of the Land,” now out in English, the main character, a middle-aged Israeli Everywoman named Ora whose son has gone off to battle with the Israeli Army, stands with her ex-lover atop Mount Meron in northern Israel and looks out at the Hula Valley.

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November 16th

Roger Cohen says Sec. Clinton has taken charge of US peace efforts. The US is still pressing for a 90 day settlement freeze, but it's unclear if this would advance the process and the Arab League may not accept it. A former Israeli soldier exposes abuse of Palestinians in Hebron. Hanan Ashrawi says Israeli settlement activity threatens a two-state solution. Palestinians and settlers clash over olive groves. Aaron David Miller says to achieve peace, Pres. Obama will have to use all his political capital. The US admits its peace deadline may be slipping. Israel puts a controversial settlement plan in occupied East Jerusalem on hold. Avi Issacharoff says Netanyahu may be pushing the Palestinians to declare independence. Israeli and Dubai police officials meet. UNRWA employees in the West Bank go on strike. Israeli intelligence officials say without peace, there will be chaos. The BBC looks at Israel's rightward political shift. Chris Guinness says development is essential for peace. Ali Ibrahim says Israel is extracting a huge price for the freeze extension. Mahmoud Jaraba says Hamas should be encouraged to moderate its policies.

Israeli actions jeopardize two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Hanan Ashrawi - (Opinion) November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached a critical stage. For more than two decades, the two-state solution has been the basis of international efforts to make peace in the region. Yet the Israeli government's refusal to cease settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem will shortly render the creation of a territorially contiguous and viable Palestinian state impossible.

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Netanyahu tries to shore up support for US plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Despite seemingly premature congratulations from President Barack Obama, Israel's prime minister was scrambling Monday to secure enough Cabinet votes to pass a U.S. proposal to halt West Bank settlement construction for 90 days, aimed at restarting peace talks with the Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu is under heavy pressure to move forward with the plan, which could lead to critical negotiations on Israel's final borders with a future Palestine.

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Plan for new Jerusalem housing project delayed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Gur Salomon - November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- A plan to build new housing units in Gilo, a neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, has been put on hold indefinitely. Two local committees engaged in development projects in the Jerusalem area have decided to delay discussions on the plan to construct 1,300 units in Gilo, local daily Ha'aretz reported Monday. The decision is most likely made in response to a request from the Prime Minister's Office, which seeks to avoid a head-on clash with the United States over the approval of new residential projects in disputed areas of Jerusalem, the report said.

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