Settlers: a Jewish minority in Palestine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service by Bill Glucroft - September 29, 2009 - 12:00am If we are to believe the pundits and partisans, relations between Israel and the United States have never been worse. US President Barack Obama’s administration appears to be taking the toughest tone of any in recent memory. Obama’s Cairo speech didn’t help, leaving an already vulnerable-feeling Israel with the sense that it was getting thrown under the bus. » Read more

Good news ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times September 29, 2009 - 12:00am News coming out of Cairo recently suggests that the Egyptian mediation efforts may have reached a breakthrough in reconciling the differences between Fateh and Hamas. It appears that the two Palestinian factions are now ready to settle their differences and reach a viable compromise. The attempts to bring the two Palestinian movements closer seem to have succeeded in convincing Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal, who recently visited Cairo, of the wisdom of such move; now he is expected to give his approval to the Egyptian ideas, at least in principle. » Read more

A significant month for Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Sami Moubayed - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am The month of September is indeed a rich one for Arab historians wanting to write up a 'Today in History'. September 28 alone has recorded several monumental events that have shaped modern Arab history: the break-up of the Syrian-Egyptian Union in 1961, the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser in 1970, the signing of Oslo II in 1995, and the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000. September of course, is when the horrific 9-11 terrorist attacks took place in 2001, when the Sabra and Shatila massacres occurred in 1982 and when the original Oslo Accords were signed on the White House lawn in 1993. » Read more

Israeli drive to prevent Jewish girls dating Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - September 25, 2009 - 12:00am A local authority in Israel has announced that it is establishing a special team of youth counsellors and psychologists whose job it will be to identify young Jewish women who are dating Arab men and “rescue” them. The move by the municipality of Petah Tikva, a city close to Tel Aviv, is the latest in a series of separate – and little discussed – initiatives from official bodies, rabbis, private organisations and groups of Israeli residents to try to prevent interracial dating and marriage. » Read more

Absurd Negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Bilal Hassen - (Opinion) September 28, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barak Obama has himself declared that the attempt he made for launching Palestinian-Israeli negotiations based on halting settlement construction has ended. Netanyahu challenged him, declaring that he will not freeze settlement construction. Afterward, the US president invited Netanyahu for a meeting at the White House. He even announced on behalf of the superpower that success had been made on which we can build. » Read more

Palestinians seek Barak's arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English September 29, 2009 - 12:00am A group of Palestinian families is attempting to have Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, prosecuted in Britain for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, lawyers have told Al Jazeera. A lawyer working for the families will present their case at a magistrates court in London on Tuesday before British officials decide if it has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The families are accusing Barak of committing war crimes including the assassination of a senior Palestinian minister and unlawful killing of civilians during the Gaza war at the beginning of this year. » Read more

Real reform in Israel is a distant prospect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ben White - September 27, 2009 - 12:00am Once again, issues like the settlement "freeze" are dominating the official peace process, ignoring not only core questions like Israel's "matrix of control", but also the status of Palestinian citizens of Israel. While the increasingly overt racism of Knesset members has got its fair share of headlines, other important developments have escaped scrutiny outside the region. » Read more

Palestinians 'close to agreement' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Christian Fraser - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal says all Palestinian factions are drawing close to agreement on Egypt's proposals for Palestinian reconciliation. Mr Meshaal has met the head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, to give his answer to the proposals. He said Hamas have given some thoughts on how the draft might be adjusted - but in principle will return by the end of October to sign a final draft. Fatah and Hamas have been divided since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. » Read more

UN scrutinises Gaza 'war crimes' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News September 29, 2009 - 12:00am The UN's main human rights watchdog has begun a debate on a damning report into Israel's military operation against Gaza eight months ago. It is seen as a test of US engagement with the Human Rights Council, which was shunned by President George W Bush. The US, which is Israel's main ally, has criticised elements of the report. The report, widely lauded by human rights groups, accuses both Israel and its militant Palestinian adversary Hamas of war crimes in the campaign. » Read more

PM's emissaries to meet Mitchell in DC ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - September 29, 2009 - 12:00am Mike Herzog and Attorney Yitzhak Molcho, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emissaries on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, will leave for Washington Tuesday, to meet with the US' special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. The three are expected to discuss ways to reignite the stalled peace process . The meeting follows Netanyahu's meeting with US President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the UN General Assembly in New York last week. Obama demanded Israel and the Palestinian Authority make some serious headway by mid October. » Read more