Palestinians should trust Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Ziad Asali - October 4, 2009 - 12:00am THINGS have changed over the past decade between Palestinians and the United States, and much for the better. Yasser Arafat was enticed to attend the Camp David meeting in 2000 with the promise that he would not be blamed if it failed. It did, and he was. Last week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was invited to attend the New York meeting without any such promise. He was not blamed, and the meeting was not a failure. The meeting dealt with both an immediate crisis and a long-term strategic goal. » Read more

Why Obama's critics are wrong ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am In parallel with the United Nations General Assembly meetings held in New York last month, US President Barak Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

UN to teach children about Holocaust in Gaza schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am The United Nations' refugee agency is planning to include the Holocaust in a new human-rights curriculum for pupils in its Gaza secondary schools despite strident opposition to the idea from within Hamas. John Ging, the UN Relief and Works Agency's (UNRWA) director of operations in Gaza, told The Independent that he was "confident and determined" that the Holocaust would feature for the first time in a wide-ranging curriculum that is being drafted. » Read more

Fresh clashes at Jerusalem shrine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News October 5, 2009 - 12:00am The protesters threw stones and bottles at the police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Several Palestinians are reported to have been detained, including a former minister, Hatem Abdulqader. The Israeli police said they had closed the compound because Palestinians had planned a mass gathering there. Palestinians say they are trying to protect the site, known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount, from Jewish hardliners, who they fear intend to desecrate it. » Read more

Diplomacy: Regional forecast: A thaw between Israel and the Gulf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Guzansky - (Opinion) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am As part of its attempt to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian discussions, the US administration has in recent months put forth a significant effort to persuade different Arab nations, headed by the Gulf states, to make certain gestures toward Israel. While in geopolitical terms the Arab-Israeli arena and the Persian Gulf arena are separate, the Persian Gulf states are nonetheless directly or indirectly involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and are influenced by Israeli-Palestinian relations. » Read more

Analysis: US backs Israel, but leaves door open for external Cast Lead probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Dan Izenberg - (Analysis) October 5, 2009 - 12:00am The address last week by US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner to the UN Human Rights Council on the Goldstone Report must have been music to Israel's ears. Posner said almost exactly what Israel has been trying to say, without much success, ever since the report was published last month. Here are some of those statements: • We believe that the document is deeply flawed and disagree sharply with its methodology and many of its recommendations, including their extraordinarily broad scope. » Read more

Arab reporter wounded during Jerusalem riots slams police conduct ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sharon Roffe-ofir - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am A reporter for the Arab-Israeli news website PLS48.net was injured during the riots that broke out Sunday morning at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem's Old City. He claims a police officer struck him with a baton and disappeared. Police reject the claims. Reporter Abdallah Zidan arrived at the Temple Mount at dawn to cover the prayers for his website, which is sponsored by the Islamic Movement's northern branch. » Read more

PA source: US to press Israel on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian sources told Ynet the United States has reiterated its commitment to the Palestinian Authority in recent days to reach a peace deal with Israel within two years, based on the Road Map and the 1967 borders. The sources said that in light of the PA's position on the Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the Americans said they would continue to pressure Israel in the matter of settlements, and said this would be put into action in the coming days with special Mideast envoy George Mitchell's visit to the region. » Read more

Vice Premier and ex-IDF chief cancels U.K. visit over arrest fears ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Uri Blau - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon recently canceled a planned trip to Britain for fear of being arrested there. Ya'alon was invited to London to attend a fund-raising dinner for Benji's Home, a group home for soldiers with no family in Israel. The project is the initiative of the parents of Maj. Benji Hillman, who was killed in the Second Lebanon War. Ya'alon was asked to attend the dinner by the British branch of the Jewish National Fund, which is helping the Hillmans raise money for the project, and said he would if the Foreign Ministry's legal department okayed it. » Read more

PA waging diplomatic war over Temple Mount ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has been waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel for the past two weeks over what it terms "provocations" on the Temple Mount. At a closed briefing for foreign ambassadors last Tuesday, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned that the situation on the mount could quickly deteriorate into a "loss of control" by the PA and asked them to submit official protests to Israel over its "provocations" there, a senior Israeli government official said. » Read more