Bill Clinton: Mideast peace would undercut terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News by Paul Schemm - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would take away much of the motivation for terrorism around the world. He described the long-running conflict as the key problem in the region and said resolving it would have a knock on effect that could result in Syria ending its support for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran turning back its controversial nuclear program. » Read more

For Netanyahu to accept new freeze, U.S. might have to sweeten the deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - (Analysis) October 5, 2010 - 12:00am Following reports of an unprecedented U.S. offer of a host of assurances in return for a 60-day extension of the freeze on building in West Bank settlements, some political analysts are wondering why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not grabbed the deal with both hands. According to the reports, President Obama is offering Netanyahu pledges that the United States will: * Not ask for additional extensions on the partial ban on settlement building, which expired Sept. 26; » Read more

Netanyahu, Abbas and the legitimacy deficit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Shlomo Ben-Ami - (Opinion) October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Since its inception in Oslo almost two decades ago, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been stymied by the dysfunctional political systems of both sides. Hostage of an impossible coalition and of a settlement movement of freelance fanatics, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's leadership is seriously compromised. His Palestinian counterparts are hardly in a better position. » Read more

PA: US working on 3-month freeze extension to save talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Ruth Eglash - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday that it had won the backing of Egypt, Jordan and several other Arab countries for its refusal to return to the negotiating table unless Israel extended the moratorium on settlement construction. The announcement was made following a meeting in Cairo between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A senior PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that the US administration was now talking about the possibility of extending the moratorium by an additional three months to avoid the collapse of the peace talks. » Read more

10 days after settlement freeze expires, 350 new units under construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am A Haaretz investigation reveals that since the building freeze in the West Bank was lifted ten days ago, bulldozers have been working furiously on the construction of 350 new housing units in various settlements. As the end of the freeze approached, the settlements have made great efforts to launch a massive building campaign in response. The Yesha Council has expressed satisfaction at the large amount of construction that has taken place so far. » Read more

Imam from Nazareth suspected of supporting terror groups ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Shin Bet forces arrested two Israeli Arabs, residents of Nazareth, on suspicion of supporting terror groups, illegal unionizing, and plotting to commit crimes, according to information released on Wednesday. The two men, Sheikh Nazem Abu Salim and Mohammed Naarani, will be tried in the Nazareth Magistrate's court, which issued a gag order on the details of the investigation. » Read more

Israel is now punishing Palestinians shamelessly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Behind a modest desk with a view of Beit Jala sits a nameless Shin Bet security service officer who is very pleased with himself. He has just saved the Jewish people in Israel from yet another grave security risk by preventing a 47-year-old woman, for five weeks now, from going abroad for urgent medical tests. » Read more

Gaza farmers harvest olives with peace activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Ahmed Aldabba, Osama Radi - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am For the first time in two months, Palestinian farmer Abdul Qader al-Basyoni, joined by international and local peace activists, managed to enter his olive farm which is dozens of meters away from the security fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel. The 50-year-old man with grey hair, from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, hurried to touch the ripe olive fruits that dangled on the branches in his deserted 20-donums (1,000 square meter) field located in the heart of a 300-meter wide no- man zone imposed by the Israeli army along its borders with the enclave in 2008. » Read more

Ministry fails to reimburse West Bank farmers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 6, 2010 - 12:00am West Bank farmers say they feel betrayed by the Palestinian Authority finance and agriculture ministries, after failing to meet promises of support for farmers whose land lies close to Israel's separation wall. Speaking to Ma'an, farmers from different West Bank areas slated for confiscation for the separation wall said they signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance, which would reimburse farmers for building water wells for irrigation at their own expense. » Read more

Hamas wing threatens PA leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas' military wing on Wednesday threatened to target Palestinian Authority officials "if PA security forces continue to detain and sue resistance activists in the West Bank." Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubayda read a statement on behalf of 12 military groups in the Gaza Strip saying "we are fed up with the PA security's behavior in the West Bank. Over the past period, we have preferred to give reconciliation efforts all the time needed, however, we hereby say we will not remain silent for long." » Read more