October 19th

Israeli statesmen are the almost-peacemakers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Once every few years, usually before the elections, a story of this kind comes out. An Israeli statesman was a hairbreadth away from achieving peace. Had he only had two months more, even two weeks more, the great peace would have been signed, forever. Shimon Peres almost achieved peace with the London Agreement; Ehud Barak almost did so at Camp David; Ehud Olmert almost had it with Mahmoud Abbas, and with Bashar Assad too. Even Tzipi Livni came close with Ahmed Qureia, and the Oslo agreement was of course almost peace. » Read more

Former Israeli ambassador to UN: 'I couldn't represent Israel now' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ayelett Shani - (Interview) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am You once made a statement that stuck in my mind: “The United Nations is the place where all the hatred is concentrated.” » Read more

‘Making beer is a form of resistance’: brewing West Bank tensions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Crikey by Matthew Clayfield - October 19, 2012 - 12:00am Beer brewers in Palestine lost many of their customers when the Israeli walls went up. But one defiant ale maker says it’s all part of a resistance fight for freedom. The most famous section of the Israeli-West Bank separation barrier is also the shortest: the eight feet tall concrete slabs festooned with anti-Zionist graffiti, the vast majority of it written, somewhat tellingly, in languages other than Arabic, make up only 6% of the structure’s total length. » Read more

In Jerusalem, even street naming can be divisive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent October 19, 2012 - 12:00am In East Jerusalem, addresses in many Palestinian neighborhoods are nonexistent. Without street names and house numbers, people identify where they live by adjacent landmarks: "opposite the mosque," or "next to the corner bakery." Bills and mail are delivered to those fortunate enough to have post office boxes or by local couriers familiar with the homes and people living on the unmarked streets. » Read more

Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am "In prison you miss all the wonderful details of life; the sun, the trees, the beach, the women," Muhammad Al Far tells me as he sinks back into a comfortable sofa at his house in Gaza City. It is exactly a year since Al Far was released as part of a deal which saw over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. » Read more

As Olive Harvest Begins Palestinians, Israelis Trade Accusations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Linda Gradstein - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am [Aboud, West Bank] – Wearing a white hat with a flap to protect his neck from the hot sun, 57-year old Khalil Muallem, climbs on a stepladder and disappears into the green leafy branches of an olive tree. He carefully plucks the black fruit by hand, dropping them one by one into a bucket. » Read more

Israeli Arabs face inferior public transportation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilene Prusher - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Every morning, Nama Abu Ghosh takes a 15-minute walk from her home in the village that shares her last name and heads for a bus stop in Telz Stone, the adjacent haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community also known as Kiryat Ye’arim. Even though Abu Ghosh has almost twice as many residents as Telz Stone – 6,270 in the former versus 3,158 in the latter, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics – buses to the Arab village are much more infrequent. » Read more

Many disillusioned Arabs say voting is pointless ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ilene Prusher - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am At the Khubez bakery and coffee shop in the village of Abu Ghosh, west of Jerusalem, men meet for coffee and conversation every morning. Faisal Abdul Rahman is in the minority, because he says he’ll vote in national elections this January. Most of the others, including Muhammad Ibrahim – who has worked with Abdul Rahman in construction in the past – say that voting is pointless. » Read more

Hamas vows to kidnap more Israeli soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas vowed Thursday to abduct more Israeli soldiers and hold them as bargaining chips for militants in Israeli jails, on the anniversary of the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. A Hamas spokesman said that "soldiers of the enemy can be a target anytime, they can be killed, wounded or held captive by militants." » Read more

Syrian rebels 'killed Palestinian leader' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 19, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Gunmen from the Free Syrian Army on Friday assassinated a Palestinian leader in Deraa refugee camp, the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command said. Free Syrian Army rebels shot dead PFLP-GC leader Adel Hasan in the southern Syrian city, PFLP-GC said in a statement. PFLP-GC added that Palestinians would continue to support the Syrian people and resist "terrorists" trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad. » Read more