Hamas on killing spree in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Alex Fishman - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am News stories about bodies found at sea are occasionally published by Gaza newspapers. The number of such bodies isn't huge, yet not all those drowning victims chose to go swimming voluntarily. The Gazans who found their death at sea include mid-level officials at sensitive government ministries, the Interior Ministry for example, alongside police and security officers. Some of them were shot in the head before being sent on their swim. » Read more

'Voluntary Settler Return Law’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ami Ayalon - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is impossible to defer any longer. Most importantly, we will soon be facing the end of the construction freeze imposed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last year, the convening of the Knesset’s winter session, the recent Arab League resolutions and the elections for the two houses of Congress in the United States. This quadrangle of political influence is a signal that we must act now. » Read more

Rabbis refuse questioning over war book ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Two prominent rabbis from the national-religious camp refused police requests on Monday that they undergo questioning for their endorsements of a controversial book authored by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. The book, Torat Hamalech (The King’s Torah), discusses the rules of war and states that in certain situations, non-Jews can be killed. The book has attracted a firestorm of controversy since being published in 2009, and police questioned Shapira over the text last month while raiding his yeshiva, Od Yosef Chai, in Yitzhar in order to confiscate copies. » Read more

Barak contradicts Netanyahu's testimony on flotilla ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Atilla Somfalvi - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Speaking before the Turkel Commission probing the raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in May, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday contradicted statement's made by the prime minister on Monday, who told the committee the seven-minister forum only discussed the media aspects of stopping the flotilla and did not address the operational aspects. » Read more

A Talk with Palestinian Negotiator Ahmed Qurei ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Kifah Zaboun - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat- Ahmed Qurei, who is also known by his Arabic Kunya Abu Alaa, is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and a veteran negotiator. In 1968 he joined the Fatah political party, and lived in exile with its founder, Yasser Arafat. After improving the economic fortunes of the party, he became a member of the Fatah central committee in 1989, and subsequently went on to play a prominent role in peace negotiations. He is highly regarded for the instrumental role he played in negotiating the Oslo accords of 1993. » Read more

Barak: Peace process will get world off our back ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Atilla Somfalvi - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak took advantage of his testimony to the Turkel Committee, probing the deadly Navy raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, to voice political messages as well. "The key for changing Israel's legitimacy, and the ability to get the world off our back, is to restart a comprehensive peace process, to utilize the chance to reach agreements to the fullest, particularly with the Palestinians, despite the difficult price," he said. » Read more

The Mideast ‘peace process’ could end in permanent war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Shlomo Ben-Ami - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Twenty years after the Madrid Peace conference, and 10 years after President Bill Clinton’s heroic efforts at Camp David failed to yield a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, one cannot escape the conclusion that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has become one of the most spectacular deceptions in modern diplomatic history. » Read more

'I take full responsibility,' Barak tells Gaza flotilla probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday took "full responsibility" for Israel's deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, saying the government had foreseen the potential for violence when it decided to launch the operation. Testifying before an Israeli investigative committee - which foreshadows an impending United Nations probe - Barak said he accepted full responsibility for the instructions given to the military over its interception of six Gaza-bound ships. » Read more

Editorial: Crux of the problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) August 10, 2010 - 12:00am When last week the Arab League backed restarting direct peace talks between the Palestinians Authority and Israel, but only when the Palestinians believe the circumstances are right, the response of Hamas was of angry rejection. The movement’s Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal not only said that such negotiations were illegitimate, he denied the Arab League’s right to make such a pronouncement. » Read more

Abbas to reject direct talks before setting peace references ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 10, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will tell the visiting U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell that he will not go to direct talks unless peace references are set, a Palestinian official said Tuesday. Abbas will meet Tuesday with Mitchell in the West Bank city of Ramallah to discuss the efforts made to push forward the stalled peace process. "We reiterated in many occasions that we are ready to jump to direct talks," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told the official Voice of Palestine radio. » Read more