Report: Jewish leaders cancel meeting with Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 25, 2012 - 12:00am TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- A group of Jewish leaders in the US cancelled a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas under pressure from Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported Monday. The meeting, organized by billionaire businessman Mort Zuckerman, was due to take place Monday in New York, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations, and Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman were also due to attend. » Read more

Syrian conflict makes Palestinians into both refugees and combatants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Nicholas Blanford - September 24, 2012 - 12:00am Omar Hassan was just three years old when he and his family were forced to leave their home in northern Palestine during the creation of Israel, making a home as stateless refugees in a camp in Syria. Now, six decades on, Mr. » Read more

Syria denies shelling Palestinian camp in Aleppo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 24, 2012 - 12:00am   DAMASCUS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Information Ministry denied news that the government troops shelled the Nairab camp for Palestinian refugees in Aleppo city. In a statement aired by the state TV on Monday, the ministry held " the "bloody media outlets" responsible for disseminating such news. Also in Aleppo, the state TV said the army has carried a " qualitative" operation at al-Arkoub roundabout in Aleppo, killing large numbers of armed militias. » Read more

Gaza fuel crisis grows as smuggling from Egypt declines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 24, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The fuel smuggled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip through tunnels with Egypt have declined within the last five days to 70 percent, leading the fuel crisis in the coastal enclave to deteriorate, officials said Monday. Mohamed al-Abadela, spokesman of the Gas Stations Association in the Gaza Strip, told Xinhua that the amount of fuel used for cars and electric generators dropped from 600,000 liters to 200, 000 liters per day. » Read more

Hamas head Mashaal says he will resign ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak - September 24, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The supreme leader of the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas has decided to step down, clearing the way for the movement to choose a new head for the first time in more than 15 years, two senior officials said Monday. Khaled Mashaal told a recent meeting in Cairo of Hamas' leadership that he would not run in upcoming elections for the top position, said Izzat Risheq, a confidant of Mashaal who attended the gathering. Moussa Abu Marzouk, Mashaal's deputy, also confirmed the decision. » Read more

Israel: Syrian mortars accidentally land in Golan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - September 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Several mortars fired by Syrian government troops targeting rebels hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday but no one was hurt in the shelling, the Israeli military said. The incident marks the second time Syrian mortars have landed on the border area since Syria's crisis erupted 18 months ago. In July, mortar shells fell about one kilometer (half a mile) from the Golan boundary. » Read more

Israeli DM's West Bank pullout bid ires right-wingers: report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 24, 2012 - 12:00am   JERUSALEM, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday floated a controversial West Bank pullout plan which included unilaterally leaving areas beyond several large settlement blocs, with details that immediately drew fire from both his right flank and official Palestinian sources. » Read more

Palestinian leaders dismiss Barak's proposal for partial withdrawal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 25, 2012 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian leaders on Monday dismissed a proposal by Israel's defense minister suggesting a partial withdrawal from the occupied West Bank. Ehud Barak told the newspaper Israel Hayom that in the absence of peace talks, smaller illegal settlements in the West Bank should be evacuated, with the major settlement blocs remaining under Israeli control. Barak's proposal was swiftly shot down by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who said the army will remain in the West Bank until a peace agreement is reached. » Read more

Before Palestinians Act at U.N., Israeli Officials Urge Other Steps ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - September 24, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — With the Palestinians planning to make their case this week to upgrade from organizational status to nonmember status at the United Nations General Assembly, one senior Israeli minister condemned the move as “the easy and wrong way out” on Monday, while another said the time had come for Israel to consider its own unilateral move toward a separate state: annexing parts of the West Bank and withdrawing from others. » Read more

Abbas set for scaled-down bid at U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - September 24, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — There is no fanfare this time, no campaign in support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as he heads this week to the United Nations to ask for an upgrade of the Palestinians’ status there to a non-member state. » Read more