October 5th

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

The Egyptian proposal: Facts and reactions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 29, 2009 - 12:00am As what many believe will be a decisive round of unity talks for Palestinian factions approach, the 13 participating Palestinian factions are abuzz with comments and criticism around the contents of Egypt’s “Conciliation Proposal,” a detailed plan based on the cumulative agreements from several rounds of talks in Cairo. The elements of the Egyptian plan include proposals on elections, security, detainees, government, and the function and structure of a supervisory committee to oversee the process. Elections » Read more

Abbas faces uproar over deferred war crimes vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Karin Laub - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am Engulfed by domestic outrage, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rushed Sunday to limit the fallout from his decision to suspend efforts to have Israeli officials prosecuted for war crimes over last winter's military offensive in Gaza. The decision set off a wave of condemnation, not just from his Islamic militant Hamas rivals, but also Palestinian human rights groups, intellectuals and commentators. Leading members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and even Abbas' own Fatah movement quickly distanced themselves, saying they had been taken by surprise. » Read more

Palestinians slam Abbas over UN Gaza report delay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi - October 4, 2009 - 12:00am Critics accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday of letting down his people by bowing to U.S. pressure and postponing action on a U.N. report that criticised Israel's offensive in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority agreed in Geneva on Friday to defer a vote in the United Nations Human Rights Council on a resolution that would have condemned Israel's failure to cooperate with a U.N. war crimes investigation led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. It would also have forwarded his report to the Security Council. » Read more

Palestinians simmer, but no Intifada for now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi - (Analysis) October 4, 2009 - 12:00am Peace talks with Israel are in deadlock and tear gas and rocks are flying at Jerusalem's holy sites, but for all the mounting frustration in the West Bank talk of a Third Intifada seems premature to most Palestinians. A week after Israeli forces clashed with hundreds of Arabs who believed expansionist Jewish settlers were trying to enter the al-Aqsa mosque compound, there were scuffles again on Sunday and tension will remain high this week during holidays that draw Jewish worshippers to the Western Wall, close to the mosque. » Read more

In Jerusalem, clashes over Temple Mount, Al Aqsa Mosque ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - October 4, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli police shut down access to key Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, spurring Palestinian protesters to throw rocks and bottles in protest – marking the second consecutive Sunday of disturbances near the city's overlapping points of prayer for Jews and Muslims. » Read more

UN Panel Defers Vote on Gaza Report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Colum Lynch, Howard Schneider - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday shelved a controversial report on Israel's recent war in the Gaza Strip, averting a crisis in the push to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks but potentially scuttling efforts to initiate broad war-crimes prosecutions over the conflict. » Read more

Palestinian Mayor Brews Economic Growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - October 5, 2009 - 12:00am There's more than a bit of Sam Adams in David Khoury, the mayor of this tiny Christian village in the occupied West Bank. Along with being a politician and patriot, he is a brewer, and he sees the craft as a symbol of the Palestinian state he hopes will emerge here one day. » Read more