November 11th

PA warns violence could follow stymied UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Tovah Lazaroff - November 11, 2011 - 1:00am A Palestinian Authority official warned Thursday that the region could be headed toward “violence and anarchy” because of the failure of the Palestinian statehood bid. PA officials in Ramallah refused to say what they were planning to do now that the bid at the UN Security Council seems to have failed. A UN Security Council subcommittee is expected to report Friday that the PA does not have the nine votes it needs to assure the council’s approval of its request for full UN membership. » Read more

Planned West Bank demolitions send ripples through Netanyahu's coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - November 11, 2011 - 1:00am The 18th Knesset is back to work. » Read more

Hamas-Fatah meeting to bring no surprises: Fatah official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 10, 2011 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Upcoming meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the leader of rival Hamas movement, Khaled Mashaal, will bring "no surprises," a Palestinian official said Thursday. At the meeting initially set to be held in Egypt's capital of Cairo at the end of this month, the two rivals will discuss the future of the Palestinian National Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization in light of the setback in the peace process, said Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior member of Abbas' Fatah party. » Read more

Ireland calls on Israel to free activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press November 10, 2011 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Ireland is urging Israel to quickly release international activists who were captured while attempting to breach Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli navy intercepted two boats bound for Gaza on Friday. Israel has maintained its naval blockade since Hamas militants took control of the territory in 2007. Of the 27 people on board, 19 remained in Israeli custody Thursday. Among them are an Irish member of the European Parliament and several other Irish citizens. » Read more

UNESCO suspends projects after US funding cut ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) November 11, 2011 - 1:00am PARIS (AFP) -- United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has been forced to suspend all its spending programs until the end of the year after the United States withdrew its funding, its director general said Thursday. In an address to UNESCO diplomats, Irina Bokova said the agency faces a $65 million funding shortfall and would have to halt all of its activities, following a row with Washington over Palestinian membership. » Read more

Family: Platelet disorder killed Arafat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 11, 2011 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says the family will soon release a French medical report revealing Arafat's cause of death. Naser al-Qudwa says the document is being translated from French before it is released. Al-Qudwa says the report will answer "many questions," as it is the Palestinian people's right to get a clear answer about how Arafat died. The document has not previously been seen in Arabic. » Read more

Israeli army: Soldiers accidentally kill settler near Hebron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) November 11, 2011 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli soldiers shot dead a settler and wounded two others when they opened fire on a car at a roadblock south of Hebron on Friday, the army and settler leaders said. "Soldiers who had been warned of a suspicious vehicle opened fire, killing one Israeli and wounding two others," a military spokesman told AFP. The car, driving from the Haggay settlement towards Hebron, had failed to stop at a barrier specially erected to intercept it following an alert, the spokesman said. » Read more

Obama’s Influential Mideast Envoy to Resign ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - November 10, 2011 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — Dennis B. Ross, a seasoned diplomat who has been one of President Obama’s most influential advisers on Iran and the Middle East, announced Thursday that he would leave the White House, at a time when Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are frozen and tensions over Iran are flaring up anew. Mr. Ross, who disclosed his departure at a lunch with Jewish leaders, said he promised his wife that he would leave the government after two years. He joined the State Department in February 2009 as a senior adviser on Iran before moving to the National Security Council that June. » Read more

November 10th

What Obama really thinks of Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) November 10, 2011 - 1:00am The open mike I-wish-I-hadn't-said-that moment when French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" and Barack Obama didn't disagree is a tale as old as the hills for American presidents and secretaries of state. For decades, American presidents and diplomats have been locked in uneasy relationships with Israeli prime ministers from the Likud Party. One example: "Who's the f---- superpower here," a frustrated Bill Clinton exploded to his aides after his first meeting with Netanyahu in 1996. » Read more

Voting against Palestine may cost Australia a seat on the Security Council ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Sydney Morning Herald by Richard Woolcott - (Opinion) November 10, 2011 - 1:00am The importance of Australia's candidature for election next October as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term (2013-14) should be better understood and supported by our politicians and the Australian public. Unfortunately, our prospects have been undermined by our recent vote against Palestine's admission to the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation. » Read more