October 11th

Barak: 'Price tag' attackers operate almost like terrorists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post October 11, 2011 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that groups of settlers carrying out self-defined "price tag" attacks against Palestinians "operate almost like terrorist organizations." The attacks, carried out against Palestinians and private property, "embarrass the State of Israel," he said during a military tour. Barak also praised the West Bank settlement leadership for condemning the acts. Last week a mosque in the northern town of Tuba Zanghariya mosque was burned, causing significant damage. The attackers left the words "price tag" scrawled on nearby walls. » Read more

Netanyahu seeks to legalize outposts built on private Palestinian land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to set up a task force to explore ways to legalize houses in the settlements that were built on private Palestinian land. The instruction was issued under heavy pressure from settlers and others on the right in response to the state's decision to demolish several outposts built on private Palestinian land over the next half year. » Read more

UN rights chief urges Israel to 'protect Palestinian civilians' from settler attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Associated Press - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am The United Nations human rights office urged Israel on Tuesday to stop Israeli extremists from attacking Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva that Israel has a legal obligation "to protect Palestinian civilians and property in the occupied Palestinian territory." Colville said that the wave of attacks occurring since September must be properly investigated and victims compensated, adding that they were "emblematic of the phenomenon of settler violence throughout the West Bank." » Read more

Hamas: Foreigners must apply for Gaza visas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ibrahim Barzak - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am Gaza's Hamas rulers have imposed new entry restrictions requiring most foreigners to obtain a visa to enter the coastal territory, a move that could restrict the work of some international aid organizations. Foreigners — mostly aid workers and pro-Palestinian activists — will now have to apply online or through a local sponsor a week in advance to obtain a monthlong visa, according to information posted on the Hamas Interior Ministry website late Sunday. Information posted on the Hamas website said the new procedures would take effect on Tuesday. » Read more

Palestine ready to negotiate with Israel: Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua October 11, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he was ready to start negotiations with Israel to reach peace in the Middle East. "We are going to finish the wars, and Israel is going to live in peace not only with us but also with all the Islamic countries," Abbas told the press. Abbas said relations with Colombia would continue to be friendly although Bogota kept its decision to reject Palestine's statehood bid in the upcoming vote at the UN Security Council. » Read more

Netanyahu tells Ashton happy to meet Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Maayan Lubell - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Monday that he was willing to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to restart peace talks, his office said. Netanyahu told Ashton in a telephone conversation that he was "happy to meet Mahmoud Abbas at any time," the statement from his office said. Ashton on Sunday announced plans to invite Israeli and Palestinian representatives to meet "in the coming days" to discuss resuming peace negotiations, frozen for the past year. » Read more

Fayyad rallies support for prisoners' hunger strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 10, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday called for the UN to support Palestinian prisoners' rights in Israel, as he visited sit-in tents in solidarity with a detainees' hunger strike. Fayyad, chief of the Ramallah-based government, expressed sympathy for strikers, saying their refusal of food since Sept. 27 was "means to express their rejection to the practices of the occupation that denies them basic human rights," a government press statement said. » Read more

Man killed in northern Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 11, 2011 - 12:00am A 22-year-old man was killed in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday afternoon, after witnesses reported Israeli troops fired at him near the border with Israel. The military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed Ahmad al-Azazmeh, from the northern city of Beit Hanoun, as a fighter in their brigades, and said he was on a "jihad mission." » Read more

Shaath: Palestine has 9 votes in Security Council ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 11, 2011 - 12:00am Fatah central committee member Nabil Shaath said Monday that nine countries in the Security Council were committed to supporting Palestine's bid for membership in the UN. Shaath told Ma'an "the nine states that have confirmed voting to us, and we do not question their stance, are the following: Gabon, Bosnia, Brazil, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, South Africa, China and Russia." Six Security Council members -- Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Russia and South Africa -- have publicly indicated their backing for the Palestinian bid. » Read more

Palestinian leader in Latin America to advance statehood cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Tracy Wilkinson - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was touring Latin America this week, his second visit to the region in less than a year as part of a worldwide lobbying effort to gain recognition for a Palestinian state. Abbas met officials in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Monday, a day after announcing with President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador plans to establish diplomatic ties there. Until recently, El Salvador was one of Israel's closest allies in Latin America. » Read more