September 19th

Second Palestinian battalion begins US-funded training ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm About 500 members of a security force loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas crossed into Jordan on Thursday for U.S. funded training, the second such battalion to do so. Washington wants to train the backbone of a Palestinian gendarmerie that would underpin any future state. The battalion from Abbas's National Security Force will undergo training for four months in police tactics, riot control and human rights, officials said. An official at the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge, between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, said the battalion crossed without incident. » Read more

Israel and Palestine Can Still Achieve Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Mahmoud Abbas - (Editorial) September 18, 2008 - 8:00pm This month marks 15 painful years since the Arafat-Rabin handshake on the White House lawn. Palestinian children who started school when the Oslo Agreement was signed in 1993 are now young adults. They have not known a day of true freedom or genuine security in their lives. » Read more

September 18th

Settlers suspected of setting Palestinian fields ablaze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Judea and Samaria Police detained two settlers from Yitzhar on Thursday for allegedly setting Palestinian farmlands on fire. According to the Palestinians, the settlers torched lands belonging to the Palestinian villages of Ma'adama and Burin, located near Yitzhar, as well as fields that belong to the village of Kfar Sara, located near the Havat Gilad settlement southeast of Kedumim. » Read more

Court halts outpost evacuation moments after IDF tears down buildings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Residents of Yad Yair petition High Court to stop illegal West Bank outpost's evacuation. Court grants plea, order arrives shortly after IDF, Civil Administration conclude demolition Aviad Glickman The High Court of Justice issued a temporary restraining order Thursday against the IDF's intent to tear down structures in the illegal West Bank outpost of Yad Yair. » Read more

Children Play with Death and Dispossession ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Palestinian children continue to be victims of disproportionate and indiscriminate violence from the both the Israeli occupation and internal Palestinian infighting in the occupied Palestinian territories. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its August report expressed concern for the inadequate protection afforded Palestinian children. » Read more

Water shortage cripples Palestinian farming ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm In the plains around the village of Bardala, the Israeli-Palestinian tug-of-war over land and water plays itself out in vivid colour -- largely brown Palestinian farms border green fields owned by Jewish settlers. Israel and the occupied West Bank have both been hit hard by drought, but Palestinian farmers say Israeli restrictions on their water supplies have made conditions far worse for them than for farmers in nearby Jewish settlements. » Read more

Israelis and Egyptians meet on Hamas prisoner swap ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Israeli defense officials say senior negotiator Ofer Dekel has met Egyptian officials in Cairo in an effort to achieve movement on a proposed prisoner swap with Hamas. Dekel is the Israeli official in charge of efforts to free Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants two years ago. Hamas wants Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Schalit. The Israeli officials would not say who Dekel met during his trip to Cairo Wednesday or what was the outcome of the meeting. » Read more

Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton congratulate Livni on Kadima victory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm A day after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won the Kadima Party leadership primary, the foreign ministry was bombarded with congratulatory phone calls and letters from around the globe. One of the first to congratulate the newly elected chairwoman of the ruling party was U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with whom Livni had developed a close relationship in recent joint diplomatic efforts with the Palestinians. Another prominent politician to call Livni was U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, who also offered her congratulations. » Read more

Israel's forgotten hero: The assassination of Count Bernadotte - and the death of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm Sitting in the back seat, the blue-blooded Swedish aristocrat and the decorated French hero of two world wars had begun to relax from the tension of the journey as the big Chrysler, the last of a three-car convoy, started its final ascent up the narrow road through the now Jewish-occupied district of Katamon, towards Rehavia and the house of the Jerusalem military governor. » Read more

Q&A: Israeli leadership change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News September 17, 2008 - 8:00pm srael may have a new prime minister within weeks. Scandal-hit PM Ehud Olmert is due to step down after his Kadima party elected a new leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and a general election is possible in the coming months. BBC News looks at the political process, likely scenarios, and the potential new leaders. Why is Mr Olmert stepping down as prime minister? » Read more