November 4th

Clinton plans to meet Israel's Netanyahu next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 4, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the United States next week. "I do intend to see Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United States next week," Clinton told reporters at a news conference with Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, the second-to-last stop on her two-week Asia-Pacific tour. » Read more

Poll: 56% oppose resuming talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am More than half of Palestinians in the occupied territories oppose a return to direct negotiations with Israel in the face of ongoing West Bank settlement expansion, an opinion poll released Wednesday suggests. The survey, from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, prepared by Beit Sahour-based pollster Nabil Kukali, also showed that 56.2 percent wanted rival Palestinian factions to sign Egypt's proposal for political reconciliation. » Read more

Abbas: US trying to restart peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Continuous efforts have been made by US mediators to bring stalled peace talks back on track, President Mahmoud Abbas told the Kuwait News Agency KUNA on Wednesday. As PA officials insist that the midterm elections - which took seats in the nation's congress away from President Barack Obama's Democratic party - will not harm the process, Abbas said officials from all parties involved were continuing efforts. » Read more

PA court to hear first settlements case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The first case of smuggling goods from settlements into West Bank shops was filed in a Bethlehem court Wednesday, in a move that will test a new Palestinian Authority law prohibiting the sale of such products. Although customs officers have patrolled West Bank shops and detained several people since the law went into effect over the summer, the case of the Bethlehem merchant will be the first to see the inside of a courtroom. » Read more

Finish Rabin’s Work ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Bill Clinton - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am TODAY marks 15 years since an assassin’s bullet killed my friend, Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister. Since his death, not a week has gone by that I have not missed him. I loved him and his wife, Leah, very much. On the occasion of the anniversary of his death, his yahrzeit, the world would do well to remember the lessons of his life: his vision for freedom, tolerance, cooperation, security and peace is as vital now as it was 15 years ago, when he happily spoke and sang for peace at a huge rally in Tel Aviv just before he was killed. » Read more

Israel Attack Kills a Top Militant in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian leader of an Islamic extremist group inspired by Al Qaeda was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military. The car in which the militant was traveling exploded near a central police compound. Hamas officials said an Israeli missile fired from a drone caused the blast. The Israeli military gave no details about how the attack, which ended a period of relative calm, was carried out. The sound of the blast echoed through the city, and a column of black smoke and fire rose from the car, which was destroyed. » Read more

Israel sets to grant civil marriages ATFP World Press Roundup Article from November 4, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government plans to begin granting marriage licences for non-Jews and others officially defined as not belonging to a particular religious denomination. Some 300,000 such couples, which have up to now had to travel overseas to marry in civil ceremonies, often to nearby Cyprus, will be able to officially wed without the Chief Rabbinate's approval, possibly by the weekend, Israel army radio reported Wednesday. » Read more

Clinton: U.S. working non-stop to advance Mideast peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 4, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed on Thursday her plans to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the United States next week, adding that she believed the Middle East peace process could progress despite recent obstacles. "I do intend to see Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United States next week," Clinton told reporters at a news conference with Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, the second-to-last stop on her two-week Asia-Pacific tour. » Read more

Israel blocking Palestinian officials from using main Jordan crossing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Avi Issacharoff - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli authorities have decided to block any Palestinian official aside from the president and prime minister from crossing over the Allenby Bridge from the West Bank into Jordan. Coordinator of Government Activities in the West Bank Eitan Dangot announced the decision late Wednesday. The move seems geared specifically at two senior members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement – Ahmed Qureia and Mahmoud Dahlan – who have made aggressive remarks about Israel of late. » Read more

IDF spokeswoman completely denies hinting Israel coordinated Gaza hit with Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 3, 2010 - 12:00am An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said Thursday that she had been completely misquoted ina reported that hinted the army's assassination of a Islamist militant leader in Gaza had been cleared in advance with Washington. "I did not, in any way, say that," said the spokesman. Following the clarification. DPA agreed to publish a correction to the article. Asked whether Israel had coordinated the hit on Mohammed Nimnim, a commander in the Army of Islam group, with its American ally, the spokesman did not respond. » Read more