November 9th

Netanyahu to Ban: 'Don’t erase 4,000 years of history' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am The United Nations should not erase 4,000 years of historic Jewish connection to the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb just to score a political point, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the organization's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when the two men met Monday evening in New York. » Read more

UN chief calls for efforts to revive stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 8, 2010 - 1:00am UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that it was vital to break the current diplomatic stalemate, resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and produce results. The UN chief made the statement in his meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu against a backdrop of the stalled direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. » Read more

Hamas nixes Arafat commemoration in Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - November 8, 2010 - 1:00am As it has every year since taking control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, on Monday Hamas announced its decision to ban Fatah supporters from holding a rally in the Gaza Strip to mark the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death. Zakariya al-Agha, member of the Fatah Central Committee, said the Hamas government had informed him formally of the decision to ban the rally, which was scheduled to be held on November 11. He said the rally, which had been planned by Fatah, was supposed to be held in Gaza City’s Katibeh Square. » Read more

Israel's own citizens are the new target of extremist settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jesse Rosenfeld - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am West Bank settlers entered the Arab city under the cover of an armed escort. As they proceeded, security forces chased Palestinian youth down alleys, firing tear gas, stun grenades and foam-covered bullets. Masked in keffiyahs, local high school students who had been striking against the settlers' provocations reorganised, throwing stones at the Israeli forces from behind makeshift barricades. » Read more

Peace process diplomacy continues in US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 9, 2010 - 1:00am WASHINGTON (Ma'an) -- US officials expressed deep disappointment Monday following the announcement of advanced planning for new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. "It is counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties. We have long urged both parties to avoid actions which could undermine trust, including in Jerusalem, and we will continue to work to resume direct negotiations to address this and other final status issues," US State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley said at a DC news meeting with reporters. » Read more

After GOP victory, emboldened Israel declares new building in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - November 8, 2010 - 1:00am Israel has published plans to build about 1,300 new housing units in East Jerusalem neighborhoods, a move that highlights US-Israeli differences just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States to huddle with Obama administration officials. Skip to next paragraph View gallery: Israeli settlements Related Stories Israelis launch their own tea party ahead of US elections As stonethrowing escalates, Israeli police round up Arab children in E. Jerusalem Oil and gas discoveries produce potential Israel-Lebanon flash points » Read more

Israel digging its own grave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Linda Heard - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am Israelis exist in a state of low-key fear of obliteration that has become absorbed into their psyche. They’re so used to it that it has become part of who they are. The Jewish state may call itself a democracy but in fact it’s a militarized entity always alert to criticism and attacks from its foes within and without. » Read more

Israel digging its own grave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Linda Heard - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am Israelis exist in a state of low-key fear of obliteration that has become absorbed into their psyche. They’re so used to it that it has become part of who they are. The Jewish state may call itself a democracy but in fact it’s a militarized entity always alert to criticism and attacks from its foes within and without. » Read more

A new battleground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Doyle McManus - (Opinion) November 7, 2010 - 12:00am Here's one thing last week's congressional election wasn't about: foreign policy. The campaign was long, loud and polarized, but somehow the fact that the United States is at war in Afghanistan and Iraq — and carrying out bombings in Pakistan and Yemen — went almost unmentioned. That's because voters were preoccupied by the economy, of course. But it's also because foreign policy has been a zone of relative bipartisanship in Washington, an oasis of civility compared with the battlegrounds of economic policy and healthcare. » Read more

Broader than party politics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am For the most part, the United States government builds its strategies on national interests rather than on narrow party or personal politics. Nevertheless, the recent congressional elections inspired debate over possible effects on American Middle East policies, the peace process in particular. The reason for this is that in the eyes of some analysts and politicians, the current administration is leaning a little bit on Israel, especially on the issue of settlements. They believe that the new Republican-majority House of Representatives might restrain the administration. » Read more