PNA slams Israel for "soft" verdict on soldiers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 21, 2010 - 1:00am The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday slammed Israel for handing down "soft" sentences against two soldiers accused of using a child as a human shield during the Gaza war. "Israel deliberately go easy with its soldiers who commit international law's violations against the Palestinian civilians," said Ghassan Al-Khatib, spokesman for the PNA. The two soldiers forced a nine-year-old boy to open a bag believed to have contained bombs. The incident happened during Israel's ground operation in January 2009 which followed a week of intensive airstrikes on Gaza. » Read more

Israel approves millions of dollars for Western Wall facelift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 22, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Sunday approved a plan to develop Jerusalem's Western Wall plaza which will cost 85 million shekels (about 23 million U.S. dollars), citing preservation of archaeological sites and the need to upgrade aging infrastructure as its main goals. The plan, slated to stretch from 2011 to 2015, is a "direct continuation of a plan that was approved in 2004," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement following the cabinet' s weekly meeting on Sunday. » Read more

Interview: Possibility of inter-Palestinian reconciliation within coming months slim: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - (Interview) November 22, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wassel Abu Yousef, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) and member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that he rules out the possibility of a reconciliation to be reached within the coming months amid the current situation. » Read more

Interview: Possibility of inter-Palestinian reconciliation within coming months slim: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly - (Interview) November 22, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wassel Abu Yousef, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) and member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that he rules out the possibility of a reconciliation to be reached within the coming months amid the current situation. » Read more

Israeli bill seen sinking future peace deals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ben Hubbard - November 21, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Israel's hawkish parliament is voting on legislation that could sink future peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria. Lawmakers are expected to approve Monday a bill that would make it harder for the government to cede east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in any future accords. The legislation would require a two-thirds majority in Israel's 120-seat parliament for territorial concessions to win approval. Without that super majority, the government would need to win approval in a national referendum. » Read more

Palestinian price index continues to rise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 15, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Consumer Price Index for October rose by 0.52 percent over the month, a report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said. Occupied East Jerusalem saw the strongest growth, experiencing a 0.83 percent rise in CPI, while in the West Bank the CPI rose by 0.36 percent. In the Gaza Strip however the CPI fell by 0.14 percent. The CPI across the occupied Palestinian territories stood at 131.36 in October, which was at 100 at its base year in 2004. » Read more

Settlers begin expanding settlement near Nablus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 21, 2010 - 1:00am NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers on Sunday started expanding the Rechalim settlement, illegally built on lands confiscated from farmers of the northern villages of Yatma and As-Sawiya south of Nablus, officials said. Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that bulldozers began digging this morning. He explained that settlers from Rechalim occupied hundreds of acres. » Read more

Israel army showed 'intent to kill' in Gaza shelling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Jared Malsin - November 21, 2010 - 1:00am BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (Ma’an) -- On 13 September, a day after Israeli tank shells decapitated his 16-year-old son, Walid Abu Oda went back to his family's northern Gaza farm in a vain search for the head. Asked how he was coping with the loss, he said, "How do you think it feels to lose a son, to see your son without his head?" » Read more

As Netanyahu pushes for settlement freeze deal, suburban Ariel could be sticking point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) November 21, 2010 - 1:00am Ariel, West Bank With some 20,000 residents, a new performing arts center, and a university-in-the-making, this sprawling suburb has fashioned itself as an everyday Israeli city rather than a settlement of religious fundamentalists. But because Ariel, the fourth-largest Jewish settlement, is located 11 miles deep into the West Bank, it could prove to be one of the thorniest points of contention in border negotiations that the US hopes will give momentum to stalled peace efforts. » Read more

Gazans shocked at how many neighbors, coworkers, officials are 'spying' for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Kristen Chick - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am Gaza City, Gaza To citizens of Gaza, the Hamas government’s campaign to uncover and uproot the network of collaborators with Israel has been shockingly effective. It began with a warning: the execution of two convicted collaborators in May. Then Hamas government officials, who were convinced that a wide network of spies was undermining their government, made an unprecedented offer: a two-month amnesty campaign. Collaborators could turn themselves in and be forgiven, their identities kept secret. » Read more