November 16th

Palestinian 'freedom riders' board Israeli buses in protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Rebecca Collard - November 16, 2011 - 1:00am Decked-out in T-shirts bearing slogans such as “dignity,” “freedom,” and “justice,” and wearing the symbolic black and white Palestinian kaffiyeh scarves, six Palestinian activists waited at a bus stop this afternoon with a group of Israeli settlers. » Read more

Palestinian activists arrested on Israeli bus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Diaa Hadid - November 16, 2011 - 1:00am Six Palestinian activists, clutching national flags and surrounded by dozens of reporters, were dragged off an Israeli bus they planned to ride into Jerusalem after a standoff with police Tuesday. They were detained and then released a few hours later in the West Bank, said pro-Palestinian activist Jonathan Pollack. The Palestinians boarded the Israeli bus in a widely advertised action hoping to draw attention to what they call discriminatory measures in the West Bank, particularly travel restrictions. » Read more

Israel announces more housing in West Bank and the Jerusalem area ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times November 16, 2011 - 1:00am Israel announced Tuesday it would soon issue tenders for 5,000 new units of housing nationwide, including about 570 apartments on land it seized during the 1967 Mideast war. The government said the new housing was needed to address Israel's rising real estate prices, which triggered massive popular demonstrations this summer. But critics objected to the inclusion of 348 units in Har Homa and 18 in Pisgat Zeev, two Jewish developments in the Jerusalem area. An additional 213 units are planned for the West Bank settlement of Efrat. » Read more

Israeli Army May Need to Hit Gaza, General Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 16, 2011 - 1:00am Israel’s military chief of staff warned Tuesday that the repeated rounds of escalated violence in the south would eventually require Israel to carry out another large-scale military operation in Hamas-controlled Gaza. “We cannot continue with one round after another,” the official, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, told a closed meeting of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He said the point at which a military operation would become necessary was “drawing closer.” » Read more

November 15th

Palestinian, Israeli activists launch campaign against settlement transportation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Amjad Samhan - (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am Dozens of Palestinian and Israeli activists are gearing up for the launch on Tuesday of a campaign against transportation companies that serve settlements in the West Bank in protest of the continuation of the occupation and the construction of more units in the Occupied Territories. The campaign aims at obstructing means of transportation affiliated to Egged and Veolia, two Israeli public transportation companies that transfer Jewish settlers from the West Bank to East Jerusalem and Israel. » Read more

Why sincerity of Israeli leader is doubted ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am Exactly what Nicolas Sarkozy meant by describing Benjamin Netanyahu as a "liar" is not immediately clear, and the French President is unlikely to prolong the episode by explaining it. But it is safe to assume that Mr Sarkozy has become increasingly unconvinced of Mr Netanyahu's sincerity in saying he is willing to negotiate a two-state solution with the Palestinians. By insisting the Palestinians recognise Israel as a "Jewish state" and by resuming a surge in Jewish settlement building, Mr Netanyahu has given no sign that he envisages the minimum deal the Palestinians could accept. » Read more

Both sides would suffer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority was supposed to cease existing on May 4, 1999, the date a final status agreement was to take effect. Of course, that never happened. In the absence of any alternative agreement, the PA could remain in existence until final status is agreed or, indeed, until the end of time (whichever comes first. . .). » Read more

Egypt nabs suspect believed linked to Eilat attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Oren Kessler, Reuters - (Analysis) November 13, 2011 - 1:00am Egyptian authorities arrested a top member of an Islamist terror group suspected of involvement in pipeline bombings that have disrupted gas supplies to Israel and Jordan, Egyptian state media reported on Sunday. The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that the detainee, Mohammed al-Teehi, was also being investigated for an August terror attack in southern Israel that killed eight people. Teehi, of the armed Islamist group Al-Takfir Wa Al-Hijra (Excommunication and Exodus), was arrested in the northern coastal city of El-Arish, Egypt's news agency MENA reported. » Read more

Simply not an option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am The recent speculation about the future of the Palestinian Authority, including its possible dissolution, arose as a result of discussions in Fateh's Central Committee meeting two weeks ago. These discussions were not about dissolving the Palestinian Authority per se, but about the future of the governing body that has grown into numerous agencies and employs nearly 200,000 people. Fateh's leadership sought to address the fact that the difficulty of transforming this transitional Palestinian Authority into a state has produced an uncomfortable--and even untenable--status quo. » Read more

Gaza first ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am About half a year ago, I and several colleagues spent two hours conversing and dining with Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. One of the questions we asked him concerned his options in the event the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations failed--or for that matter, if it succeeded but Israel refused to honor it. » Read more