October 14th

The myth of Hamas' victory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am In the spring of 1996, on the eve of the face-off between Shimon Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership, the head of Military Intelligence said the Iranians wanted Netanyahu to win. The MI chief sought to convey that amid the wave of Hamas suicide bombings and Peres' peace talks with the Syrians, Bibi was good for the peace objectors. » Read more

Israel does not stand alone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The claim of Israel’s isolation, echoed by Democratic and Republican leaders alike, is gaining status as fact. “Israel finds itself increasingly isolated, beleaguered, and besieged,” John Heilemann wrote recently in New York magazine. The Economist reported that “Israel’s isolation has .?.?. been underlined by the deterioration of its relations with Turkey and Egypt.” New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “isolating his country,” while Thomas Friedman described Israel as “adrift at sea alone.” » Read more

Israel planning thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am For the first time since Har Homa was established, during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first term, in the late 1990s, a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem is slated for building. On Tuesday a reparcelization plan was published for Givat Hamatos, in south Jerusalem. The plan calls for building 2,610 residential units, one third of them as part of an expansion of the Palestinian village of Beit Safafa, on the southern border of the capital. » Read more

Abbas in France to shore up support for Palestinian statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet his French counterpart Friday to discuss the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations. France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. His arrival in France comes at the conclusion of a three-country Latin American tour intended to shore up support for the bid. Abbas made the bid for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state last month, a move Israel says is premature without direct talks that address its longstanding security concerns. » Read more

IDF commander opposes cutting PA funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brigadier-General Nitzan Alon, cautioned it would be a mistake to cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority over its push for statehood, in an interview to the New York Times on Wednesday. Alon believes the United States Congress' decision to halt all funding to the PA due to their bid for recognition at the United Nations will lead to regional instability. » Read more

Hamas court issues death sentence to three Gazans: rights group ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Zhang Xiang - October 13, 2011 - 12:00am A Hamas military court in the Gaza Strip sentenced to death three residents of the enclave after they were convicted of betrayal and terrorism, a Gaza-based rights group said Thursday. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a press release that the Hamas court made the ruling two days ago against two Palestinians convicted of terrorism and the other one convicted of betrayal. » Read more

Fayyad: PA won't collapse without donor aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday downplayed fears his government would collapse without donor aid. The Ramallah premier said the PA's efforts to build state institutions over the last three years had contributed to significantly reducing the government's dependence on foreign aid. "We have become a state that is capable of providing services to citizens with higher and and more advanced quality than independent states do. This has been admitted by all," Fayyad said at a ceremony to honor staff of the Ministry of Public Works. » Read more

Red Cross discussing role in Shalit exchange with Hamas, Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Stephanie Nebehay - October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to play a neutral intermediary role in the exchange of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for Palestinian prisoners and is in talks with both Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, an ICRC spokesman said on Thursday. "We are talking to both sides about our offer. We have offered our services as a neutral intermediary to both sides," ICRC spokesman Marcal Izard told Reuters in response to an inquiry. » Read more

Transfer of freed Palestinian prisoners 'begins Tuesday' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 14, 2011 - 12:00am One of the groups involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said Thursday that the transfer of some 450 Palestinian prisoners will begin Tuesday. Spokesman Abu Mujahed of the Popular Resistance Committees said Thursday that as soon as the detainees are released, officials will check each one to make sure they are among those listed in the deal. Once the prisoners are checked, the factions holding Shalit will release him too. » Read more

Behind the scenes: How the Schalit deal came about ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The main breakthrough came in July. After five years of negotiations, Hamas forwarded a letter to Israel in which, for the first time, it outlined its final terms for a prisoner swap for Gilad Schalit. Three months earlier, David Meidan, a former senior Mossad operative, had been appointed chief mediator to the Schalit talks by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Upon receiving the letter, he immediately got to work. » Read more