October 21st

However wonderful they may be, settlers are an insurmountable obstacle to peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 20, 2010 - 12:00am Last week I was invited to visit the Hayovel neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Eli (erected on the 50th anniversary of Israel's establishment). This neighborhood includes several structures that were likely built on Palestinian land and are slated for demolition, pending a court ruling. » Read more

Clinton: Two-state solution still possible for Israel, Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Israelis and Palestinians have not abandoned peace negotiations and that a two-state solution was still possible. Clinton. Clinton spoke at an annual gala of the American Taskforce for Palestine at in Washington, DC. "We remain convinced that if they persevere with negotiations, the parties can agree on an outcome that ends the conflict; reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps." » Read more

Settlers have broken ground on nearly 550 West Bank homes since end of freeze, survey shows ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz October 21, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli settlers have begun building new homes at a quick pace since the government lifted its moratorium on West Bank housing starts - almost 550 in three weeks, more than four times faster than the last two years. And many homes are going up in areas that under practically any peace scenario would become part of a Palestinian state, a trend that could hamper U.S.-brokered peace talks. According to an Associated Press count, ground has been broken on 544 new West Bank homes since September 26, when Israel lifted its 10-month freeze on most new settlement building. » Read more

Clinton: Talks absolutely necessary for Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 21, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians are "absolutely necessary" to achieve Middle East peace. Clinton made the remarks as she addressed a pro-Palestinian group, the American Task force on Palestine, in Washington. "Negotiations are not easy, but they are absolutely necessary. It is always easier to defer decisions than it is to make them," Clinton said. She admitted that there is no "magic formula" to break the current impasse of the talks regarding the settlement issue. » Read more

Israel marks 15 years since Rabin assassination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Diaa Hadid - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am Israel on Wednesday marked 15 years since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli extremist who opposed his concessions for peace with the Palestinians. At ceremonies around the country, speakers assessed Rabin's legacy, and many warned that the incitement to violence that preceded his assassination has not disappeared. » Read more

Blast in Gaza Hamas compound injures children ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ibrahim Barzak - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am A huge blast Wednesday at a Hamas military base in southern Gaza lightly injured more than a dozen people, including children, Hamas officials said. It appeared the explosion was accidental. Hamas did not say what caused the blast in a crowded neighborhood in the town of Rafah and the Israeli military said it wasn't involved. Israeli warplanes often target Hamas weapons facilities, but Israel usually confirms those attacks. » Read more

Slain US activist's parents face Israeli killer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Tia Goldenberg - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am The parents of an American protester crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip got their first chance Thursday to hear from the man who drove the vehicle that killed her. But they were denied a chance to confront him face-to-face in an Israeli courtroom, dashing a central goal of their civil lawsuit against Israel's Defense Ministry. The unidentified former soldier was shielded behind a wood-and-plastic partition, and his testimony about the events leading up to 23-year-old Rachel Corrie's death floated into the hall over a microphone. » Read more

Settlers torch, vandalize Nablus school ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 21, 2010 - 12:00am A group of Israeli settlers broke into an all girls' school in the Nablus districton Wednesday, setting fire to its storehouse containing furniture and unused sports equipment, the headmistress said. Maysoon Sawalha said the cleaning woman at the school in As-Sawiya village arrived to find the lock on the main door broken as well as that of the storehouse, and all its contents were torched. The fire did not spread to the rest of school because the water main is located in the storehouse, she said, adding that "otherwise the whole school would have been set on fire." » Read more

Netanyahu: Settlements no threat to peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 21, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that construction in existing West Bank settlements "does not contradict the aspiration for peace and an agreement." Addressing the Knesset at a session to mark the 15th anniversary of the assassination of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Netanyahu said the partial settlement freeze was a temporary "gesture." » Read more

Clinton says no substitute for talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 21, 2010 - 12:00am US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday there was "no substitute for face-to-face discussion" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speaking at a Washington dinner for advocacy group the American Task Force on Palestine, Clinton said negotiations were "the only path that will lead to the fulfillment of the Palestinian national aspiration." Clinton reiterated the US administration for a two-state solution, which she said was critical for Israel's long-term future and to end "The indignity of occupation" for Palestinians. » Read more