November 1st

Let Palestinian police control Area C ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Kieron Monks - November 1, 2010 - 12:00am When Israeli officials say security is their highest priority, they do not mean in Area C. The 60% of the West Bank placed under their military control since the 1993 Oslo Accords has descended into lawlessness on their watch. Israel could stabilise areas plagued by violence and crime, and further its own interests, by conceding security responsibilities in these areas to the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

A rabbi struggles to protect his Palestinian flock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - November 1, 2010 - 12:00am Arik Ascherman is sitting inside a fortified and heavily guarded Israeli police compound in the West Bank. With him are two Palestinian farmers he has persuaded to report a theft, and a uniformed officer whom he is educating in the story of Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot. » Read more

PA economy minister: Settlement removal is priority ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 1, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Eliminating settlements from occupied Palestinian territory is the national objective and the basis for the government-led settlement boycott, Palestinian Authority National Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said Saturday. Since taking office a year ago, Libdeh has led a campaign to end the sale of settlement produce in the West Bank. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced the boycott in January 2010, and it was implemented across the West Bank in May. » Read more

Bibi, Biden To Meet at Sidelines of Federation GA ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) October 31, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Vice President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America. Netanyahu told the Israeli Cabinet Sunday that at the New Orleans conference he will discuss with Biden and other senior U.S. administration figures”a series of issues, including of course the resumption of the diplomatic process in order to reach a peace agreement with security for the future of the State of Israel.” Netanyahu and Biden are featured speakers at the annual General Assembly, which is being held Nov. 5-9. » Read more

Secret Negotiations: Palestinian State in Return for Israeli Land Lease? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali El-saleh, Nazar Majli - October 29, 2010 - 12:00am Asharq Al-Awsat has learnt from informed sources that secret talks have been talking place between the US and Israel on the formation of a Palestinian state. Washington and Tel Aviv have discussed a Palestinian state being established in return for Israel leasing land from the Palestinian Authority; this includes land in occupied eastern Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. The sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that this land-lease deal would last for a period of time between 40 and 99 years. » Read more

Erekat: Arabs to bring Palestinian issue to UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 1, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Egypt has proposed a joint Arab initiative to bring Palestinian demands for statehood to the United Nations, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chief negotiator Saeb Erekat has told Ma'an. He told Ma'an Radio that one aim of this plan, which he said is close to being finalized, would be to force Israel to stop expanding West Bank settlements before resuming negotiations. Erekat said the idea of approaching the UN stemmed from the US government's failure to stop Israel from expanding settlements. » Read more

Editorial: Hijacking the history ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) October 31, 2010 - 12:00am Athough it won’t say so, the recent decision by UNESCO to define two mosques in the occupied territories as Palestinian is a reply to Israel that earlier this year registered the mosques — the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque near Bethlehem, and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron — as its national heritage sites. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the sites would be renovated “in order to reconnect Israelis to their history” even though the two mosques are located in the heart of Palestinian population centers where no significant Jewish population exists. » Read more

Enough Game-Playing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) October 29, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been suspended for four weeks, about as long as they were on. The more protracted the impasse, the harder it will be for the parties to get back to the negotiating table. More delay only plays into the hands of extremists. Both sides are at fault. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has refused President Obama’s request to extend a moratorium on construction in the Jewish settlements for a modest 60 days. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has refused to negotiate until building in the settlements stops. » Read more

Obama can let Palestinians seek state recognition at the UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) October 29, 2010 - 12:00am President Obama may soon have an unusual chance to serve the cause of Middle East peace by remaining silent. He could quietly acquiesce to a move being considered by Palestinian leaders to ask the United Nations to recognize a state of Palestine. Such a request would only be necessary in one case: if Israel effectively ends any hope of renewed peace negotiations by continuing to build Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory in the West Bank. » Read more

As stonethrowing escalates, Israeli police round up Arab children in E. Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - October 29, 2010 - 12:00am Jerusalem — Amid rising Israeli-Arab tensions, Israeli police are waging a crackdown on Palestinian youths – many not yet teenagers – in East Jerusalem’s most volatile neighborhood, Silwan. In a recent incident, M., a slightly chubby 10-year-old with dark eyes, was harmed by a group of plainclothes forces who sprang out of an unmarked car and grabbed him off the street, according to his father's account, which was backed up by other residents. (M.'s full name could not be used because of an Israeli law protecting juveniles.) » Read more