September 8th

Give us a border! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am The direct talks that were launched at the Washington summit should have one aim - to fix the border between Israel and the Palestinian state that will be set up in the West Bank. Israel needs a border that will delineate its borders, normalize its international status, end the dissent over the settlements and solidify the national consensus. This is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mission in life. If he succeeds, he will have justified his return to power and go down in history as a formative leader. » Read more

West Bank building freeze to continue in practice, if not officially ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am The agreement beginning to take shape on the settlement construction freeze is based on an "unspoken understanding" that security authorities will not sign new building permits, but the government will not issue a formal resolution extending the freeze. Furthermore, a review found that the building moratorium is due to expire on September 30, not September 26, as previously thought. » Read more

Hamas warns PA: Stop arresting our people or we'll strike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas on Wednesday warned that it would harm the Palestinian Authority if security forces continued to arrest its operatives in the West Bank. In a harshly worded announcement, the Islamist group declared that "our patience will soon run out" and that they would not remain silent for long, Israel Radio reported. "You know that the hands that have reached the heart of the occupier can reach you too," Hamas warned, referring to its recent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, adding that Hamas cannot be stopped, and will strike anywhere, at any time it wishes. » Read more

No injuries in Palestinian mortar attack on Israeli kindergarten ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Dave Bender - (Analysis) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian militants in northern Gaza fired a mortar into a nearby Israeli kibbutz community Wednesday morning that slammed down between kindergarten classrooms. The shell, which caused slight damage but no casualties, failed to trigger an early-warning system meant to detect rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled area. » Read more

Israel eyes impound of ships breaking Gaza blockade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Dan Williams - (Analysis) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM/LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Anticipating fresh bids by pro-Palestinian activists to sail against its Gaza Strip blockade, and hoping to avoid a repeat of its bloody boarding of a Turkish aid ship in May, Israel has turned to maritime law. Israeli officials say vessels will be warned in advance that they face costly impoundment and the possible detainment of crews -- a strategy first floated in July when the threat of such action helped turn a Libyan-chartered ship away from Gaza. » Read more

Abbas: No peace without Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority would "not leave Gaza or the West Bank to Hamas or others,” President Mahmoud Abbas told the Kuwait-based daily newspaper Ar-Ray on Tuesday. The interview followed one in the Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam newspaper on Monday, where Abbas said that if he was forced to concede on key issues such as refugees or borders during the next round of direct negotiations with Israel, he would "pack my bags and leave." » Read more

PA to continue reducing public expenses ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority will continue efforts to reduce public sending to reduce dependence on external financial support, a spokesman told Ma'an on Tuesday. Ghassan Al-Khatib said that while the reduction alone would not suffice to limit dependence on external support, the PA would also increase revenues through investment and the development of the Palestinian economy. » Read more

ARAB WORLD: Opinions grim about new peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times (Blog) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am When Middle East peace talks began this month in Washington, there were glimmers of optimism and excitement over the renewed discourse between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which hadn't engaged in direct talks in almost two years.  But since then, Arab opinion makers have spoken. And the outlook is grim.  » Read more

Saudi Time ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am It’s been a week and the newly minted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have not broken down yet! Surely that is a good sign. It is a measure of how low expectations are for these talks that they have to be celebrated by the week. Now that they have begun, though, both sides will try to avoid being the one that scuttles them — and not only to avoid the wrath of the United States. » Read more

Finding a Steadier Path in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am KHAN YUNIS, Gaza — Tough-looking ambulance drivers in this central Gazan city are drawing images of their fears with crayons. In the northwestern village of El Atatra, in an overheated hall without electricity, 10-year-olds are closing their eyes and imagining a reassuring place. In Gaza City, women who have lost children to political violence are dancing away their tensions, their black abayas shaking and flowing. » Read more