IDF Chief: Israel will fight in Gaza again if needed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 13, 2009 - 1:00am Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Friday that the army would not hesitate to respond if Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets at Israel. "We are prepared to contend with the whole arc of threats," Ashkenazi told students during a visit to a Be'er Sheva high school, citing both the local defense situation as well as Iran's contentious nuclear program. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah spar over elections delay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 13, 2009 - 1:00am The Central Elections Commission does not have the capacity to hold elections on 24 January, the body's chairman Hanna Nasser announced on Thursday. Nasser said in a Ramallah news conference that the commission sent a letter to President Mahmoud Abbas explaining the situation, and noting that it is not up to the commission to decide when to hold elections, if they are not held on the 24th. The decision will effectively postpone Palestinian presidential and legislative elections to an unknown date. » Read more

Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 13, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli forces killed a young Palestinian man and injured three others in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Among the injured were two brothers, according to medics, who said the shooting occurred in the Johr Ad-Dik area and that another Palestinian was hospitalized. There were conflicting reports on what led to the incident. Palestinian witnesses said the group was on a hunting trip near the border east of Al-Bureij refugee camp when Israeli forces opened fire. Local medics said the fire was directed at the youths. » Read more

Israelis seen backing possible talks with Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 13, 2009 - 1:00am More than half of Israelis would support peace talks with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas if it recognised Israel, a poll published on Friday said. The results of the survey conducted by the Israeli Dialog Institute seemed to suggest Israelis were blaming Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival, for a deadlock in peace talks, more than Israel's rightist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Haaretz newspaper wrote. » Read more

Fayyad plan for Palestinian state is risky ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) (Analysis) November 11, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has a plan to establish a de facto Palestinian state in the West Bank by 2011, throwing 16 years of futile peacemaking out the window. This is a risky business because it frightens the Israelis as well as his Palestinian opponents. When Fayyad first unveiled his plans in August, U.S. President Barack Obama's administration gave it the green light and deposited $200 million into the Palestinian Authority's treasury, which Fayyad controls. » Read more

Mideast radicals fill space left by peace impasse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Marjorie Olster - November 13, 2009 - 1:00am Iran's closest allies in the Middle East are seizing on a deadlock in U.S.-backed peace efforts to try to sway a frustrated Arab world to their side. » Read more

Israel challenged on Gazan's ejection from West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - November 13, 2009 - 1:00am Gaza-born Berlanty Azzam, 21, was two months from receiving her bachelor's degree from Bethlehem University when the past caught up with her. During a routine stop at a West Bank checkpoint on Oct. 28, an Israeli guard noticed Gaza City as the town of residence on her ID, placed her under arrest for being in the West Bank without permission and, within hours, had her deported back to the Gaza Strip, blindfolded briefly and in handcuffs. » Read more

Palestinian Officials Push for Delay in Elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held on their scheduled date in January, Palestinian Authority election officials said Thursday. The announcement removed some of the immediate uncertainty surrounding the future of the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, who said recently that he would not run for a second term. » Read more