November 27th

Report: Israel will release Barghouti in Shalit deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury - November 27, 2009 - 1:00am Israel will release Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouti as part of a deal to secure the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat quoted Palestinian sources as saying Thursday. Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in Israel for his role in a series of deadly terrorist attacks during the second intifada. » Read more

Settlers have been working for months to undermine construction freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - (Analysis) November 27, 2009 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu owes much gratitude to the Yesha Council and the members of the rightist flank in Likud. Were it not for their public opposition over the past two days, someone might have suspected that the decision to freeze settlement construction permits for 10 months was an even smaller Israeli concession than it originally appeared to be. » Read more

Israel okays 28 new settlement buildings, despite freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Chaim Levinson, Barak Ravid, Yanir Yagna - November 27, 2009 - 1:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered the IDF to issue a temporary freeze order, but at the same time allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements. Meanwhile, Haaretz has learned that the state is expected to ask the Supreme Court for more time to evacuate illegal outposts. The State Attorney's Office is expected to update the Supreme Court by next week on three court rulings that have not been carried out, for the evacuation of outposts at Eli, Horsha, and Netiv Ha'avot, as well as six other locations in the West Bank. » Read more

UPDATED list: Israel pardons 90 former Fatah fighters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 27, 2009 - 1:00am Israel has agreed to remove 90 former Palestinian fighters from its list of “wanted” men on the eve of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, Palestinian sources said on Thursday. The sources indicated that on Wednesday night the Palestinian Authority (PA) handed Israeli officials a list of 93 people it wants removed from the wanted list during a meeting. » Read more

Israel: One killed, others injured in airstrike on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 27, 2009 - 1:00am The Israeli military confirmed an air attack on the northern Gaza Strip Friday morning which it said killed one Palestinian. Palestinian sources were quoted in Israeli media as confirming that four men were injured, two seriously. Military sources said a group of Palestinians in the Jabaliya region of northern Gaza were preparing to launch projectiles on southern Israel. An army spokeswoman said the slain Palestinian was a member of a group called "Jaljalat" which she described as a Salafist group in Gaza with "ties to Al-Qaeda." The group is not known to operate in Gaza. » Read more

For Gaza's homeless, holiday is time for despair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 26, 2009 - 1:00am In the days leading up to Eid al-Adha, Zaid Khadar would usually be buying new clothes for his children and stocking up on traditional foods to celebrate one of the most important dates on the Muslim calendar. Instead, he struggles to shield them from the winter rain dripping through the roof of the shelter that has housed his family since they were made homeless by Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip almost a year ago. "My children are saying: 'Why aren't you bringing us clothes? Why don't you get a sheep to slaughter?'" said Khadar. » Read more

Israel settlement freeze: Benjamin Netanyahu promises 10-month halt, angering allies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - November 25, 2009 - 1:00am In an attempt to jump-start Middle East peace talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Wednesday for a c. Israel's security cabinet, one of the gatekeeping bodies on major policy decisions, approved the freeze with an 11-1 vote. » Read more

Half-Truths Dim Chances for Renewing Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - November 26, 2009 - 1:00am In recent years, the international community has made one central demand of Israel and one of the Palestinians to create conditions for a two-state solution: Israel must stop building settlements on land the Palestinians want for their state, and the Palestinians must dismantle terrorist networks and end violent attacks on Israelis. » Read more

November 25th

Abbas: Obama doing nothing for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post November 25, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday accused US President Barack Obama of doing "nothing" to achieve peace in the Middle East. Speaking to Argentinian newspaper Clarin, Abbas said he hoped that Obama would "take a more important role in the future." He went on to say that the Palestinian people were awaiting US pressure on Israel, "so that it respects international law and takes up the Road Map," stressing that the peace process could not be restarted without a halt to settlement construction. » Read more

Israel's pro-settlement soldiers worry leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News November 25, 2009 - 1:00am In Israel, most men and women do military service. As a result, the public's attitude towards their military is rather familial and criticism is mostly expressed in private. But, suddenly, an increasing number of soldiers are openly protesting against their involvement in the evacuation of Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank, reports the BBC's Katya Adler. » Read more