British FM backs non-violent struggle against security fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am British Foreign Minister William Hague on Wednesday met with the Palestinian prime minister and Israeli foreign minister, but his visit with Palestinian activists made the most headlines. Hague met with three senior Palestinian activists spearheading the popular struggle against Jewish settlements and the West Bank security fence, and expressed his support in their non-violent struggle. International Judgement Meridor cancels UK visit for fear of arrest / Attila Somfalvi » Read more

News Analysis: New US Congress affects Obama's Middle East policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Early results of the U.S. midterm elections indicate President Barack Obama's Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party has increased its presence in the Senate, which may affect Obama's role as a peace broker in the Middle East. When Obama convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year to impose a ten-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank so that the peace process could be resumed, hopes were high that it could lead to a breakthrough. » Read more

Israeli media weigh impact of U.S. midterm election on Obama's Mideast policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Gur Salomon - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The Republican party's victory in the U.S. House of Representatives has made Israeli media to think its impacts on President Barack Obama's Middle East policy, U.S.- Israeli relations and the future of the stalled Israeli- Palestinian peace talks. Despite Obama's attention to the foreign policy front, with most efforts channelled to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, U.S. analysts attribute the Democrats' loss of control over Congress to American voters' dissatisfaction with Obama's economic policies. » Read more

Israel cuts off special dialogue with Britain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Daniel Estrin - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has suspended a special strategic dialogue with London as long as Israeli officials visiting Britain face possible arrest for suspected war crimes against Palestinians, officials said Wednesday. The announcement came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Officials from both countries said the matter would be high on the meeting's agenda, and the British Foreign Office said it was working to resolve the matter. British officials also said Hague would repeat Britain's criticism of West Bank settlements. » Read more

Israel takes aim at Palestinian 'incitement' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ian Deitch - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel announced Wednesday it will officially monitor "incitement" by the Palestinians, taking aim at what it says are widespread provocations against the Jewish state that undermine efforts to reach Mideast peace. The announcement further strained an atmosphere that has grown increasingly tense in recent weeks following the breakdown of U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace talks. Palestinians accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to divert attention away from the impasse in the negotiations and its own failures to live up to obligations, such as a settlement freeze. » Read more

Clinton plans to meet Israel's Netanyahu next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 4, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the United States next week. "I do intend to see Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United States next week," Clinton told reporters at a news conference with Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, the second-to-last stop on her two-week Asia-Pacific tour. » Read more

Poll: 56% oppose resuming talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am More than half of Palestinians in the occupied territories oppose a return to direct negotiations with Israel in the face of ongoing West Bank settlement expansion, an opinion poll released Wednesday suggests. The survey, from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, prepared by Beit Sahour-based pollster Nabil Kukali, also showed that 56.2 percent wanted rival Palestinian factions to sign Egypt's proposal for political reconciliation. » Read more

Abbas: US trying to restart peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Continuous efforts have been made by US mediators to bring stalled peace talks back on track, President Mahmoud Abbas told the Kuwait News Agency KUNA on Wednesday. As PA officials insist that the midterm elections - which took seats in the nation's congress away from President Barack Obama's Democratic party - will not harm the process, Abbas said officials from all parties involved were continuing efforts. » Read more

PA court to hear first settlements case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The first case of smuggling goods from settlements into West Bank shops was filed in a Bethlehem court Wednesday, in a move that will test a new Palestinian Authority law prohibiting the sale of such products. Although customs officers have patrolled West Bank shops and detained several people since the law went into effect over the summer, the case of the Bethlehem merchant will be the first to see the inside of a courtroom. » Read more

Finish Rabin’s Work ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Bill Clinton - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am TODAY marks 15 years since an assassin’s bullet killed my friend, Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister. Since his death, not a week has gone by that I have not missed him. I loved him and his wife, Leah, very much. On the occasion of the anniversary of his death, his yahrzeit, the world would do well to remember the lessons of his life: his vision for freedom, tolerance, cooperation, security and peace is as vital now as it was 15 years ago, when he happily spoke and sang for peace at a huge rally in Tel Aviv just before he was killed. » Read more