FADC: Palestinian UN bid will harm Israel in int'l arena ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jpost.com Staff, Herb Keinon - August 3, 2011 - 12:00am The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said in a report presented Tuesday that recognition of Palestinian statehood in the United Nations this September would harm Israel's standing in the international arena and could lead to a continued state of escalation, Israel Radio reported. Heading the team that prepared the report was MK Yonathan Plesner of Kadima. » Read more

Jews and Muslims Share Common Values, Poll Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by JTA - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am Muslim and Jewish Americans share common values on key questions, according to a Gallup poll. The poll, released Tuesday, found that the Muslim Americans exceeded Jewish belief in religious pluralism and in the fairness of elections, and also in support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – 81 percent for Muslims, 78 percent for Jews. Jews and Muslims also were the only religious groups surveyed in which a majority backed President Obama. » Read more

Dozens of MKs to Netanyhu: Solve Israel housing crisis by building in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am Forty-two cabinet ministers and MKs, all members of the Eretz Yisrael Lobby, signed a petition addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, calling on him to solve the housing crisis that has swept up the country by building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. » Read more

Netanyahu's latest peace initiative not to bear fruits: analysts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - August 3, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be willing to renew peace talks with his Palestinian counterpart in an effort to stave off a Palestinian bid for UN- backed statehood. The new negotiations would focus on a formula to set borders of an independent Palestinian state, Israeli officials told local media. They would also include Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a demand that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has so far rejected. » Read more

Israel, US race to avert Palestinian UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel is working with the United States to find a way to revive peace negotiations with the Palestinians in a desperate attempt to avert a diplomatic showdown at the U.N. next month, an Israeli official confirmed Tuesday. The talks, meant to provide a framework for negotiations, are focusing on two of the most sensitive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the borders between Israel and a future Palestine, and Israel's demand that the Palestinians recognize the country as the Jewish homeland. » Read more

Court convicts Palestinian of settler family murder ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maayan Lubell - August 3, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Aug 3 (Reuters) - An Israeli military court found a Palestinian man guilty of murdering five Israeli family members in the occupied West Bank in March, an army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Hakim Awad, 18, was convicted on Tuesday after he admitted that he and his brother, who is also on trial for murder, had killed a Jewish couple and three of their children, one a three-month-old baby, in their home in the settlement of Itamar. » Read more

UNRWA: Clear link between settlements and demolitions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 2, 2011 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The link between Israel's settlement expansion in the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from their homes is now "abundantly clear," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said Tuesday. "Many displacements are taking place where settlements are expanding and with it we are seeing an upturn in vicious attacks by Jewish settlers. Palestinians are being thrown off their ancestral lands to make way for settlers," Gunness told Ma'an. » Read more

PA announces schedule for local elections in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 3, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Central Elections Committee on Tuesday announced its schedule for the upcoming local council vote, which will be held in the West Bank on October 22. The ministry said in a statement that registration would take place between August 13 - 17. A 10-day candidacy period would begin on September 6, the ministry added. The electoral campaign is scheduled for October 8 - 20, and results of the election will be announced 24 hours after voting closes, the statement added. » Read more