Investor creates Palestinian facts on the ground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Financial Times by Tobias Buck - September 17, 2012 - 12:00am Over the years, Palestinians have learnt to rue the sight of cranes and bulldozers going about their work on a West Bank hilltop. For more than four decades, such machinery has usually heralded the construction of a new Jewish settlement on occupied Palestinian land – and delivered a fresh blow to Palestinian hopes for an independent and viable state. » Read more

Palestinians protest anti-Islam film ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 17, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Hundreds of Palestinians on Monday staged a peaceful protest in Ramallah against an anti-Islam film that has sparked violent demonstrations in the Muslim world. Participants of the sit-in, organised by the Palestinian Authority's Waqf (religious endowment) and held outside its offices, held signs saying "We are against those who oppose you Mohammed" and "Do not touch our Prophet." Speaking at the event, Waqf minister Mahmoud Habbash called on the United States to remove the film and apologise for it. » Read more

Without Medals, With Pride ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Eva Bartlett - September 14, 2012 - 12:00am AFAH, Gaza, Sep 14 2012 (IPS) - The car’s engine revs, wheels spinning in vain, as it sinks deeper into the sandy lane near Rafah, southern Gaza. Members of the Palestinian Paralympic Committee (PPC) are en route to welcome Palestine’s two Paralympic contenders, Mohammed Fanouna and Khamis Zaqut, home from the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Zaqut and Fanouna, both repeat medal winners in prior Paralympic, Arab, and Asian Games, came fourth and ninth respectively in their events in London 2012. » Read more

Gaza-based poet remembers Sabra and Shatila massacre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 16, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Rihab Kanaan bursts into tears while talking to Ma'an's reporter in Gaza about the trauma she suffered after losing her son and dozens of family members in the notorious Tel al-Zaatar and Sabra and Shatila massacres during Lebanon's civil war. The Gaza-based poet says the Palestinian leadership has forgotten about the Sabra and Shatila massacre in which an estimated 800-3,000 Palestinian civilians were killed by Lebanese Christian militias over a three day period on September 16, 1982. » Read more

Study of anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim bias on UC campuses stirs debate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Larry Gordon - September 18, 2012 - 12:00am The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is again extending its reach onto University of California campuses, raising questions about the limits of free speech and how welcome Jewish and Muslim students feel at their schools. » Read more

Two-state solution less viable in Israel-Palestine conflict: UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 18, 2012 - 12:00am UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in the Middle East Robert Serry on Monday said a two-state solution to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict is at risk. "The lack of progress between Israelis and Palestinians on the political track and the continuing conflict and occupation put at risk the viability of the two-state solution," said Serry in a briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East. » Read more

Palestinian leadership considers annulling peace deal with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 18, 2012 - 12:00am   RAMALLAH, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian leadership is considering canceling the interim peace deal signed in 1993 between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel after failing to reach a final-status solution, a Palestinian official said Tuesday. "The Palestinian leadership is seriously looking into the possibility of canceling Oslo accords," said Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator. » Read more

SECRET VIDEO: On Israel, Romney Trashes Two-State Solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Mother Jones by David Corn - September 18, 2012 - 12:00am At the private fundraiser held May 17 where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney candidly spoke about political strategy—noting that he saw half of the American electorate as freeloaders and "victims" who do not believe in personal responsibility—he discussed various foreign policy positions, sharing views that he does not express in public, including his belief that peace in the Middle East is not possible and a Palestinian state is not feasible. » Read more

Pro-Hamas bloc wins control of UN agency union ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - September 18, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A pro-Hamas bloc has won control of a union representing Palestinians working for a UN agency in Gaza. The bloc won 25 out of 27 union seats in a late Monday vote among 10,000 staffers with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. The development underscores Hamas' influence among Gaza's professionals even though it has been criticized lately for ignoring the needs of the poor. » Read more

Israeli Diplomat Is Man in Middle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Elisabeth Bumiller - September 17, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON — With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel engaged in an unusually public dispute with the Obama administration over Iran, Mr. Netanyahu’s man in Washington, Michael B. Oren, has been working rooms all over town. » Read more