August 18th

Hilltop Youth push to settle West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 18, 2009 - 12:00am While many Israeli teenagers spend the summer hanging out on beaches or in shopping malls, Evyatar Slonam, 17, is sitting on an exposed hillside in the southern West Bank at the Jewish outpost of Mitzpe Avichai. "We want there to be a mall right here," explains his friend Yehoyada, 15, indicating the hilltop surrounded by Palestinian houses and olive groves. "Tel Aviv once looked like this, too." » Read more

Mubarak firm on Arab-Israeli ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 17, 2009 - 12:00am Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said Arab states would recognise Israel and normalise ties, but only as part of a comprehensive peace deal. Mr Mubarak is currently in Washington for talks with US officials. The US is asking Arab states to begin normalising ties in return for a proposed temporary freeze in settlement building on the occupied West Bank. But he said states which had trade ties with Israel might consider reviving them if it resumed peace negotiations. » Read more

Growing threat to Hamas: Gazans who think it has sold out ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Two years after its takeover of the Gaza strip, Hamas has faced down its greatest challenger: A militant, Al Qaeda-inspired organization that says Hamas is not Islamic enough. Last Friday, Hamas forces and the Jund Ansar Allah (Soldier of God) movement fought a day-long gun and artillery battle that killed about 30 in the southern Gaza town of Rafah after the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa, declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza and denounced Hamas. Mr. Moussa was killed in the fighting, centered on the mosque where he and his followers had gathered. » Read more

New Fatah Leadership Boosts Mideast Peace Efforts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Fatah has elected a rejuvenated leadership that will likely bring the mainstream Palestinian movement more in line with President Barack Obama's vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, according to unofficial results released Tuesday. But a reluctant Israel and militant Islamic Hamas stranglehold on the Gaza Strip pose formidable obstacles on the road toward a peace accord. » Read more

Palestinians prefer Abbas and Fatah to Hamas: poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Support among Palestinians for president Mahmud Abbas and his secular Fatah party is greater than that for his Islamist Hamas rivals, according to the results of a poll released on Monday. The survey carried out by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) found that 52 percent of Palestinians would vote for Abbas to remain president, up three percentage points from three months ago. » Read more

Settlers say 'old Bibi' is back ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Efrat Weiss - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Settler leaders were furious Tuesday morning after learning of the agreement to freeze building starts in the territories, including in the settlement blocs and east Jerusalem, as reported by Ynet. "If the prime minister implements the policy of (Opposition Chairwoman) Tzipi Livni, (former Defense Minister) Amir Peretz and Talia Sasson (author of government report on illegal outposts) – this government's days are numbered," warned Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman. » Read more

Israel agrees to freeze settlement construction as gesture to US ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am In a subtle overture to the US, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed upon a de facto moratorium on new building in the settlements. According to the estimates of officials involved, the freeze will be in effect until the beginning of 2010. The objective is to provide an opportunity for a Mideast peace process to gain momentum in hopes that the new "waiting" tactic will allow international recognition of Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem and the large settlement blocs. » Read more

Officials: Netanyahu froze new West Bank projects ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 18, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has quietly stopped approving new building projects in the West Bank while publicly still refusing U.S. demands for an official settlement freeze, government officials said Tuesday. The decision to temporarily shelve new construction was made jointly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no formal measure has been announced. » Read more

August 17th

What is Required of the Obama Administration Today… ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) August 14, 2009 - 12:00am The Barack Obama Administration behaved naively when, in demanding that both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict fulfill their commitments, it forcefully introduced the idea of the Arabs offering the Israeli government a reward or a bribe to stop violating international law and freeze illegal settlement-building, by taking step towards normalization that would be linked or would coincide with freezing Israeli settlement activity. » Read more

Qaeda a challenge to Hamas, but also opportunity? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alastair MacDonald - (Analysis) August 16, 2009 - 12:00am On Peace Street, it's hard to tell where the scars of one war end and another's begin. Yet the weekend battle that raged along this dusty alley in the Gaza Strip may just offer a glimmer of opportunity to ease conflict -- though only if one looks beyond evidence that it adds new layers of hatred to an already tangled struggle. The rubble of homes and the bullet-scarred mosque at the end of the road in the Palestinian border town of Rafah lay as fresh relics on Sunday of bloody clashes between Gaza's ruling Hamas Islamists and a splinter group aligned with global al Qaeda. [nLG71700] » Read more