October 26th

Palestinians renew threat to seek UN recognition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK — The Palestinian president said Monday that Israel has been taking unilateral steps for decades by building settlements, so the Palestinians might take one of their own — asking the United Nations to recognize their independent state. President Mahmoud Abbas was replying to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the only path to peace is negotiations. The threat of unilateral action indicates the depth of the crisis over peace talks restarted just last month by President Barack Obama. » Read more

Kahane memorial to be held in Jerusalem despite local opposition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am The 20th anniversary of Kach leader Rabbi Meir Kahane's assassination will be commemorated on Tuesday in Jerusalem's Ramada Renaissance Hotel. The hotel's international management reneged on a previous promise to cancel the event following a protest by a Jerusalemite. The memorial event will be held under the slogan "Rabbi Kahane was right" and will be attended by MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union ) and possibly other Knesset members, an announcement posted on billboards across Jerusalem said. The announcement also said "family, rabbis and public figures" would attend. » Read more

Israel releases papers detailing formula of Gaza blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am n the three years since Hamas took control of Gaza, Israeli officials have employed mathematical formulas to monitor foodstuffs and other basic goods entering the Strip to ensure that the amount of supplies entering was neither less nor more than the amount Israel permitted, according to documents released last week. The documents - released Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act petition by the non-profit group Gisha - were drafted while Amos Gilad served as interim coordinator of government activities in the territories, heading the body that checked the goods. » Read more

One law, for Palestinian and Jewish terrorists alike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz October 26, 2010 - 12:00am The start of the annual olive harvest has been the signal for an onslaught of violence against Palestinian farmers by groups of settler thugs in recent years. Over the last few days, human rights activists - who, as they do every year, have mobilized to protect the harvesters and deter the criminals - have reported countless incidents: torched groves, chopped-down trees, stolen olives, vandalized tools and even physical attacks on farmers. » Read more

Feature: War on olives in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Nidal Ishtayeh - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am NABLUS, West Bank, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Abdel Karim Hussein, 38, was "shocked" after getting a permission from the Israeli army to reach his farm adjacent to the Alon Moreh Jewish settlement east of the West Bank city of Nablus, to harvest his olive trees. Hussein said the fence of the settlement occupies parts of his 325-dunum (325,000 square meters) farm. "Reaching the farm is a journey of torment, because I can only reach my land twice a year after coordination with the Israeli-Palestinian security liaison office." But getting the permission is far from getting a happy ending. » Read more

MK Dichter cancels Spain trip for fear of arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yuval Karni - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am MK Avi Dichter (Kadima) was planning on taking part in an international peace summit in Spain over the weekend, but was forced to cancel over fears he would be arrested, and possibly imprisoned, by Madrid authorities, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. According to report several days ago, a Spanish organization called The Madrid Coalition, invited Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part in a summit focusing on the peace process and the Saudi initiative. Senior officials from the Palestinian Authority, including Mohammed Dahlan had RSVP'd to the event. » Read more

Israeli army wounds one Gazan, arrests 16 in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from October 26, 2010 - 12:00am GAZA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli forces shot and injured a mentally disabled young man in northern Gaza Strip, medical sources said Tuesday. The man was lightly injured, said Adham Abu Selmia, a spokesman for the medical services of the deposed Hamas Interior Ministry. The Israeli forces on Erez crossing point spotted the man approaching the terminal without advanced arrangements and shot him, Abu Selmia noted. Israel allocated a 30-meter-wide buffer zone along its borders with Gaza. The Israeli troops often shot at Gazans who enter the area without special arrangements. » Read more

Palestinians renew threat to seek UN recognit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK — The Palestinian president said Monday that Israel has been taking unilateral steps for decades by building settlements, so the Palestinians might take one of their own — asking the United Nations to recognize their independent state. President Mahmoud Abbas was replying to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the only path to peace is negotiations. The threat of unilateral action indicates the depth of the crisis over peace talks restarted just last month by President Barack Obama. » Read more

'If Rabin were alive, we would have peace' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - October 22, 2010 - 12:00am Aaron David Miller, who served as an advisor on Mideast peace to six US secretaries of state in the 1990s, worked extensively with slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Now, on the 15th anniversary of his assassination, Miller says he believes Rabin could have changed history if he had been allowed to live. » Read more

Palestinians, Jews race to plant West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Diaa Hadid - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am BURQA, WEST BANK — Olive tree by olive tree, Palestinian farmers and Jewish settlers are competing over the rocky hills of the West Bank, planting more of the gnarled evergreens to strengthen their hold on the land. Now in harvest season, the battle gets rough, with orchards robbed, vandalized and burned. This year, the stakes have been raised: Palestinians have planted double the number of trees as in past seasons, and Jewish settlers have responded by boosting their own olive production. » Read more