Abbas, Olmert to meet Friday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm Outgoing Israeli PRIME Minister Ehud Olmert is to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a new round of peace talks this week, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Monday. "[Abbas] will meet Prime Minister Olmert on October 17 within the framework of their regular meetings," Riyad Malki said at a news conference in Ramallah. Olmert and Abbas have been meeting about twice a month since the peace process was relaunched at a US conference in November. » Read more

700 More PA Personnel to Deploy in Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line October 12, 2008 - 8:00pm The Palestinian Authority plans to deploy an additional 700 security personal in the West Bank city Hebron to carry out security operations among the city’s Palestinian population, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. » Read more

Palestinians believe Oslo harmed their cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by HIsham Abu Taha - October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm A public opinion poll released yesterday showed that Palestinians believed the Oslo peace accord harmed their cause, and half of the respondents preferred simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The poll, conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC) in the first week of October, found that according to 41 percent of those surveyed the Oslo accord harmed the Palestinian national interests, compared to 20.4 who said it served them. Thirty-four percent said the Oslo accord made no difference. » Read more

Peres visits Acre in wake of clashes, says ‘we are destined to live side by side’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm Israeli President Shimon Peres traveled on Monday to the northern city of Acre where he appealed for tolerance after four days of clashes between Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish residents. "I was surprised by the extent of appeals for peaceful coexistence issued by leaders from both sides," the Israeli politician told journalists. "We are destined to live side by side, and a bright future awaits Acre," said Peres, who was accompanied by Interior Security Minister Avi Dichter and Israel's two chief rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar. » Read more

Palestinian brewer still waiting for peace to break out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm Some Palestinians have taken up arms and others attend peace talks in their decades-long struggle, but Nadim Khoury has found a third route to statehood - the brewing of delicious local beer. The 49-year-old returned to his native Occupied West Bank village of Taybeh from the US in 1994 with the unusual and ambitious idea of distilling the dream of Palestinian independence into a smooth, full-bodied golden lager. » Read more

Hamas locks out striking Gaza teachers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm The Hamas government announced Tuesday that it will not permit thousands of striking teachers to return to their jobs, further heightening tensions with its political rivals in the West Bank. The strike was called Aug. 24 by the West Bank-based teachers' union. It was seen, in part, as an attempt to disrupt life in Gaza and weaken Hamas, which seized control by force in 2007 and defeated troops loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Most of Gaza's 10,000 public school teachers are still paid by the Abbas government. » Read more

Israeli official says Livni closer to PM post ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Karin Laub - October 12, 2008 - 8:00pm Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party initialed a partial agreement Monday on bringing the Labor Party into a new governing coalition, but several issues remained to be settled before a formal pact, a Labor official said. Livni also will need to attract support from smaller parties to form a new government to replace the one headed by former Kadima leader Ehud Olmert, who resigned as prime minister under the cloud of a corruption investigation. » Read more

Israel closes West Bank for Sukkot holiday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press October 12, 2008 - 8:00pm Israel has shut down entry from the West Bank during the weeklong Sukkot holiday. The order bars almost all West Bank Palestinians from entering Israel until Oct. 21, though Israel says exceptions will be made for humanitarian cases. Israel routinely imposes such closures on Jewish holidays. It fears Palestinians could carry out attacks during the holiday period. Sukkot is a seven-day festival that commemorates the 40 years Jews spent in the desert living in temporary huts in biblical times. Many Israelis build sukkahs, or huts, to live or eat in to mark the holiday.

Palestinian leaders call for reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Albert Aji - October 11, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday the rift between his mainstream Palestinian faction and archrival Hamas must end. The Hamas leader, meanwhile, said the time is right for reconciliation. Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since the latter's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Following the takeover, Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led government from his base in the West Bank and formed a new administration excluding the more radical group. » Read more

Final Stages of the Palestinian Conflict? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Claude Salhani - October 13, 2008 - 8:00pm Every decade of so the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict undergo serious transformation as the result of changing conditions on the ground. The changes, however, have not always been for the better. Consider the following shifts in direction from the late 1940s with the creation of the State of Israel and the declaration of war by all its neighbors in 1948. Almost 10 years later, Israel goes to war against Egypt during the Suez crisis (1956). Then 11 years later Israel launches the Six-Day War, capturing large swathes of Arab lands. » Read more