November 17th

To two faiths, a holy patch of land; to the world, a powder keg ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am It is one of the most watched pieces of real estate in the world, 35 acres where an under-the-breath prayer or a whiff of a rumor can rouse warnings of war. In both Judaism and Islam, the area known respectively as the Temple Mount and the Noble Sanctuary is considered a formative location. Jews believe it to be the site of Solomon's Temple and key biblical events. Muslims regard it as the spot where Muhammad was brought by the angel Gabriel before embarking on a trip to heaven to visit the other prophets. » Read more

A Mideast Truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am I’ve grown so pessimistic about Israel-Palestine that I find myself agreeing with Israel’s hard-line foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman: “Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement can be reached ending the conflict simply doesn’t understand the situation and spreads delusions.” That’s the lesson of early Obama. The president tried to rekindle peace talks by confronting Israel on settlements, coaxing Palestinians to resume negotiations, and reaching out to the Muslim world. The effort has failed. » Read more

November 16th

Between a rock and a hard place ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am It is almost impossible to adequately convey the present degree of Palestinian despair but the recent announcement that President Mahmoud Abbas might resign and that the rest of the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership may follow – in effect dissolving the PA – should provide some indication.This seems to many to be the only real remaining weapon the Palestinian leadership has, albeit something of a doomsday scenario. Abbas and the others clearly feel all their other options have been systematically foreclosed. » Read more

New voices for Palestinian conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Although the peace process is at an impasse, two recent debates about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have started to redefine some of the most fundamental issues of the conflict: the first started in the US and focuses on the nature and appropriateness of the unconditional American support for Israel; the second is taking place in Israel itself and addresses such fundamental issues as the very nature of being a Jewish state, and, crucially, the wrongs the Palestinian people have suffered. » Read more

Washington Committed to Middle East Peace Process- US Officials ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Mina Al-Oraibi - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Many questions are being asked whether it is possible to resume peace negotiations in the Middle East that can achieve real and concrete results after the peace process has been faltering over the past few months. A total of 10 months have passed since US President Barack Obama announced his determination to bring peace to the Middle East on his first day in the White House. However, there have been no indications that such a peace would be reached. » Read more

Watchdogs target left-wing Israeli university scholars ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - (Opinion) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the “witch-hunt” tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn. The watchdog groups IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor are believed to be stepping up campaigns after the recent publication in a US newspaper of an Israeli professor’s call to boycott Israel. » Read more

Plans for new Palestinian city in West Bank raise hopes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Dina Kraft - November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Dusk has fallen on a terraced hillside and workers clearing the red earth hurry to finish planting trees in the twilight, their labor the initial step in the construction of the first-ever planned Palestinian city. The city, with a construction price tag of some $350 million, already has its city limits registered, a name -- Rawabi, Arabic for hills -- and funding from the government of Qatar. It’s located about five miles north of Ramallah. » Read more

Palestinian push for an independent state causes Israeli alarm ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Interview) November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian leaders from President Mahmoud Abbas down have alarmed Israeli ministers by swinging their weight behind a planned effort to secure UN backing for a unilaterally declared independent state in the West Bank and Gaza. In an innovative strategy which would not depend on the success of currently stalled negotiations with Israel, the leaders are preparing a push to secure formal UN Security Council support for a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders as a crucial first step towards the formation of a state. » Read more

Israel 'personally attacking human rights group' after Gaza war criticism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - November 16, 2009 - 1:00am America's leading human rights organisation has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organised campaign" of false allegations and misinformation, including "extremely personal attacks" on its staff, in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza. » Read more

Press split on Palestinian statehood move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News November 16, 2009 - 1:00am Arab and Israeli press commentators are divided over a possible move by Palestinian leaders to ask the UN to recognise an independent Palestinian state. They have also been considering the warning issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israeli countermeasures. Some in the Arab world feel that the Palestinians have been left with little alternative, since Middle East peace talks have "gone astray" and "reached gridlock". » Read more