November 5th

Palestinians to give U.S. peace effort more time ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Andrew Quinn - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinians will give the United States several more weeks to try to relaunch direct peace talks with Israel, but will not buckle on their key demand for a halt to Israeli settlement activity, a top Palestinian official said on Thursday. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that an Arab League decision on Oct. 9 giving the United States one month to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop settlements could slip -- but that the core demand would remain unchanged. » Read more

Abbas: Israel building ferociously in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews November 5, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that he would not resume direct peace talks with Israel until it freezes construction in the West Bank's settlements. After meeting US envoy Mitchell in Washington, chief negotiator Erekat says, 'Key is in Netanyahu's hands. The choice is his: settlements or peace. He cannot have both' "Our demand to halt settlement construction is not a precondition," Abbas said in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims. "We reached an agreement with the Israelis on this matter when we accepted the road map back in 1995. » Read more

Abbas: Israel building ferociously in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews November 5, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that he would not resume direct peace talks with Israel until it freezes construction in the West Bank's settlements. After meeting US envoy Mitchell in Washington, chief negotiator Erekat says, 'Key is in Netanyahu's hands. The choice is his: settlements or peace. He cannot have both' "Our demand to halt settlement construction is not a precondition," Abbas said in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims. "We reached an agreement with the Israelis on this matter when we accepted the road map back in 1995. » Read more

PLO: Settler violence on rise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 5, 2010 - 12:00am A PLO report on settler violence said Friday that a sharp increase in assaults on Palestinians and vandalism of property was recorded for October. According to the report, Palestinians in the West Bank reported a total of 277 cases of settler violence from August through October 2010, with a sharp increase in incidents in the last weeks of October. » Read more

An-Nabi Salih: Army enters home of protest leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 5, 2010 - 12:00am The homes of two brothers were raided by Israeli soldiers overnight, with officers warning the men against participation in the village's weekly protest against land confiscation. An-Nabi Salih, a village north of Ramallah bordered by an Israeli guard post in the north and the settlement of Hallamish to the south, is one of four villages that participates in a regular demonstration against land confiscations, held every Friday afternoon following the prayer. » Read more

Unity hinges on security forces deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 5, 2010 - 12:00am Officials commenting on the latest unity rumors say the issue of a re-hauled security service amalgamating the West Bank and Gaza units remains the final stumbling block to inter-party reconciliation. Representative of independent officials seeking unity Yaser Al-Wadieyah said he expected Hamas and Fatah officials in Damascus to discuss the final arrangements of the security issue, saying all other files were all but resolved. » Read more

Obama still wants peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Orly Azoulay - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am In the past two years, Israelis liked to hate the American president, “Hussein Obama” as rightists make sure to refer to him, after he moved closer to the Muslim world and forced Netanyahu to freeze settlement construction. However, as it turned out Wednesday, American Jews think otherwise. An exit poll among 1,600 Jewish voters published by pollster Jim Gerstein showed that 66% of American Jews voted for Democratic candidates for Congress. Most respondents told pollsters that they support Barack Obama’s leadership and endorse his efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict. » Read more

In Gaza, rise of Hamas military wing complicates reconciliation with Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram by Kristen Chick - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Abu Khaled has been a member of Hamas's military wing for 11 years and he looks the part. His thick beard, black clothes, and serious face bear witness to his rise through the ranks to become one of the leaders of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, near Israel's border. But at this moment, as he softly sings along with popular Arabic pop singer Elissa in a deserted Gaza restaurant, it's hard to believe he fought in the fierce 2007 battle that expelled Fatah, Hamas's secular rival, from Gaza. » Read more

Palestinians Crack Down on Boycott Breaker ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Arieh O'Sullivan - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has filed its first indictment against a Palestinian for dealing in products manufactured in Jewish communities located on land Israel acquired in the 1967 war. The test of the new law, which was passed in May, is scheduled to take place at a Bethlehem court where the charges were filed against a man suspected of smuggling in goods made in one of the Jewish communities. The unidentified man was reportedly caught entering Bethlehem with banned wood products. He was detained until his trial, according to the Ma’an News Agency. » Read more

Window of opportunity for two-state solution closing, Hague warns Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am William Hague warned today that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was closing and failure by the two parties to reach agreement would be a "serious setback". Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, after visiting Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, the foreign secretary urged Israel to renew its freeze on settlement construction to allow direct talks between the two parties to resume. » Read more