November 11th

It is time for the US to show it is an honest broker ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) November 11, 2010 - 1:00am It is not often that a diplomatic row plays out in front of a global audience - especially when two heads of state are involved. So it was no small matter that the US president Barack Obama openly expressed his dismay at the newly announced Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem during his visit to Indonesia this week. » Read more

Obama and the Harvesting of Disappointments. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Elias Harfoush - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am This week, Benjamin Netanyahu had Washington “to himself”. The climate in the American capital could not have been better for the prime minister of Israel. His defeated rival, Barack Obama, was outside the capital, on an Asian trip that American commentators described as the best possible opportunity for him to catch his breath after his historic defeat in the mid-term elections. » Read more

Editorial: Obama and Muslims ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am So President Barack Obama thinks that more works needs to be done to end Muslim mistrust of the US but that he is making progress on reducing misunderstanding between the two. The US president is either living in an ivory tower, totally divorced from reality, or he is being thoroughly dishonest, hoping that Muslims can be fobbed off with fine words. » Read more

November 10th

Obama's defeat is bad news for the peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am The results of the US mid-term elections last Tuesday were not only bad news for the Democrats and the White House, but also for the Palestinians. President Barack Obama will emerge weaker at home now that the House of Representatives has been retaken by the Republicans. The Democratic majority in the Senate has been drastically reduced and while the people have spoken it is now up to the President and Congress to find a formula to govern in the remaining two years of Obama's term. » Read more

The Audacity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am The international community lacks merit, honesty, objectivity and credibility, when it focuses its attention on the issue of Iran's nuclear program, and yet turns a blind eye to the alarming situation that is Israel's well-established nuclear activity. This issue must be a cause for concern, considering the fact that Israel has a dangerous record in occupying the lands of others, and in unlawfully assaulting the property of neighbouring and non-neighbouring states, in a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions. » Read more

Israeli tactics are 'uniting' Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - (Opinion) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is in the United States this week, but few observers expect an immediate or significant breakthrough in the stalled peace talks with the Palestinian leadership. In public, Mr Netanyahu maintains he is committed to the pledge he made last year, shortly after he formed his right-wing government, to work towards the creation of a demilitarised Palestinian state. » Read more

Hard times drive Gazans into perilous 'buffer zone' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News by Jon Donnison - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am Basam and Mustapha Adwan make for a sorry sight. In their small, cramped house in northern Gaza, which they share with 12 other family members, 24-year-old Basam sits in a wheelchair. His younger brother Mustapha sits on the floor, his crutches by his side. Both men have heavily bandaged right feet. They say they were shot by Israeli soldiers while working close to the border. "Normally they give a warning shot," says Basam, who says he was shot a month ago. "But this time there was no warning. The bullet went right through my foot." He winces as he remembers the pain. Trade flourishing » Read more

Jaffa imam arrested on terror claims ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Eli Senyor - November 10, 2010 - 1:00am Police have arrested an additional imam for terror-related offenses, after Nazareth cleric was arrested this week on charges for inciting to terrorism. Jaffa's Muhammad Ayash, of the al-Bahr mosque, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in security offences. The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court extended his remand by eight days and placed a gag order on most of the details of the case. Ayash was arrested Tuesday by investigators working in tandem with the Shin Bet. Police searched his home and then took him to an interrogation facility in Petah Tikva. » Read more

Livni: Two-state solution only way to keep Israel Jewish and democratic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - November 10, 2010 - 1:00am A two-state solution is the only way to keep Israel as a Jewish democratic state, opposition leader and Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni said on Tuesday in an address to the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. "A Jewish state is a homeland for the Jewish people," she said. "It's not a religious state or halachic state. A Jewish state is a sovereign state that can take the decisions about the future of Israel but takes into consideration the concerns of the world Jewry." » Read more

Israel's latest building plan is a pointless provocation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am "That's my character," the scorpion says to the frog, in a familiar joke, as it stings the frog to death after being transported by its victim across the river. It appears that the Interior Ministry, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee and planning authorities in Ariel suffer from similar symptoms. » Read more