Defiant Abbas Reiterates Conditions Before Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Howard Schneider - October 11, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday seemed to distance himself from U.S. efforts to restart peace talks and defended his recent handling of a report on war crimes in the Gaza Strip in a defiant televised address meant to boost his political standing amid growing criticism. » Read more

Netanyahu: Our leaders won't be prosecuted in Hague ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Amnon Meranda - October 12, 2009 - 12:00am The Knesset opened its winter session Monday, amid its members' promise for a stormy winter. The Knesset's factions are set to spend the next several months debating settlement freeze, the forming of a biometric database, a reform in the Israel Land Administration, a controversial budget cut and a referendum bill, to name a few. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dedicated most of his speech to a harsh attack on a United Nations report on the Israeli operation in Gaza, which accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes in Gaza. » Read more

Livni accuses Netanyahu of 'humiliating Palestinians' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Amnon Meranda - October 12, 2009 - 12:00am Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni on Monday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being responsible for the uproar created by the United Nations report into the Israeli operation in Gaza. She hinted that Israel was the one who revealed that the Palestinians had deferred a Human Rights Council vote on the report, because the prime minister "had to boast of his performance." Livni, who spoke during the opening ceremony of the Knesset's winter session, was interrupted several times by Likud Knesset members. » Read more

Students refuse to enlist due to 'occupation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Edelson - October 12, 2009 - 12:00am Dozens of students signed this year's high school seniors' letter, which has traditionally attempted to challenge Israel's mandatory army service policy. Similar letters have circulated every few years since 1979, all calling on teens to object to IDF service. » Read more

Israel sees court rulings on Palestinian land as mere 'recommendations' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - October 13, 2009 - 12:00am So what if the Supreme Court rules? In Israel those decisions are just recommendations, especially if they deal with Palestinian land. In most enlightened democratic countries, saying that decisions of the courts obligate the state authorities is like stating that the sun rises in the east. But that may not be so for Israel. » Read more

New negotiations will test Netanyahu's commitment ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) October 13, 2009 - 12:00am Yasser Arafat was enticed to attend a meeting with Ehud Barak at Camp David during the summer of 2000 with the promise that he would not be blamed if it turned out to be a failure. It did, and he was. Last month the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was invited to attend a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York without any such promise. He was not blamed and the meeting was not a failure. » Read more

The return of 1948 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Shlomo Ben-Ami - (Opinion) October 13, 2009 - 12:00am The United Nations conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) could not come at a better moment. The restitution of lands occupied in 1967 will obviously continue to be indispensable to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it is the legacy of the 1948 war that both parties to the conflict have now put at the centre of the debate. » Read more

U.S. to Egypt: Fatah-Hamas deal undermines Israel-PA talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 13, 2009 - 12:00am The United States sent a message to Egypt stating it does not support the proposed reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas as it would undermine negotiations with Israel, Haaretz has learned. George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, met on Saturday night in Cairo with the chief of Egyptian intelligence, Gen. Omar Suleiman, and told him the United States would not support an agreement not aligned with the principles of the Quartet. » Read more

The Erdogan-Obama road map for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Sami Moubayed - (Opinion) October 13, 2009 - 12:00am Eyebrows were raised at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly in September, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rose to the podium and talked about the controversial report of South African judge Robert Goldstone. The UN-mandated report, released only days earlier, accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza during the 2008-2009 crisis and possible crimes against humanity. » Read more

UN chief backs Abbas decision to debate Goldstone report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz October 13, 2009 - 12:00am United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon supports a Palestinian proposal to reopen debate in the Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Commission's report on the Gaza war, his spokeswoman Michele Montas said on Monday. She said Ban assured Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on the matter during a telephone conversation on Sunday. Israeli officials across the board have condemned the 575-page report which accuses Israel of war crimes during the wintertime offensive. The report also accused Hamas of actions amounting to war crimes by firing rockets at civilians in southern Israel. » Read more