November 20th

Palestinians accuse Israel settlements of diverting water ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am The Hmoud family once prospered in this arid Palestinian farm village by cultivating banana and eggplant crops, earning enough to send a son abroad for medical school and to build a house with a showy staircase and a two-story window. But drought has decimated the spring that is Auja's only agricultural water source, and fields once filled with palm trees are now empty. Village residents have been forced to find work in the greenhouses near Jewish settlements that are hooked up to Israeli water mains. » Read more

A state for all its citizens, not a state of all the Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Alan Philps - (Opinion) November 20, 2009 - 1:00am It is not often that an Israeli history book is translated into Arabic with a view to finding a mass readership. And it is even rarer when that book is to be translated into two other major languages of the Islamic world, Turkish and Indonesian, not to mention Japanese, Russian, German, Italian and Portuguese. » Read more

Obama and “Israel’s Security” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am The public statement concerning the results of talks that took place during the meeting at the White House last Monday, described as “secret,” between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, came in the form of an Israeli announcement of the building of 900 new housing units for Jewish settlers in Gilo, a suburb of Jerusalem. This stance represents the biggest challenge for the Obama administration up to this point. » Read more

Arabs may have to look beyond Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) November 20, 2009 - 1:00am There is growing frustration, inside and outside the United States, with the Obama administration primarily because of its failure to bring about any measurable change in US policy, especially in the Middle East. Hopes are continuously raised, but have yet to be fulfilled. The spirited American leader has moved crowds with his ideas, both at home and abroad, most recently during his current East Asia tour, but none of his ideas have materialised. This has led some to look for alternative courses, skirting American involvement, as hard as this may seem to be. » Read more

November 19th

Rattling the Cage: Go for it, Abbas! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am What we're seeing now in the West Bank is something the democratic world has been awaiting for a very, very long time: a non-violent Palestinian independence movement. » Read more

Comment / Why has the left in Israel vanished? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am The threats uttered against a possible Palestinian declaration of independence by our leaders Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman and Ehud Barak let the Israeli sanctimony (usually tedious and belabored) drop to the floor for a moment, like a woman's slip. It exposed the ugly skeleton of force that gives only us freedom of speech - we're permitted, you're forbidden. We are allowed to reiterate Israel's Declaration of Independence over and over. You are not allowed to do so with yours. » Read more

Palestinian state-building is the only game left in town ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by David Ignatius - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am Looking at the city of Ramallah, you can imagine what a Palestinian state could someday be like if folks got serious: The streets are clean, there’s new construction in every direction, and Palestinian soldiers line the roads. A visitor sees new apartment buildings, banks, brokerage firms, luxury car dealerships, and even health clubs. » Read more

A disregard for law, and for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star (Editorial) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am The news this week that the Israeli government has approved a further 900 new buildings in an East Jeru­salem settlement deals another hammer blow to the already waning peace process. Not only does the expansion of the Gilo settlement show a complete disregard for international law, it shows once again a preference for expansion over peace on the part of the Israel. In a speech to the Jewish Federation of North America a couple of weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the achievements of the Jewish people. » Read more

CIA launches TV campaign to recruit Arab-Americans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press November 19, 2009 - 1:00am There's a swirl of activity in a spacious, modern kitchen as final meal preparations are made. An older man tries to swipe a felafel off an appetizer plate but instead gets a loving hand slap from a woman. The happy, well-dressed guests move to a table full of food in a dining room adorned with Middle Eastern wall-hangings. » Read more

Few options left ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am The declaration by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he does not wish to run for a second term if and when elections are held has shocked both Israel and the US. His presence at the top of the Palestinian Authority provided them with the cover they needed to pursue their own selfish policies: Israel to continue its colonisation enterprise in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the US to carry on with its longstanding capitulation to the demands of the powerful hardline Zionist lobby, which marches in lockstep with the right-wing Israeli government. » Read more