October 30th

Palestinian anger over Jerusalem is affecting Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 30, 2009 - 12:00am The pattern repeats itself: A relatively marginal Jewish organization calls upon the public to hold prayers on the Temple Mount to mark Yom Kippur, Sukkot or, as was the case this week, "Rambam Day" (commemorating Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon's visit to the Land of Israel in the 12th century). These announcements win a great deal of attention in the Palestinian and Arab media, of course. » Read more

Abbas: Netanyahu hasn't changed since last stint as PM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 30, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is deeply suspicious of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is losing faith in his intentions to reach a peace agreement, Israeli officials have told Haaretz. "I know Netanyahu is pragmatic and everyone tells me he has changed," Abbas reportedly told the officials recently. "But I don't see it. I fear it's the same Netanyahu of 1996. How much longer can I still give him credit?" Abbas reportedly said he missed former prime minister Ehud Olmert, with whom he had "almost closed [a deal]." » Read more

Report: Abbas fears violence without change in Israeli tactics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 30, 2009 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly told Israeli officials that without movement in the peace process, he fears conditions in the region will rapidly deteriorate, the daily newspaper Haaretz reported Friday. Haaretz reported that Abbas feared the “descent into violence,” and noted there was a window of “two to three weeks” in which changes must take place in order to stabilize the area. » Read more

Mitchell to meet with Netanyahu in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 30, 2009 - 12:00am Special US Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell returned to Jerusalem on Thursday night to attempt a second round of peace talk initiation, the US State Department said. Mitchell's arrival comes two days in advance of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's planned visit; he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Officials called Mitchell's trip preparatory, and said he met with Israeli army minister Ehud Barak. » Read more

Plan B for Abbas - Palestinian unity or bust ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi, Douglas Hamilton - (Analysis) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas has no intention of going down in history as the man who legitimised the permanent and possibly fatal division of the Palestinian independence movement. But he has called an election for January that could be a nail in the coffin of Palestinian unity, assuming his Islamist political rivals in control of the Gaza Strip are serious about their threat to ban the vote on their territory. The outcome of an election held in the West Bank but not in the Gaza Strip would be "worse than the two Koreas", said Zakaria al-Qaq, an expert on national security issues. » Read more

Bashing Human Rights Watch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Scott MacLeod - (Opinion) October 30, 2009 - 12:00am As a founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert L. Bernstein is a distinguished moral voice. So he stunned the human rights community last week when he leveled a devastating attack on the work of the organization he also chaired for two decades. He accused Human Rights Watch's Middle East division of giving Israel the "brunt" of its criticism while it "ignored" other countries in the region. The powerful denunciation in a New York Times Op-Ed article was swiftly endorsed by other eminent figures, including Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel. » Read more

October 29th

Hillary Clinton to embark upon uphill Mideast mission ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by David Harris - October 29, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank this weekend. This will be her second visit to the region since Barack Obama entered office as U.S. president some 10 months ago. Coming at a time when relations between Israel and the Palestinians show no outward sign of improvement, analysts see Hillary's visit to be a tough mission and do not expect it to achieve much. A NEGATIVE BACKDROP » Read more

Israel is unlikely to yield ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am Top aides of the Obama administration have this month been quietly stoking the peace process fire, raising expectations that the American president, whose popularity remains relatively high, may now be willing to go beyond gentle rapping Israeli knuckles. The ball started rolling when Barack Obama's National Security Advisor General James L. Jones addressed the Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine on October 15. » Read more

The J Street Challenge ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am J Street’s coming out party was an exuberant, over-subscribed success. Now come the challenges. And they come from all directions. The scope and depth of attendees at J Street’s first-ever conference — from participants who lined the walls of packed rooms to well-placed speakers from the American and Israeli governments — proved that the new, scrappy liberal lobby is a force to be reckoned with. » Read more

UN envoy: Goldstone won't go away ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Israel News by Aviad Glickman - October 28, 2009 - 12:00am The Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead will not go away even if Israel launches an independent inquiry into the campaign, UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said Wednesday. "There are no legal questions here – and we shouldn't be deluding ourselves that the report will disappear if we launch a probe," Shalev said during a discussion held at the Israel Democracy Institute. "We are seeing a murky wave against the State of Israel the likes of which has not been seen in many years." » Read more