September 2nd

PA, Israeli ministers hold economic talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Minister of National Economy Bassem Khoury met with Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem on Wednesday in what is believed to be the first minister-level meeting since the current Israeli government came to power. The meeting was said to address bureaucratic ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including entry permits for businesspeople, the export of milk products from the West Bank to Israel, and medical treatment for Palestinians in Israel. » Read more

Settler burden weighs on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Age by Jason Koutsoukis - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am ON ITS website, the Shomron Liaison Office makes an earnest pitch for would-be settlers to join the movement. ''Have you heard about the growth of hilltop communities in Judea and Samaria?'' reads a flyer. ''Do you want to be part of the action? Become a pioneer and claim your stake in Jewish history.'' Promoting a six-day volunteer program at the outpost of El Matan that is home to about 11 families, the flyer promises room, board and other activities including building and planting. » Read more

Israel PM vowed not to freeze settlements: minister ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank, according to one of his ministers quoted on Wednesday. "I heard the prime minister say with my own ears that he has no intention of freezing construction in the settlements or in Jerusalem," the English-language Jerusalem Post quoted minister without portfolio Yossi Peled as saying. "He said there is no agreement to freeze construction in the settlements. I am telling you this first-hand," he told members of Netanyahu's hawkish Likud party on Tuesday evening. » Read more

Mitchell, Israelis to meet Wednesday in New York ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace will meet two Israeli officials in New York late on Wednesday as part of his push to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. officials said. The envoy, George Mitchell, is due to see Yitzhak Molcho and Mike Herzog to follow up on his talks in London last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bringing about a freeze on Israeli building of Jewish settlements. » Read more

Mitchell, Israelis to meet on settlement deal: diplomat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli officials were to meet Wednesday with US envoy George Mitchell as an Israeli diplomat said both sides moved toward an understanding on the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Tuesday that Mitchell would meet in New York on Wednesday with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's chief of staff Michael Herzog. He expected a statement to be issued afterward. » Read more

Hamas Objects to Possible Lessons on Holocaust in U.N.-Run Schools in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The prospect of United Nations-run schools in the Gaza Strip teaching children about the Holocaust has sparked fierce resistance this week from leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement and forced international officials to confront a situation fraught with political risk. U.N. officials, who say they are only discussing changes to a school program on human rights, have not commented directly on whether any new curriculum will reference the Holocaust. But Hamas leaders, saying any such reference would "contradict" their culture, are moving quickly to head off the possibility. » Read more

September 1st

Supporting Salaam Fayad's vision for statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Alon Ben-meir - September 1, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad's unveiling of his government program to build the apparatus of a Palestinian state within two years is a bold and welcome initiative. » Read more

Gaza and Bilin ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Husam Itani - (Blog) September 1, 2009 - 12:00am In Bilin a weekly march takes place in protest of the racist Israeli separation wall, in which activists from all over the world participate and which witness clashes with occupation forces and settlers, usually resulting in a number of wounded and victims of Israeli gases. The protest marches are organized by a broad coalition of political forces, Palestinian civil society institutions and international organizations that combat racial discrimination, in addition to local inhabitants from the village and neighboring area. » Read more

Not one penny has reached Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - September 1, 2009 - 12:00am It has been six months since the international community pledged nearly US$5 billion (Dh18bn) in aid to the Palestinian people, chiefly for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after Israel’s devastating offensive there this year. None of this aid has reached Gaza and no reconstruction has started. » Read more

Jewish settlers plan massive construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - September 1, 2009 - 12:00am The accelerating pace of Jewish settlement expansion in East Jerusalem this year may spur violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the city and cripple new efforts by the Obama administration to kick-start peace talks, an Israeli anti-settlement group warned yesterday. The “massive” construction being planned by Jewish settlers within Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem is likely to prompt clashes, said Yudith Oppenheimer, the executive director of Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based advocacy group. » Read more