September 9th

Hamas militia's secret West Bank stronghold ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am Amid the dust at the side of the road at the Bani Nayim junction in the southern West Bank there is a small makeshift shrine - a pile of rocks covered with Israeli flags. It was here, just over a week ago, that four Israeli settlers were shot dead - their car riddled with bullets - in a drive-by attack by Hamas militants. That attack and another the following day at Ramallah, in which two Israeli settlers were injured, were together a message from Hamas: "You can't ignore us." Secret army Both attacks were carried out by the al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing. » Read more

Clinton: There may never be another chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated the American administration's optimism as to Israeli-Palestinian peace process' chances of success Wednesday. Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton said that she believed the "pessimists" were wrong to think the talks were doomed to fail. Peace can be achieved, she said, if the parties will overcome "initial obstacles" – a clear hint the settlement freeze set to end on September 26. The Palestinians have already threatened to walk away from the negotiating table should Israel resume its settlement activity. » Read more

PA committed 'treason' in W.Bank terror suspects' arrests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post September 9, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of "direct cooperation with the enemy" after it arrested Hamas members in conjunction with recent West Bank terrorist attacks that left four Israelis dead and two others injured last week, Army Radio reported Thursday. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum likened the arrests to "treason" and warned the Fatah run authority not to hand the men over to Israel. "The continuation of this criminal campaign crosses all red lines and is direct cooperation with the enemy in the clear light of day," Barhum continued. » Read more

Hamas: Fatah protecting enemy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 9, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas threatened the Palestinian Authority Thursday after members of the organization were arrested in relation to terror attacks that killed four and injured two in the West Bank. "This criminal campaign has crossed all red lines and constitutes direct cooperation with the enemy, in the clear light of day," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. On Tuesday the Palestinian Authority announced it had arrested the six terrorists who carried out the attacks one week earlier – four shooters and two accomplices. » Read more

PA official: We won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz September 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, even though the PA acknowledges there is a Jewish majority in Israel, senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said at a press conference in Ramallah on Wednesday. According to Shaath, the Palestinian negotiating team turned down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to discuss the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state during the upcoming round of peace talks in Sharm el-Sheikh next week. » Read more

Pessimistic about peace, Israelis greet new year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Diaa Hadid - (Analysis) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israelis usher in the Jewish new year, or Rosh Hashana, at sundown Wednesday with a widespread sense of pessimism that a new round of U.S.-sponsored Mideast talks can achieve peace. President Barack Obama wants a deal within a year, but Israelis are deeply skeptical after decades of failed efforts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the widespread doubts. » Read more

Erekat did not intend to 'apologize to Israel' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 9, 2010 - 12:00am JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat issued a statement on Wednesday alleging his televised address to Israelis asking that they be his "peace partner" was altered. » Read more

Next round of talks to be split in Egypt, Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 9, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (Ma'an) -- US Mediators will meet in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh on Tuesday, and then move Wednesday to Jerusalem where talks will continue. "The Egyptians have volunteered to host a round of direct negotiations," State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley told reporters Wednesday, and confirmed that a move to Jerusalem for a second day of talks had been agreed to during discussions the week before. Crowley gave no explanation for the change in location, which was expected to be Egypt for both days of talks. » Read more

Diplomacy: Talking the talk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am Politicians and pundits both here and abroad were left scratching their heads following last week’s talks in Washington. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in two tightly and carefully written statements, did not come across in a way in which he could be easily pigeonholed. The pundits could not cast him, as they generally love to, as that “hard-line,” right-wing leader who misses no opportunity to torpedo any chance for peace, because his rhetoric did not fit that characterization. » Read more

'Neither Israel nor the Palestinians can afford to walk out on the U.S.' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Interview) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am As peace talks cranked into a higher gear, with Palestinian and Israeli leaders finally meeting face-to-face in Washington and limbering up for the next round in Cairo, Haaretz caught up with David Makovsky, one of America's leading Mideast analysts, to ask if there is really enough meat to the new negotiations to appease the cynics. Amr Moussa, the Secretay General, of the Arab League, predicted on Friday that the new round of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will be the last. Do you agree? » Read more