September 28th

Construction in West Bank settlements resumes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am KARMEI TZUR, WEST BANK - The rumble of a bulldozer preparing the ground for new homes started early Monday morning at this Jewish settlement in the southern West Bank, and residents said it was music to their ears after a 10-month building freeze. "We're very happy," said Erez Naim, who lives near the building site. "For 10 months we were asleep. Now suddenly things are coming back to life." » Read more

In blame game, arrow tilts to Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Ben Smith - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am Israelis and Palestinians have yet to achieve any substantive progress in the nascent peace talks that resulted from President Barack Obama’s high-profile push for negotiations, but a subtle shift in the political balance between the two antagonists seems clear: Israel is now winning the blame game. The blame game always proceeds on a parallel, subterranean track to actual negotiations, the cynical mirror of the process’s insistent optimism. Some prominent figures on both sides barely disguise their assumption that peace talks will fail, as they almost always do. » Read more

Settlement Moratorium Expires: Will Mideast Peace Talks Last? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from PBS by Ghaith Al-Omari, Gwen Ifill, David Makovsky - (Analysis) September 27, 2010 - 12:00am GWEN IFILL: For more on what's holding these talks together so far, we turn to Ghaith Al-Omari, the advocacy director for the American Task Force on Palestine and a former adviser to President Abbas, and David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the co-author of "Myths, Illusions, and Peace." Let's talk about myths, illusions and peace, Ghaith Al-Omari. What happened today? Why didn't the Palestinians walk away from the table, as they had promised they would if these settlements were not frozen? ARTICLE TOOLS Print E-mail * Share » Read more

US 'disappointed' after settlement freeze ends ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- US envoy George Mitchell will hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week to discuss the consequences of Israel's decision not to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement building. The US administration is "disappointed" at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Crowley praised the "restraint" of the Palestinian response to resumed building. » Read more

Settlement Moratorium Expires: Will Mideast Peace Talks Last? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from PBS (Interview) September 27, 2010 - 12:00am TRANSCRIPT GWEN IFILL: For more on what's holding these talks together so far, we turn to Ghaith Al-Omari, the advocacy director for the American Task Force on Palestine and a former adviser to President Abbas, and David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the co-author of "Myths, Illusions, and Peace." » Read more

September 27th

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