September 22nd

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

AP Exclusive: Palestinian hints at settlement deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Josef Federman - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian president has left the door open to continuing peace negotiations with Israel even if it resumes settlement construction in the West Bank, offering a glimmer of hope that a compromise will be reached in a key dispute that has threatened to torpedo the newly relaunched talks. But in a reminder of the fragile negotiating climate, a private Israeli security guard shot and killed a Palestinian man in a volatile east Jerusalem neighborhood early Wednesday, sparking clashes between stone-hurling youths and Israeli forces. » Read more

Hamas action to catch spies spreads panic in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ibrahim Barzak - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am A secretive Hamas campaign to catch Palestinians spying for Israel has ensnared some prominent Gaza residents, drawn unusual criticism and highlighted the Islamic militant group's deep fears about being penetrated by agents of the Jewish state. Though action against accused collaborators is always popular in Gaza and tensions are hardly new in the seaside strip — a crowded and impoverished place that endures a three-year blockade that has kept key supplies scarce and made travel out for most people virtually impossible — this time seems different. » Read more

Israel's Gaza flotilla inquest nears end -chairman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's state-appointed inquiry into the lethal storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May is almost complete, the chief investigator said on Wednesday after one of his fellow panel members died. Set up in hope of stemming international fury at Israeli marines' killing of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists aboard one of the ships, the Turkel Commission is also providing material for a separate inquest at the United Nations. » Read more

Settlement boycott to target Israeli chain store ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 22, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority Ministry of National Economy, charged with implementing the boycott of settlement-made goods, announced Tuesday it will be launching a boycott campaign against an Israeli chain of superstores, a statement read. The ministry said the Rami Levi Shivok Hashikma chain, which has "spread like cancer" following the opening of new stores in Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem. » Read more

Clashes in Silwan after guard kills Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 22, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Wednesday, following the shooting death of a Palestinian man in the morning by an Israeli settler security guard, officials said. Israeli border guards deployed riot dispersal means, including rubber bullets, sound grenades and tear gas, against residents in the flashpoint neighborhood who were demonstrating against the killing of Samer Sarhan, 28, and the injury of three others earlier Wednesday morning. » Read more

Killing of Hamas operative raises questions about conduct of elite Israeli units in pursuing militants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am IN NUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK Moving quietly through the alleys of this ramshackle neighborhood, the Israeli soldiers forced their way into Iyad Abu Shilbaya's home in the early morning hours under cover of darkness. A Hamas operative who had been detained repeatedly by the Palestinian Authority and imprisoned for two years by Israel, Abu Shilbaya was one of more than a dozen people whose homes were raided during a sweep of arrests in the Nur Shams camp outside the town of Tulkarm on Friday. » Read more

Gaza: U.N. Cites Rights Violations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times September 21, 2010 - 12:00am Investigations by Israel and the Palestinians into violations of human rights during the Gaza conflict of 2008 and 2009 were inadequate in several respects, an expert committee led by the United Nations Human Rights Council said Tuesday. The committee’s conclusion could lead to calls for the suspected violations to be referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. » Read more