December 10th

No clear successor should Abbas leave the stage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am Washington's Mideast peace efforts are in trouble as it is, but an additional complication is often overlooked: Should 76-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a heavy smoker prone to threats of resignation, leave office, there's no designated successor and no agreement on how to choose one. Having a Palestinian leader opposed to violence is key to U.S. policy in the region, and Abbas has filled that role for the past six years. A turbulent transition could seriously weaken any new leader. » Read more

Israel draws international rebuke over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am The European Union, the United Nations and the Arab League have rebuked Israel after its refusal to halt settlement construction forced Washington to drop efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday stuck to his position that he won't negotiate without a freeze of Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — lands captured by Israel and sought by the Palestinians for their state. He spoke after meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. » Read more

Top Israeli rabbi slams anti-Arab edict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman December 10, 2010 - 1:00am A top Israeli rabbi has condemned a controversial ruling forbidding renting or selling property to non-Jews. That ruling, which won the support of three dozen rabbis this week, has drawn vocal criticism in Israel. Israel's attorney general is weighing possible charges against the rabbis. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv — considered the top rabbinic authority for many ultra-Orthodox Jews — weighed in against those rabbis on Thursday. » Read more

More Mideast talks futile without US shift ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Tom Perry - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am More Middle East peace talks will be "an exercise in futility" unless the United States "curbs Israeli violations," a leading Palestinian said. Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran of the 20-year-old peace process, faulted the U.S. approach for giving Israel time to expand settlements and deepen its control over the land where the Palestinians aim to found a sovereign state. "I've had enough," said Ashrawi, a member of the delegation which negotiated with Israel for two years from 1991. » Read more

Palestinians weigh options as talks freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Paralysis in U.S.-backed peace talks is prompting debate among Palestinians on alternatives to the two-decade old diplomatic process. The chances of another Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, similar to that which erupted when peace talks with Israel hit a dead-end a decade ago, are seen as remote. » Read more

Top PA officials head to Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad and chief negotiator Saeb Erakat were on Thursday flying to Washington to hold talks with top US officials over the crisis in peace talks. Fayyad was to hold talks with Hillary Clinton early on Friday ahead of a conference at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at which the secretary of state was to give a keynote address outlining a new strategy for advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. » Read more

Rabbis tell Israeli Jews not to rent to Arabs; even Holocaust museum frowns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis have signed a religious opinion calling on Jews not to rent or sell real estate to Arabs, sparking public uproar and debate over the essence of Judaism and its place in Israel's democracy. For Israeli Arab teens, a way to serve the country – without joining the army Israeli documentary captures citizen reconciliation – and encourages more » Read more

Medics: 2 teens killed by old Israeli shell ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Two Palestinian teenagers was killed when an artillery shell left behind by Israeli forces exploded in Gaza Friday morning, medics said. Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said 16-year-old Victor Batniji was dead when he arrived at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. Moumin Helles, also 16, died shortly after arriving at the hospital, after being wounded in the same incident in the Shujaiyya area. An Israeli military spokesman said the army was aware of an explosion in the area but "nothing IDF [Israel Defense Forces] related." » Read more

Medics: 2 teens killed by old Israeli shell ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Two Palestinian teenagers was killed when an artillery shell left behind by Israeli forces exploded in Gaza Friday morning, medics said. Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said 16-year-old Victor Batniji was dead when he arrived at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. Moumin Helles, also 16, died shortly after arriving at the hospital, after being wounded in the same incident in the Shujaiyya area. An Israeli military spokesman said the army was aware of an explosion in the area but "nothing IDF [Israel Defense Forces] related." » Read more

Gaza blockade over? Not according to the UN. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Kristen Chick - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am More than two months after Israel approved the entry of construction materials for humanitarian projects in Gaza as part of the loosening of its blockade of the coastal enclave, only a tiny fraction of the needed materials have arrived. In Gaza, electric cars offer a way around Israel’s blockade Gaza busts out of its blockade Israel-Hamas standoff deepens water woes » Read more