January 10th

EU diplomats say East Jerusalem should be treated as Palestinian capital ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am East Jerusalem should be treated as the capital of the Palestinian state, according to a report compiled by the heads of European diplomatic missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah. The report includes several other unprecedented recommendations to the European Union regarding its attitude toward East Jerusalem. The European diplomats, mainly consuls, also recommend that EU officials and politicians refuse to visit Israeli government offices that are located beyond the Green Line and that they decline any Israeli security in the Old City and elsewhere in East Jerusalem. » Read more

Netanyahu will deliver a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) January 10, 2011 - 1:00am What do you want from Benjamin Netanyahu? For the first time, the prime minister promised last July that he wants to forge an agreement within a year with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Since that day, the Israeli right wing has simmered with consternation. Virtually not a day passes without its leaders contributing another brick to the building of Palestine. » Read more

Hamas leader does not meet Israeli personalities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 9, 2011 - 1:00am Prime Minister of the deposed Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Haneya does not meet Israeli personalities, an aide to Haneya said Sunday. "Initially, Haneya rejects to see any Israeli persons seeking to meet him," said Yousef Rizka, the advisor of Haneya who leads the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Thus, Haneya is unlikely to meet Israeli activists who plan to visit Gaza to urge him to help release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured by the Hamas in 2006, according to Rizka. » Read more

Israeli academics' petition calls for boycotting university in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 9, 2011 - 1:00am Over 150 senior Israeli university lecturers and researchers have signed a petition calling for an academic boycott of the Ariel University Center, located in the largest Israeli town in the central West Bank. The petition, initiated by Nir Gov with the Weizmann Institute, stated that the college was built on occupied land "only a few kilometers away from Palestinians living in villages and refugee camps under unbearably harsh conditions and without basic human rights," local daily Ha'aretz reported. » Read more

Clinton slams Israeli demolition of historic hotel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matthew Lee - January 9, 2011 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is strongly criticizing Israel for the demolition of a vacant but historic hotel in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem, saying that the move undermines U.S. efforts to restart stalled peace talks. » Read more

Palestinians say they'll go to UN for recognition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Mohammed Daraghmeh - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian foreign minister says he will seek United Nations recognition for a Palestinian state in September and is currently lobbying for votes worldwide. The move is part of the Palestinians' so-called Plan B of pursuing an alternative to a negotiated peace deal while talks with Israel remain stalled. Riad Malki's announcement Sunday followed Chile's recognition of Palestine, making it the fifth South American country to do so recently. » Read more

Israel envoy to discuss reviving peace talks in U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ori Lewis - (Blog) January 8, 2011 - 1:00am An envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington next week to discuss ways to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, a statement from Netanyahu's office said on Saturday. "(Netanyahu's representative) Yitzhak Molcho and a Palestinian representative will travel to Washington next week with the aim of advancing the diplomatic process," the statement said. When asked, a spokesman for Netanyahu declined to comment whether Molcho would meet his Palestinian counterpart. » Read more

Hamas urges militant groups to stop attacking Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - (Blog) January 9, 2011 - 1:00am Hamas said on Sunday it has begun talks with other militant factions in the Gaza Strip to urge them to stop firing rockets at Israel, attacks that have raised Palestinian fears of a new Israeli offensive. The talks are a signal that Hamas hopes to avert any large-scale Israeli military operation in the enclave similar to a three-week campaign that ended in January 2009 and in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. » Read more

Clinton 'concerned' about Jerusalem demolition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Blog) January 10, 2011 - 1:00am US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the Sunday demolition of a Palestinian hotel in Jerusalem a "disturbing development undermines peace efforts to achieve the two state-solution." In a statement issued the evening following the demolition, Clinton said the demolition of The Shepherd Hotel by Israeli settlement builder Irving Moskowitz "contradicts the logic of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties on the status of Jerusalem." » Read more

PA: Israel demolishing chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Hossam Ezzedine - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian officials on Sunday slammed Israel's demolition of an East Jerusalem hotel to make way for settler homes, accusing Israel of destroying any chance of peace. Palestinians reacted furiously to the demolition of part of the Shepherd Hotel, which sits on a piece of land in occupied East Jerusalem where developers plan to build a complex of 20 luxury apartments for Jewish settlers. "By doing this, Israel has destroyed all the US efforts and ended any possibility of a return to negotiations," Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement. » Read more