September 16th

US to extend settlement talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News September 16, 2009 - 12:00am He has held an extra unscheduled meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with another due on Friday. The US is seeking a moratorium on settlement building that would be acceptable to the Palestinian side. It hopes to re-launch peace talks with a Israeli-Palestinian-US summit at the UN General Assembly later this month. Bilateral talks have been suspended since December and Mr Mitchell has spoken of his "sense of urgency" to get them resume them. 'Positive conclusion' » Read more

Geneva Initiative relaunches its grassroots peace recipe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am Talk about a settlement freeze distracts negotiators from the real issues - such as Jerusalem and refugees - that truly block the path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, former Meretz Party leader Yossi Beilin told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. He spoke on the same day that US special envoy George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss halting construction in West Bank settlements. » Read more

Israelis who spoke at Goldstone committee: State must wake up ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Edelson - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am The State of Israel officially condemned on Tuesday the Goldstone Report which accuses the IDF of committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, but the Israelis that testified before the special UN-appointed inquiry commission actually welcomed the harsh report, and urged the government not to ignore its conclusions. "Israel should wake up and take it upon itself to investigate the claims," said Attorney Majd Bader, who testified before the committee on behalf of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. » Read more

Inquiry Finds Gaza War Crimes From Both Sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Neil MacFarquhar - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am A United Nations fact-finding mission investigating the three-week war in Gaza last winter issued a highly critical report on Tuesday detailing what it called extensive evidence that both Israel and Palestinian militant groups took actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity. » Read more

Palestinians: State within 2 years with Obama's support ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his meeting with the American statesman Tuesday told Ynet that the US commitment to reach a peace deal within two years was clarified during the meeting. The Palestinians estimate the Americans are adopting de facto the plan presented by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. » Read more

Aluf Benn / In wake of UN Gaza probe, how can Israel go to war again? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am The United Nations' fact-finding mission into the Gaza offensive describes Israel as perpetrating war crimes - a police state which persecutes minorities - and tars the Palestinian leadership in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with similar accusations. If its findings and recommendations are accepted, the International Criminal Court in The Hague could call a summit meeting between the leaders of Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority on the defendants' stand. » Read more

September 15th

Artists deny calling for TIFF boycott over Tel Aviv series ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CTV News by Cassandra Szklarski - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am Artists angered by a spotlight on Israeli films at the Toronto International Film Festival insisted Monday they are not calling for a boycott as they continued to draw the ire of a growing list of celebrity critics. Filmmakers including Toronto's John Greyson, Elle Flanders and Palestinian-Israeli director Elia Sulieman held a press conference to refute charges they were blacklisting the festival's "City to City" program and its participants. » Read more

Editorial: It’s time for action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am Egypt has been quietly negotiating between Israel and Hamas for the release of Hamas prisoners held by Israel and also for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006. A deal appears imminent. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal was also in the Egyptian capital a few days earlier and is expected there again this week. Neither of the two men would have turned up there if there were still a mountain of details to climb. » Read more

Jordan an arena for Hamas? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Hassan Barari - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am Bickering within Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has come to the fore as never before. The divisions in the movement and their dubious relationship with Hamas have posed serious questions about the scope, if any, this movement is penetrated by Hamas. » Read more

Assimilation threatens Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am Let's face it, without the financing and the protection of Washington, Israel would be forced to abide by international laws and treaties like every other country on earth, else risk being labelled 'a rogue state'. If the United States pulled the rug from under its favoured ally, Israel would no longer be able to continue its policy of nuclear ambiguity, would be called upon to abide by UN Security Council sanctions, and would face serious censure for launching aggressive strikes and wars. » Read more