September 9th

Israeli Right tries to stop freeze on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli right-wing politicians and settler leaders have launched a last-minute campaign this week to pressure the government to reject the US call for a freeze on construction of Jewish homes in occupied Palestinian territory. The efforts by the Right come just days before Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is expected to reach a compromise with the United States on a temporary halt to settlement activity. Israeli media reported yesterday that he is likely to agree to a lull of six to nine months in the occupied West Bank. » Read more

Arabs in Israel plan to strike on October 1 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am The increasingly harsh political climate in Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has prompted the leadership of the country’s 1.3 million Arab citizens to call the first general strike in several years. The one-day stoppage is due to take place on October 1, a date heavy with symbolism because it marks the anniversary of another general strike, in 2000 at the start of the second intifada when 13 Arab demonstrators were shot dead by Israeli police. » Read more

Israel’s settlement announcement irks negotiators, but unlikely to derail process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am The United States and its partners pushing peace in the Middle East are treating Israel's announcement that it will build 455 new housing units in the West Bank before imposing a freeze as a buyer reviewing the unannounced "delivery fee" for a new car: Swallow hard, pay the extra bucks and move on. "It's difficult to understand what the Israelis want when they announce that kind of thing," one European diplomat said. "But it shouldn’t derail the process." » Read more

Israel 'understated' Gaza deaths ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News September 9, 2009 - 12:00am B'Tselem said detailed research with careful cross-checking showed 1,387 Palestinians died, over half of them civilians and 252 of them children. This contradicts an Israeli army report stating fewer than 300 civilians died in fighting in December and January. Israel launched the assault to halt rocket attacks from Hamas-run Gaza. The overall B'Tselem total broadly tallies with the official Palestinian death toll and the findings of other non-governmental organisations, although the proportion of civilians it identifies is lower. » Read more

Talks go on despite W. Bank construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon, Hilary Leila Krieger - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Despite angry statements from the Palestinians and the Arab world, and condemnations from the US and the EU, Israel's announcement Monday of new housing starts in the settlements did not derail the diplomatic process; US envoy George Mitchell is expected here Saturday night, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to Egypt for talks on Sunday. "The settlements aren't the be-all, end-all" of American policy efforts, one State Department official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "Our ultimate goal [is] to create the conditions for negotiations." » Read more

Hamas, Fatah set to reconcile by 2010 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's recent visit to Egypt has brought the Islamist movement and Fatah closer to ending their differences, sources close to Hamas in the Gaza Strip revealed on Tuesday. In another sign of rapprochement between the two parties, Hamas has welcomed plans by senior Fatah officials to visit the Gaza Strip for talks aimed at resolving the crisis. The Fatah officials who are expected to visit the Strip include Nabil Sha'ath, Jibril Rajoub, Mahmoud al-Aloul and Fakhri Bsaiso. » Read more

B'Tselem: 773 of Palestinians killed in Cast Lead were civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 9, 2009 - 12:00am How many Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead? Eight months after the operation, it seems as though the differences between the two sides' figures are only getting bigger. » Read more

Former Gaza strongman Dahlan appointed to Fatah information post ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Fatah’s newly-elected Central Committee appointed controversial former Gaza strongman Muhammad Dahlan to be charge of information on Tuesday night. The committee, which was reconstituted at the party’s convention in Bethlehem in August, held a meeting on Tuesday in the security compound (Al-Muqata’a) in Ramallah and Central committee member Jamal Muheisin told Ma’an that Ahmad (Abu Mahir) Ghneim was appointed Deputy Chair and Secretary of Fatah movement. » Read more

Erekat to US, UN, Greece: Settlements and peace two separate tracks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 9, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli government chose the path of settlements instead of peace, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat said Wednesday. Erekat called the Israeli government’s insistence on creating “facts on the ground” only intensifies the deception when its leaders claim they want peace, he told UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robery Serry and US Consul General Daniel Rubenstein in a meeting alongside Greek Consul General Soterios Athanasius. » Read more

Abed Rabbo: Israel killing peace process before it begins ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 9, 2009 - 12:00am Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank is intended to terminate the peace process before it even starts, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Wednesday. Abed Rabbo told the Russia Today TV network, “They know quite well that such steps will provoke the Palestinians and the Arabs, and even the international community who agreed that settlements must stop as a major part in the Road Map plan. Thus, the Israeli government’s aim is to thwart the political efforts that will eventually lead to the two-state solution.” » Read more