Amid settlements impasse, signs peace talks may continue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Laura Rozen - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am Despite intense American negotiations going on into the night, a partial Israeli West Bank settlement freeze expired Sunday with no apparent deal reached. Yet there were signs Monday that the U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks might continue in spite of the current settlements impasse. » Read more

Abbas vows to continue with talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English September 26, 2010 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has said Palestinians would not immediately walk away from peace talks with Israel even if it does not extend a 10-month limited settlement moratorium due to expire on Sunday at midnight. Abbas's comments on Sunday came as diplomatic efforts intensified to try to get Israel to extend the partial freeze on construction by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. » Read more

Jewish settlers claim biblical birthright to land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Maayan Lubell - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am YITZHAR, West Bank, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Jewish settler Avraham Binyamin says any Israeli withdrawal from occupied land would be like severing a limb from his body. As one of some 300,000 Israelis living in enclaves built on West Bank land that Palestinians seek for a state, Binyamin expresses a view held by many that the area is a Jewish biblical birthright and must never be relinquished, not even for peace. » Read more

Israel's West Bank settlement slowdown expires; no Palestinian decision to quit peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman September 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's West Bank settlement slowdown expires; no Palestinian decision to quit peace talks.

AP photographer wounded during West Bank protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman September 25, 2010 - 12:00am An Associated Press photographer suffered a broken rib on Saturday while being detained by Israeli security forces during a protest in the West Bank. The photographer, Nasser Shiyoukhi, was injured in Beit Omar, a Palestinian village where residents, joined by foreign activists, hold a weekly protest against a nearby Jewish settlement. During Saturday's protest, Israeli security forces physically scuffled with activists who pushed them and yelled at them. The forces frequently fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. » Read more

Top Likud minister: Obama knows settlements are part of Jewish homeland ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jonathan Lis - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am A holiday toast at the home of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Sunday evening turned quickly from a festive gathering into a triumphant celebration to mark the end of Israel's temporary freeze on construction in the West Bank. Thousands of activists from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's faction crowded the lawn outside Katz's estate in Moshav Kfar Achim, where their host declared that Israel should never accede to international pressure when it comes to exhibiting their right to settle in the Jewish homeland. » Read more

PA says 'quiet' construction freeze to go on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am Renewed Israeli construction in the West Bank following the settlement freeze's expiration will be limited and won't prompt the Palestinian Authority to quit direct talks with Israel, a senior PA official says. The senior official, who is closely familiar with the negotiations, told Ynet Monday that construction will not be renewed in a manner that would "embarrass" the PA. » Read more

Clinton asks Arab leaders to support Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am As officials in the US administration scramble to find a last-minute solution to the West Bank settlement building freeze, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met in the past few days with senior officials from the Arab states in order to promote peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. » Read more

Divided city of Hebron shows challenge of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am The growth of a Jewish settlement next to Hany Abu Haykel's home means the Palestinian needs an Israeli permit to use his front gate. Hardly anyone visits, he says. Guests need permission to reach the house where he was born 41 years ago, in an old neighbourhood of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Abu Haykel's family must trek through an olive grove patrolled by Israeli soldiers to enter the house the back way. » Read more

Painted into a corner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Nahum Barnea - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am The following question shall not appear in the next history matriculation exam at Israeli high schools: Three politicians – Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mahmoud Abbas – painted themselves into a corner and didn’t know how to get out of it. Who will go down now? The answer: None of them. Not immediately, The only thing that would crumple is the small chance of advancing an Israeli-Palestinian deal. » Read more