September 20th

Contesting Past and Present at Silwan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Report by Joel Beinin - September 17, 2010 - 12:00am On September 1, Elad -- a Hebrew acronym for “To the City of David” -- convened its eleventh annual archaeological conference at the “City of David National Park” in the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood of Silwan. Silwan, home to about 45,000 people, is one of 28 Palestinian villages incorporated into East Jerusalem and annexed by Israel after the June 1967 war. It lies in a valley situated a short walk beyond the Dung Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. » Read more

Mideast needs a peace of the brave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) September 20, 2010 - 12:00am The late Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) used to refer to the peace process he and the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin started in the early 1990s as the "peace of the brave". This was more of a colourful description than an accurate rendition of reality. » Read more

Netherlands nixes visit by Israeli mayors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) September 19, 2010 - 12:00am The Netherlands canceled a visit by Israeli mayors because the group included the leaders of West Bank settlements. Participants in the delegation, sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, included the heads of 30 small local councils, including several Arab communities. West Bank communities represented on the delegation include Kiryat Arba, Oranit, Beit El, Elkana and Efrat. » Read more

To the End of the Land by David Grossman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jacqueline Rose - (Book Review) September 18, 2010 - 12:00am For some time now, David Grossman has been describing his writing as a means of survival, as a way of no longer feeling a victim in the "disaster zone" of the seemingly eternal conflict that is Israel-Palestine. At moments he has talked of the risk of dispassion, of being paralysed with fear and despair. With the publication of this extraordinary, impassioned novel, such purpose or hope acquires a new meaning and intensity. It now seems that the life to be saved by writing, even though the struggle may be doomed, could only be – perhaps always has been – the life of a child. » Read more

The Tehran tangle in Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Manual Hassassian, Edward Edy Kaufman - (Opinion) September 20, 2010 - 12:00am Success in the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations will depend on active bridging by the third party, the United States. At the same time, we should not forget the destructive role played in the past and present by spoilers on both sides, as well as others further afield. As the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, stated last month, "the enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and derail these talks". » Read more

PA arrests Hamas men in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am Ynet also learned Sunday that the Palestinian Authority carried out many preemptive arrests over the weekend after Hamas threatened to avenge the assassination of Iyad abu Shilbayeh by Israel. Among the detainees were members of Islamic Jihad. The PA held several meetings following the murder in order to prepare for Hamas' supposed retaliation, for fear that such a move would be especially desirable for the Islamist group due to the direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel. » Read more

Hamas: Death sentence for drug dealers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas approved a law permitting the death sentence for drug dealers and up to seven years behind bars for drug users, thereby stepping up its war on drugs in the Gaza Strip. Ministry of the Interior spokesman Ihab al-Rasin said Sunday that Hamas had in fact adopted an Egyptian law. Al-Rasin, speaking during a ceremony to mark the end of a three-month campaign against drugs, also accused Israel of "continuing its efforts to swamp the Strip with drugs." » Read more

Hamas: We told U.S. in the past that we would accept Palestinian state along 1967 borders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz September 20, 2010 - 12:00am The Hamas militant group announced Monday that it had previously told the United States it would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, according to Israel Radio. Citing the organization's semi-annual report, Israel Radio said that Hamas had also asked the U.S. administration to open dialogue. The militant group said in its report that it had passed that message along via American academics and politicians visiting the Gaza Strip. » Read more

PA court: Sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz September 20, 2010 - 12:00am The sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death, a Palestinian Authority court ruled on Sunday, in what Palestinian officials are saying is a necessary measure to ensure the founding of a future state. Judge Ta'et At-Twil, according to a report by the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, ruled that selling, or attempting to sell, land to a foreign country was a criminal offense which could result in the death penalty. » Read more

Top Hamas official arrested in Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Sarah El Deeb - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am A top Hamas security official was arrested at Cairo airport for using falsified travel documents, Egyptians officials said Sunday. Mohammed Dababish's relatives said he was returning from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia when he was stopped. Dababish is a top official in Hamas' internal security unit, which oversees intelligence matters in Gaza. Hamas officials declined to comment. Egypt has arrested a string of Hamas figures since one of its soldiers was killed in a border shooting early this year, including the son of a Hamas Cabinet minister last month. » Read more