November 11th

The Palestinians of Israel are poised to take centre stage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seumas Milne - (Opinion) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

In a quiet street in the Sheikh Jarrah district of occupied East Jerusalem 88-year-old Rifka al-Kurd is explaining how she came to live in the house she and her husband built as Palestinian refugees in the 1950s. As she speaks, three young ultra-orthodox Jewish settlers swagger in to stake their claim to the front part of the building, shouting abuse in Hebrew and broken Arabic: "Arab animals", "shut up, whore".

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U.S. Struggles to Restore Middle East Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

With tensions between the United States and Israel flaring again over Jewish settlements, the Obama administration and its allies worked feverishly on multiple fronts Wednesday to put Middle East peace talks back on track.

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Whose Jerusalem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Jerusalem is not a settlement, the Prime Minister of Israel stated unequivocally, and what Jew could disagree? Jerusalem is the city of gold, the beating heart of the Jewish people, the place where it all began and where it continues. Jerusalem receives our prayers as often as they are uttered; it is the magnet for all those in exile, pulling us in its direction. Jerusalem is not a settlement because a settlement implies something temporary, extemporaneous, movable — and Jerusalem cannot be moved. The ancient stones anchor it forever.

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It is time for the US to show it is an honest broker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

It is not often that a diplomatic row plays out in front of a global audience - especially when two heads of state are involved. So it was no small matter that the US president Barack Obama openly expressed his dismay at the newly announced Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem during his visit to Indonesia this week.

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Obama and the Harvesting of Disappointments.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am

This week, Benjamin Netanyahu had Washington “to himself”. The climate in the American capital could not have been better for the prime minister of Israel. His defeated rival, Barack Obama, was outside the capital, on an Asian trip that American commentators described as the best possible opportunity for him to catch his breath after his historic defeat in the mid-term elections.

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Editorial: Obama and Muslims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

So President Barack Obama thinks that more works needs to be done to end Muslim mistrust of the US but that he is making progress on reducing misunderstanding between the two. The US president is either living in an ivory tower, totally divorced from reality, or he is being thoroughly dishonest, hoping that Muslims can be fobbed off with fine words.

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November 10th

The US and Israel spar over settlement expansion plans, which PM Netanyahu says are completely unrelated to peace, but Ha'aretz calls a pointless provocation. Robert Danin says Israel needs a vision for peace. Israel's easing of the blockade hurts some Gaza businesses. Occupation forces raid a Palestinian town. Palestinians say it's time to recognize their state. Artifacts keep the narrative of Pres. Arafat alive. Israel arrests a Hamas official in the West Bank. The Knesset is set to deny former MK Azmi Bishara's pension. An Israeli paper claims the PA has de facto control in Palestinian areas of occupied East Jerusalem. Kadima leader Tzipi Livni says a two-state solution is the only way to keep Israel Jewish and democratic. Another imam is arrested in Israel for incitement. Desperate Gazans seek work in the dangerous ³buffer zone.² Jonathan Cook says Israel's tactics are uniting Palestinians. Hussein Shobokshi decries the international double standard on Israel's nuclear weapons. Osama Al Sharif says Pres. Obama's midterm defeat is bad news for peace.

Obama's defeat is bad news for the peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The results of the US mid-term elections last Tuesday were not only bad news for the Democrats and the White House, but also for the Palestinians. President Barack Obama will emerge weaker at home now that the House of Representatives has been retaken by the Republicans. The Democratic majority in the Senate has been drastically reduced and while the people have spoken it is now up to the President and Congress to find a formula to govern in the remaining two years of Obama's term.

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The Audacity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The international community lacks merit, honesty, objectivity and credibility, when it focuses its attention on the issue of Iran's nuclear program, and yet turns a blind eye to the alarming situation that is Israel's well-established nuclear activity. This issue must be a cause for concern, considering the fact that Israel has a dangerous record in occupying the lands of others, and in unlawfully assaulting the property of neighbouring and non-neighbouring states, in a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions.

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Israeli tactics are 'uniting' Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - (Opinion) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is in the United States this week, but few observers expect an immediate or significant breakthrough in the stalled peace talks with the Palestinian leadership. In public, Mr Netanyahu maintains he is committed to the pledge he made last year, shortly after he formed his right-wing government, to work towards the creation of a demilitarised Palestinian state.

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