November 5th

In Gaza, rise of Hamas military wing complicates reconciliation with Fatah ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram by Kristen Chick - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Abu Khaled has been a member of Hamas's military wing for 11 years and he looks the part. His thick beard, black clothes, and serious face bear witness to his rise through the ranks to become one of the leaders of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, near Israel's border. But at this moment, as he softly sings along with popular Arabic pop singer Elissa in a deserted Gaza restaurant, it's hard to believe he fought in the fierce 2007 battle that expelled Fatah, Hamas's secular rival, from Gaza. » Read more

Palestinians Crack Down on Boycott Breaker ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Arieh O'Sullivan - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority has filed its first indictment against a Palestinian for dealing in products manufactured in Jewish communities located on land Israel acquired in the 1967 war. The test of the new law, which was passed in May, is scheduled to take place at a Bethlehem court where the charges were filed against a man suspected of smuggling in goods made in one of the Jewish communities. The unidentified man was reportedly caught entering Bethlehem with banned wood products. He was detained until his trial, according to the Ma’an News Agency. » Read more

Window of opportunity for two-state solution closing, Hague warns Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am William Hague warned today that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was closing and failure by the two parties to reach agreement would be a "serious setback". Speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, after visiting Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, the foreign secretary urged Israel to renew its freeze on settlement construction to allow direct talks between the two parties to resume. » Read more

Did Rabin assassination mark decline of Israel's peace camp? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination 15 years ago at the peak of Israel's pro-peace movement now appears to have heralded the beginning of a long, slow decline for an Israeli left that is in danger of fading into irrelevance. » Read more

Key US panel chief candidate is pro-Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Sharmila Devi - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am EW YORK // Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the likely head of the foreign affairs committee in the House of Representatives, has taken some conservative Republican stances on the Middle East and the Muslim world in the decades since she became the first Cuban-American to be elected as a congresswoman in 1989. » Read more

Saudi prince rules out engagement with Israel until Arab land is returned ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Saudi Arabia will refuse to "directly or indirectly engage Israel" until it leaves all land captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, a leading member of the Saudi royal family said Thursday, dashing any hopes the Obama administration might have had for rapprochement before a final peace deal. » Read more

November 4th

British FM backs non-violent struggle against security fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am British Foreign Minister William Hague on Wednesday met with the Palestinian prime minister and Israeli foreign minister, but his visit with Palestinian activists made the most headlines. Hague met with three senior Palestinian activists spearheading the popular struggle against Jewish settlements and the West Bank security fence, and expressed his support in their non-violent struggle. International Judgement Meridor cancels UK visit for fear of arrest / Attila Somfalvi » Read more

News Analysis: New US Congress affects Obama's Middle East policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Early results of the U.S. midterm elections indicate President Barack Obama's Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party has increased its presence in the Senate, which may affect Obama's role as a peace broker in the Middle East. When Obama convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year to impose a ten-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank so that the peace process could be resumed, hopes were high that it could lead to a breakthrough. » Read more

Israeli media weigh impact of U.S. midterm election on Obama's Mideast policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Gur Salomon - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The Republican party's victory in the U.S. House of Representatives has made Israeli media to think its impacts on President Barack Obama's Middle East policy, U.S.- Israeli relations and the future of the stalled Israeli- Palestinian peace talks. Despite Obama's attention to the foreign policy front, with most efforts channelled to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, U.S. analysts attribute the Democrats' loss of control over Congress to American voters' dissatisfaction with Obama's economic policies. » Read more

Israel cuts off special dialogue with Britain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Daniel Estrin - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has suspended a special strategic dialogue with London as long as Israeli officials visiting Britain face possible arrest for suspected war crimes against Palestinians, officials said Wednesday. The announcement came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Officials from both countries said the matter would be high on the meeting's agenda, and the British Foreign Office said it was working to resolve the matter. British officials also said Hague would repeat Britain's criticism of West Bank settlements. » Read more