October 10th

NEWS: PM Fayyad will address the October 19 ATFP Annual Gala. The Quartet says they'll ask Israelis and Palestinians to meet again soon to resume talks. The PA says the Quartet must act on provocative Israeli settlements. Pres. Abbas arrives in Colombia, a key UN Security Council state. There is a rise of Jewish extremist violence among Israelis. A Hamas leader says Palestinians should capture more Israeli soldiers to exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians plan to push for UNESCO's “world heritage status” for numerous sites. Gazans are infuriated by increasing Hamas taxes and fees. Senior Israeli defense officials visit Egypt to discuss security. Tunisia blocks Palestinians from an Arab bloggers conference. COMMENTARY: Roy Arad says in Jaffa, Jewish racism towards Arabs is commonplace. Carlo Strenger says Abbas should appeal directly to the Israeli public. Akiva Eldar says Israel doesn't really accept the Quartet statement, though it pretends to. Deputy FM Ayalon says Israel isn't isolated at all. Leonard Fein says Israel must fight against Jewish extremists. Ian Buruma looks at the adoption of Israeli maximalism as a cause for the Western far right. Daniel Levy says PM Netanyahu has never wanted peace and may have created a political structure in Israel that agrees. Ariel Sharon's son claims Israel is "under attack.” Salman Shaikh asks what to do now that the peace process appears to be “dead.” A.B. Yehoshua says a two-state solution based on dividing what Jews consider the “land of Israel” is a moral imperative.

Abbas arrives in Colombia for official visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Bogota for an official visit on Sunday. He is scheduled to meet with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday. The leader traveled to Colombia after meeting with Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes. He is touring Latin America to follow up on support for a Palestinian bid for full membership in the United Nations as a state. Colombia, which has a seat on the UN Security Council, has argued that recognition of a Palestinian state should come through negotiations with Israel.

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Dividing the Land of Israel into two states is a moral imperative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by A.B. Yehoshua - October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

There is no more problematic concept in regard to Jewish identity than that of homeland (moledet ). Yet, a primal and natural connection to a homeland is a cornerstone on which every national identity is constructed. The connection to territory overrides in importance both shared national language, shared religion and, certainly, a shared historical context. Without a primal connection to a homeland - which is often compared to the primal maternal bond - national identity is shaky and hollow.

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The “Peace Process” is Dead; What’s Next?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Brookings Institution
by Salman Shaikh - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Recent events at the United Nations confirmed what has been blindingly obvious for months: the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” is dead. Furthermore, with elections scheduled in the United States, Palestine, and perhaps Israel in the next twelve months, it is hard to imagine that any meaningful negotiations can overcome the political realities in each country. As a result, the United States will come under increasing pressure to relinquish its decades-old monopoly on peacemaking, particularly at a time when its influence and reputation in the Middle East is deeply threatened.

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Israel Is Under Attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gilad Sharon - (Opinion) October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The word “spring” is a symbol of blossoming and renewal. But right now the Arab world is filled with demonstrations, shootings, and the replacement of one dictatorship for another. (Except for Saudi Arabia which has announced it will allow women to “vote” and drive by the year 2015!) And, most significantly for Israel, there is a PLO petition for statehood at the United Nations.

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Will the Real Benjamin Netanyahu Please Stand Up?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

With the old peace process precariously poised between Palestinian flirtations with seeking international redress, U.S. congressional threats to funding, and Middle East Quartet incantations to resume negotiations, October promises to be just as rhetorically intense on the Israel-Palestine front as was the long-awaited September. Much depends on one's reading of Israel's man at the helm -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Why Did Tunisia Block Palestinians From Arab Blogger Conference?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
by Cecily Hilleary - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Pro-democracy activists attending this week’s 3rd annual Arab Bloggers Conference in Tunis thought they were gathering for four days of networking, socializing and information sharing; instead, they found themselves organizing yet another protest.

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Obama’s Israel problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ian Buruma - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

On a rare foray outside his native Texas, Governor Rick Perry accused US President Barack Obama of “appeasement” towards the Palestinians. Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch supported a Catholic Republican congressional candidate against a Jewish Democrat in New York, because the Republican supports Israel through thick and thin - and because Obama had voiced reservations about Israel’s expansion of settlements on the West Bank. In Koch’s words, Obama “threw Israel under the bus”. The Republican won.

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Top Israeli defense official arrives in Egypt to discuss border security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

A top Israeli security official is visiting Cairo, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Sunday, amid recent tensions between Israel and Egypt over security arrangements in the Sinai. Relations between Israel and Egypt took a turn to the worse in August, when eight Israelis were killed on a desert border road by gunmen who Israel has said infiltrated from the Gaza Strip via Egypt's Sinai desert.

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Hamas fees and taxes infuriate Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

RAFAH, GAZA STRIP // Hamas is imposing a taxation system that raises the cost of fuel, permits and government-property leases. The measures are angering Gazans and raising speculation that Hamas is suffering from a significant drop in funding from Islamist supporters. Analysts say Hamas's financial backers may be providing less because they now are sending money to Islamists in Egypt and helping fund Arab Spring uprisings. Also, Iran may be punishing Hamas for failing to publicly pledge its support for the Syrian regime during its crackdown on protesters.

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