October 6th

Risks and Advantages in U.S. Effort in Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am When President Obama reopened face-to-face talks between the Israelis and Palestinians last month, he pledged that his administration would hold their hands but warned, “The United States cannot impose an agreement, and we cannot want it more than the parties themselves.” With the negotiations deadlocked over the issue of Jewish settlements, several veterans of Middle East peacemaking said Mr. Obama’s warning had come true — only weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to sit down. » Read more

October 5th

Israel deports pro-Palestinian Nobel laureate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Josef Federman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel on Tuesday expelled an Irish Nobel peace laureate and pro-Palestinian activist who was barred from the country for trying to bust the naval blockade of Gaza. Mairead Corrigan Maguire was placed on an early morning flight to Britain, the Interior Ministry said. She had been banned from Israel for 10 years after trying to sail to Gaza on a blockade-busting ship in June. Still, she landed in Tel Aviv last week as part of a delegation meeting Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. » Read more

Egypt president warns of 'global terror' if Mideast peace talks fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that a failure in Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations would lead to "violence and terrorism" across the world. In an interview with the journal of the Egyptian armed forces, given to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he said he has told several leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that "if the peace process collapses, violence and terrorism will erupt in the Middle East and all over the world." » Read more

Poll: Most Palestinians back dropping talks if Israel builds settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz October 4, 2010 - 12:00am A majority of Palestinians would want to withdraw from Middle East peace negotiations if Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, according to a public opinion poll published Monday. The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, found that 66 per cent of participants supported that position. » Read more

Korans burnt in West Bank mosque attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Douglas Hamilton - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am BEIT FAJJAR, West Bank, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Jewish settlers opposed to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians were accused of setting fire to a mosque in the West Bank on Monday, burning the Koran and scrawling threats in Hebrew on its walls. "Mosques, we burn," said a warning scribbled at the door of the smoke-smudged mosque of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for cool heads to avert the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks. » Read more

ADL 'outraged' by West Bank mosque arson, condemns extremist Jewish violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am The Anti-Defamation League on Monday condemned the torching of a Palestinian mosque in the West Bank, an act believed to have been carried out by angry settlers as part of their "price tag operation. ? "We are outraged by the attack on the mosque in Bayt Fajar,” Anti-Defamation League Israel office said in a statement. “We join with Israeli officials in condemning this act of hate, and hope that the joint IDF-Palestinian investigative team will identify and apprehend the perpetrators of this vicious act and bring them to justice according to the law." » Read more

Poet Zach: Israel apartheid state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Boaz Fyler - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am The Knesset is on the offensive as one of Israel's leading poets has announced his intent to join the next flotilla to Gaza. Natan Zach condemned the government and said he was willing to join activists attempting to reach Gaza via flotillas. He added that while visiting Germany, he witnessed a huge rally where Israel was labeled as an "apartheid state. "I do not wish to live in such state," he said. Zach told Ynet that he did not understand why his statements caused such uproar. » Read more

Study shows Israelis, Palestinians both retaliate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Maggie Fox - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - An unusual attempt to quantify the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians shows that both act in retaliation for violent attacks, researchers reported on Monday. They said their findings defy the perception that Palestinians attack randomly and demonstrate that both sides damage their own interests with acts of violence. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers also said they hope to shed some light on the psychology that makes both Israelis and Palestinians feel they are the victims in the conflict. » Read more

Play the wild card ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ami Kaufman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am Pessimism,” “doomed to fail” and “waste of time” – these words and phrases litter the reporting and blogging on the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians. One can only hope to be pleasantly surprised and hear that by the end of next summer they will be deemed a success. But seeing as how the pessimists seem to be a majority, now may just be the time to think of creative ways to end the stalemate. One possibility would be for a third party to change the rules of the game. This would fundamentally change the status quo and force the two sides to act accordingly. » Read more

New US consulate to open in west Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Melanie Lidman - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am After six years of construction, the American Consulate in Jerusalem will open its new facility for consular services on Rehov David Flusser in the southern Arnona neighborhood next Tuesday. The office that previously dealt with consular services, located on Nablus Road in east Jerusalem, will remain open for consulate programs, along with the facility in west Jerusalem on Rehov Agron, and America House, a cultural outreach center in east Jerusalem. » Read more