August 12th

Jerusalem, US debate status of Ariel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon, Tovah Lazaroff - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am Jerusalem and Washington are currently discussing whether Ariel constitutes one of the settlement blocs where - under a compromise agreement being worked out - construction that has already begun can continue, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday. According to the sources, the two sides are continuing to discuss a compromise solution on settlement construction whereby most of the 2,500 housing units currently under construction in the West Bank would continue to be built, but Israel would declare a temporary moratorium on any new projects. » Read more

Hope from Bethlehem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yariv Oppenheimer - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am What great disappointment and what a blow to peace-lovers: The Fatah Congress that convened in Bethlehem did not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, did not adopt Hebrew as an official language, and did not end with the singing of Israel’s national anthem. The Palestinians have remained the same; a beaten and persecuted people seeking independence alongside Israel, but without recognizing or endorsing the Zionist idea and the principals of the Jewish State. » Read more

Fatah Women Fume Over Election Results ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am "We formed a coalition with the men, but they betrayed us; they were voted in due to our support, but they failed to reciprocate," Intissar al-Wasir said Tuesday after all the female candidates failed to gain a seat on Fatah's 21-member Central Committee at the movement's landmark conference in Bethlehem. The Women's Committee demanded that at least 30% of those elected to Fatah's governing bodies be women, but the demand was rejected. Al-Wasir is the widow of Fatah founder Abu Jihad and the only female member of the outgoing Central Committee. » Read more

Peace Now: Halt illegal construction north of Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Erfat Weiss - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am The left-wing Peace Now organization claims that construction works are being carried out to expand the settlement of Kochav Yaakov, located north of Jerusalem, eastward. A neighborhood with some 15 caravans has reportedly been established as part of the construction works. According to Peace Now, some of the caravans have already been connected to the water and sewage infrastructures, and a children's playground has been set up in the area. » Read more

Abbas emerges stronger from Fatah conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - August 11, 2009 - 12:00am As the Fatah party convention wrapped up Tuesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas emerged stronger, signaling a comeback for the US-backed peace proponent after his party was trounced by Hamas. His success in shepherding the long-anticipated congress, which updated Fatah's political platform and ushered in a new guard of leaders in the first party elections since 1989, enabled him at last to come out from under the long shadow of Yasser Arafat – the late party founder and icon of Palestinian nationalism. » Read more

Fatah showed Palestinians democracy is more than just a slogan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) August 12, 2009 - 12:00am A week after the Sixth Fatah Convention opened, its chairman Mahmoud Abbas could finally sit back, relax and smile. The rais is beginning to shine through as the undisputed winner. Not only did he manage to convene the conference, an achievement that eluded his legendary predecessor Yasser Arafat, the huge event went through almost without incident (barring a brief shootout between the Presidential Guard and their general intelligence colleagues, in a fight over a parking spot). » Read more

Livni: Barghouti is a murderer - he cannot be released ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 12, 2009 - 12:00am Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni declared her opposition Wednesday to releasing jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti from an Israeli prison. Barghouti, who recently won a spot on the Fatah central committee in a party convention that was held in Bethlehem earlier this week, is serving numerous life sentences for masterminding attacks against Israeli civilians. » Read more

Fatah Party Election Brings in a New Generation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian nationalist party, elected a mostly new leadership committee, ushering in a younger generation and ousting some prominent veterans, according to preliminary results released here on Tuesday. » Read more

Israel Is Wary of Calm Days That May End in Turmoil ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - August 11, 2009 - 12:00am Rocket fire from Gaza has markedly declined. The Lebanese border is quiet. Terrorist attacks from the West Bank are rare. The national airport processed a record number of travelers in the first week of August. The currency is so strong that the central bank has bought billions of dollars to keep the exchange rate down. » Read more

August 11th

Fear breeds distrust, but it is also the underrated enabler ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Paul Scham - (Opinion) August 11, 2009 - 12:00am In 1997, at a time when I travelled frequently from Israel, where I was living, to Jordan, I was invited to give a talk to the Amman World Affairs Council, composed of distinguished, educated and cosmopolitan retired judges, ambassadors and other prominent Jordanians. I chose as my topic “Israeli fears,” because then, as now, I was convinced that fear is the most important underlying – and underrated – reason for the intractability of the Middle Eastern conflict. The audience was not pleased. One member told me angrily, “You’re equating the oppressors with the oppressed!” » Read more