INTERVIEW-Israel might extend settlements freeze-ambassador ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Louis Charbonneau, Patrick Worsnip - October 18, 2010 - 12:00am [-] Text [+] | Subscribe | Email | Print | RSS INTERVIEW-Israel might extend settlements freeze-ambassador 18 Oct 2010 23:19:18 GMT Source: Reuters * Israel govt "looking into possibilities" - Israel envoy * Peace talks with Palestinians not dead, Reuben says By Patrick Worsnip and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Israel might renew a moratorium on building Jewish settlements in the West Bank after its end last month abruptly froze peace talks with the Palestinians, Israel's new U.N. ambassador said on Monday. » Read more

Israel pushes Palestinians to acknowledge its Jewish character ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - October 19, 2010 - 12:00am It sounds at first like a familiar Mideast tussle: Israel demands recognition, Arabs refuse to give it. But Israel's recent push to be recognized as a "Jewish" state is actually a new twist on an old struggle, and one that is rapidly turning into the latest stumbling block to faltering peace talks. Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its declaration of independence. U.S. Presidents Obama and George W. Bush have embraced the term, which was used in the 1947 U.N. resolution calling for the establishment of two states, one Jewish and the other Palestinian Arab. » Read more

Hamas has antiaircraft missiles, Israel says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times October 18, 2010 - 12:00am Jerusalem — The Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers have obtained antiaircraft missiles, Israel's prime minister said Monday, in a potentially game-changing development that could threaten the Israeli air force's ability to strike at the Islamic militant group. Israeli aircraft have long dominated the skies over Gaza, striking suspected Hamas military installations and assassinating dozens of wanted militants. The Israeli air force played a key role in a fierce three-week Gaza offensive in the winter of 2008-09, which began with airstrikes that killed hundreds of Hamas fighters. » Read more

Animated Ariel Sharon coma sculpture on show in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News October 19, 2010 - 12:00am A life-size sculpture of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is due to be unveiled at a gallery in Tel Aviv. The installation, by Israeli artist Noam Braslavsky, portrays Mr Sharon lying in a hospital bed in the coma he has been in since 2006. Curators said the installation, which appears to breathe, was an allegory for the "inertia of Israeli politics". Mr Sharon was one of Israel's most influential leaders. He has never recovered from a massive stroke. The 82-year-old remains in hospital in Tel Aviv, having never regained consciousness after suffering the stroke four years ago. » Read more

Budrus: A Palestinian story of non-violent protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Yolande Knell - October 17, 2010 - 12:00am "We don't have time for war. We want to raise our kids in peace and hope," he states in Hebrew, addressing any Israelis in the cinema audience. Mr Morrar comes from one of six small villages close to the occupied West Bank's border with Israel, which were due to be encircled by the Israeli separation barrier in 2003. The plans would have cut off Budrus residents' access to some 300 acres of land and torn up their olive trees. The film, produced by a Palestinian and an Israeli, follows the villagers' largely peaceful protests against the barrier. » Read more

Current West Bank olive harvest most violent in years, defense document reveals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - October 19, 2010 - 12:00am The current olive harvest has been the most violent of the last several years, an internal defense establishment document reveals. Two weeks ago, Palestinians and Jews throughout the West Bank began the harvest. Due to several violent incidents in previous years, plus court rulings requiring the army to protect the harvesters, the Israel Defense Forces, the police and the Civil Administration all prepared extensively to safeguard this year's harvest. » Read more

Please give generously, but not to armies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) October 19, 2010 - 12:00am Ideally, there would be no need for charity. But in a world of inequality and vulnerability, private donations can mean the difference between life and death, dignity and humiliation, or subsistence and sustainability. But even when it comes to charity, not all causes are created equal. Contrast, for instance, the global generosity following the 2004 Asian tsunami with the trickle of funds in the wake of the recent floods in Pakistan. » Read more

Palestinians plan UN resolution calling for settlement evacuation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - October 19, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian leadership, in conjunction with Arab states, plans to submit a resolution to the UN Security Council stating that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal and must be evacuated, Haaretz has learned. This initiative comes in place of an earlier idea of seeking Security Council recognition for a Palestinian state within pre-1967 lines. » Read more

Sephardi leader Yosef: Non-Jews exist to serve Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) October 18, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his weekly Saturday night sermon said that non-Jews exist to serve Jews. “Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel,” he said during a public discussion of what kind of work non-Jews are allowed to perform on Shabbat. "Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat," he said to some laughter. » Read more

Who made Netanyahu the leader of the Jewish people? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Tony Karon - (Opinion) October 18, 2010 - 12:00am 'Next, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will insist that he can't make peace with the Palestinians until they recognise the Jews as the Chosen People." That was the sarcastic tweet of one Jewish-American analyst on Israel's demand that Palestinians recognise it not only as a "Jewish state", but as "the national home of the Jewish people". » Read more