August 27th

PA wants piece of Shalit deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am Reports of progress on a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas have led to high expectations in the Palestinian Authority as well, as sources say they hope this means past understandings between Israel and the PA will also be realized with the deal's execution. According to sources, Israel has in the past agreed to release a number of Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas as the deal for the release of captive solder Gilad Shalit nears completion. » Read more

Palestinians uproot Hebrew road signs in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews August 27, 2009 - 12:00am The US international aid agency says Palestinian authorities in the West Bank have started replacing Israeli-installed road signs bearing Hebrew script with new signs in just Arabic and English. The move is in preparation for a future Palestinian state. Howard Sumka, of USAID, says the American-funded project is expected to take up to four years and cost about $20 million. Israel seized the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and built military camps and civilian settlements throughout the territory. » Read more

US shifting stance on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English by Mark Levine - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am The US has long seen itself as playing a crucial role in bringing about Israeli-Palestinian peace. Yet, US policy toward Israeli actions in and around Jerusalem has shifted over time. Initially, the Johnson administration took a strong line, with UN representative Arthur Goldberg explaining a week after the 1967 war ended that "the United States does not accept or recognise these measures as altering the status of Jerusalem." » Read more

Petition: Raze 15 structures in Kiryat Netafim settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviad Glickman - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am The Peace Now movement filed a petition with the High Court of Justice Thursday against Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Southern Command Chief MaJ.-Gen. Gadi Shamni, demanding that they halt the construction of 15 permanent structures in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Netafim. The petition calls on Barak and Shamni to issue orders to demolish the buildings. According to the petition, the structures are being built illegally on public land and private land owned by Palestinians. » Read more

Israeli academics must pay price to end occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anat Matar - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am Several days ago Dr. Neve Gordon of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev published an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times. In that article he explained why, after years of activity in the peace camp here, he has decided to pin his hopes on applying external pressure on Israel - including sanctions, divestment and an economic, cultural and academic boycott. He believes, and so do I, that only when the Israeli society's well-heeled strata pay a real price for the continuous occupation will they finally take genuine steps to put an end to it. » Read more

Analysis: History is not on the side of peace-makers in Israeli-Palestinian conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Robert Spencer - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am But then, it is not the first time his presence in London has heralded a supposed breakthrough in the Middle East peace process. Eleven years ago, it was no less a peacemaker than Tony Blair who claimed credit. In the warm aftermath of the Belfast Agreement, Mr Blair summoned Mr Netanyahu, during his first stint as Israel's leader, for talks with Yasser Arafat of the PLO. The success of that and subsequent summits can be easily described. » Read more

U.S. drops demand for Israel building freeze in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 27, 2009 - 12:00am BERLIN - The Obama administration has agreed to Israel's request to remove East Jerusalem from negotiations on the impending settlement freeze. According to both Israeli officials and Western diplomats, U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has recognized the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem. The officials said the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but would not demand Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze. » Read more

Report: Abbas to meet Sarkozy in Paris next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 27, 2009 - 12:00am Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on 4 September, Agence France-Presse reported on Wednesday. "President Abbas will travel to Paris on September 3 and will meet President Sarkozy the next day," an anonymous Palestinian official told AFP. The visit would be Abbas’ second to France since February, amid an international effort led by the US to reinitiate long-stalled peace negotiations with Israel. » Read more

Two Old City Jerusalem families forced to demolish own homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 27, 2009 - 12:00am Two Palestinian families in Jerusalem’s Old City have been forced to demolish their own house after Israeli authorities threatened him with heavy fines if he did not. One resident, Muhammad Faysal Jabir lived with his family of five in a 28 square meter house in the Aqbat Al-Khalidiyya neighborhood of the Old City. Jabir told Ma’an that the apartment used to be just 12 square meters, and that he added an extension apparently without permission from the Jerusalem Municipality. » Read more

West Bank's Economic Recovery Hangs on Mobility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 27, 2009 - 12:00am The economy of the West Bank and Gaza is forecast by the World Bank to grow by 5 percent this year, 6.5 percent in 2010 and 7.5 percent in 2011. But it's hardly the talk of Wall Street. The Palestinian economy cratered in 1999 and is still clawing its way back up the graph. Per capita GDP dropped from around $1,500 (926 pounds) in 1999 to just over $1,000 last year. So the notion that the West Bank is some kind of world-class recession beater, as Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren wrote recently in the Wall Street Journal, has people here shaking their heads. » Read more