Netanyahu’s subtle, insidious, unworkable demand ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 21, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently been reiterating the demand he has focused on since regaining power that Palestinians and other Arabs recognize Israel as not only a “Jewish state” but specifically as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.” This demand has been flatly rejected not only by the Palestinian leadership, but more recently by the Arab League. » Read more

Time for the Palestinians to regroup ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am I was in Amman last week on the same day that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton passed through for lunch with the king of Jordan and stressed how all the negotiators on the Palestinian-Israeli track were very serious about reaching an agreement. I was also in the Jordan Valley gazing across at some of the Israeli settlements as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged not to negotiate for a moment more if the Israelis continued building settlements after their partial freeze ended this month. » Read more

Hamas and Dialogue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali Ibrahim - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am It is not the first time that Hamas has announced its desire to begin dialogue with the United States. The only thing that is new this time is its' insistence. Hamas issued a statement confirming that it has sent a message to Barack Obama, via a US delegation that recently visited Gaza, inviting him to open direct dialogue with the group, and to remove what the group considers to be an American veto on Palestinian reconciliation. » Read more

Israel's unreasonable demand ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Omar Rahman - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am "The Palestinians must recognise Israel as a Jewish state." This is the mantra of the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who has been promoting this controversial idea as a condition of any peace deal. But is such recognition valid, necessary, or even appropriate? This question will certainly remain at the heart of negotiations with an Israeli leadership that views such recognition as imperative. Although this is not the first time Israel has sought some form of validation, it varies from the past in stark and troubling ways. » Read more

Rumors of Collaboration Leave Gazans Uneasy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am The arrest of an unknown number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and belligerent statements by Hamas officials have sparked rumors that many of the detainees could be charged with collaborating with Israel, a crime punishable by death. Human Rights activists and family members of some of the detained men told The Media Line that these detainees have virtually disappeared and haven’t been heard from in weeks. » Read more

Gov’t prepares ‘contingency plans’ if direct talks blow up ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am With five days left until the settlement construction moratorium ends, talks are continuing in the US between Israeli, Palestinian Authority and American officials to find a “creative” solution to the issue, even as Jerusalem was preparing for the possibility the PA may indeed walk away from direct talks over the matter. » Read more

Settlers: Damage caused by construction freeze is long term ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Aviel Magnezi - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am The settler leadership in the West Bank said that initially only a few hundred housing units will be built once the construction moratorium expires on September 26, Ynet reported Tuesday night. One leader said the "damage" caused by the freeze will be mitigated only in the long term. "Estimates by left-wing organizations' saying the construction of about 2,000 housing units will be approved if the freeze ends entirely are fairly accurate, but it won't happen immediately. This process will take some time," he said. » Read more

Be a man, freeze the settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) September 22, 2010 - 12:00am Leaders are tested by their ability to spot opportunities and leverage them for their own benefit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has such an opportunity. He must convene the cabinet on Sunday and inform it that the freeze on settlement construction will be extended by three months, during which he will conduct intensive negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the future border between Israel and Palestine. » Read more

Fayyad, Ayalon meeting ends abruptly over two-state solution dispute ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Shamir - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am A meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, which coordinates financial aid for Palestinians, ended abruptly Tuesday in New York due to a disagreement between Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on the terms of a two-state solution. Ayalon canceled a scheduled joint press conference with Fayyad after the meeting. "We did not reach an agreement because the Palestinians did not agree to the terms of a two-state solution," Ayalon told Haaretz. » Read more

Palestinians forced to claw their way to building Israel's dream homes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am In Bethlehem, several hundred meters from the separation fence, a vague commotion is audible. Moving closer to the fence, you can see the full, unpleasant scene. It's 4 A.M. and underneath the fence, hundreds of people are cramming into a corridor bounded by iron bars. The corridor is several hundred meters long and a meter and a half wide. Young men in their 20s push their way next to others over 60. They yell, argue, hit and do whatever else they need to in order to get through the crossing as quickly as possible. Almost all work legally in Israel, building Israelis' dream homes. » Read more