Israel refuses to freeze Jerusalem development ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National November 18, 2010 - 1:00am Israel insisted Thursday it would keep building homes in disputed east Jerusalem, threatening to hold up a US-proposed settlement construction moratorium designed to renew deadlocked Mideast peacemaking. The contours of the moratorium deal, as presented by Israeli officials after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from the U.S. last week, had appeared to be clearly agreed upon. » Read more

Netanyahu says close to deal with U.S. on West Bank settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 18, 2010 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he was close to reaching an understanding with the United States regarding a package of incentives Washington will offer in exchange for a 90-day construction freeze in the West Bank. Netanyahu's office issued a statement late Wednesday saying he hopes to conclude contacts with the U.S. soon in order to bring present the deal to his 15-member Security Cabinet - a group of senior government ministers split between pragmatists and hard-liners. » Read more

U.S. official: Israel must refrain from East Jerusalem construction during freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - November 18, 2010 - 1:00am The United States will demand that Israel refrain from construction in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as part of a 90-day settlement freeze Secretary Hillary Clinton has requested in exchange for a package of incentives, a U.S. official told Haaretz on Thursday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scrambling to gather cabinet support for the settlement freeze. The ultra-Orthodox party Shas currently holds the balance of votes on the matter. » Read more

IDF officer suspected of blocking probe into Gaza civilian death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - November 18, 2010 - 1:00am An Israel Defense Forces officer is being probed for obstructing an investigation into the death of a Palestinian civilian during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip while he was serving as batallion commander. The officer is suspected of failing to submit the results of an inquiry regarding the woman, who was killed when she and a group of civilians approached a station of the Givati Brigade in January 2009, during Israel's three-week offensive on the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Qaeda-linked group threatens Israelis, in Hebrew ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mahmoud Habboush, Dan Williams - November 18, 2010 - 1:00am DUBAI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked group issued a Hebrew threat on Thursday to avenge Israel's killing of two Gaza militants, in what an expert said was the first use of the language for such propaganda. In the half-minute-long recording posted on a website used by declared al Qaeda affiliates, a hoarse male voice tells the "aggressor Jews" they will not be safe from rockets and other attacks until they "leave the land of Palestine". The speaker identifies himself as a member of the group Jemaa Ansar al-Sunna or "Community of Sunna Supporters", which has a presence in Gaza. » Read more

Residents fume as court approves Jewish-only housing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 18, 2010 - 1:00am TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- A recent Israeli Supreme Court decision to give the green light to an organization that intends to build a Jewish-only apartment complex in the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Ajami in Jaffa has local residents and associations up in arms. “We are very disappointed from the decision of the [Supreme] Court,” said Sami Abu Shahadeh, the Coordinator of Darna, The Popular Committee for Housing Rights in Jaffa. » Read more

Jerusalem official told to 'evict' Silwan settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from November 18, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's attorney general has asked its Jerusalem city council to implement a 2007 court order evicting Jewish settlers from a building in East Jerusalem, the justice ministry said Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen said Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein had written to its municipality and its city police over repeated delays in carrying out the eviction order. "He told them there is no alternative and asked them to implement the order," Cohen told Agence France-Presse. » Read more

Half Netanyahu's party against new freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 17, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (DPA) -- Around half of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 27-member parliamentary caucus have signed a petition rejecting a new temporary freeze on construction in West Bank settlements, Israeli media reported Wednesday. The temporary freeze, proposed by the US, is aimed at enticing Palestinians back to the negotiating table, but at least four Likud Party cabinet ministers are among the signatories to the petition. » Read more

Palestinians meet Golan Druze in makeshift soccer friendly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Moshe Harush - November 18, 2010 - 1:00am The main boulevard in Hebron, Ein Sara, was decked out in celebration yesterday, not only because of the Holiday of the Sacrifice being marked but a soccer fest between the Palestinian national team and an all-star Druze squad from the Golan Heights. Billboards with the images of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Syrian President Bashar Assad and the father of the Palestinian people, Yasser Arafat, were proudly displayed. The smells of scorched meat wafted in the air, beckoning to the masses. » Read more

Israeli air strike kills two Islamist militants in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News November 18, 2010 - 1:00am An Israeli air strike has killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. The men, who were brothers, belonged to the Army of Islam - a radical group which Israel says is affiliated with al-Qaeda. Israel said one of the men had been involved in a plot to kidnap its citizens in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It is the second time this month that Israel has targeted the group. The Israeli army said the two men were killed when their car was stuck by a missile in Gaza City. » Read more