Solana: Palestinian state in 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana said the European Union's goal is to establish a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. Speaking in Ramallah on Wednesday, Solana said the sooner this happens, the better. Solana met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday morning, and is scheduled to meet later with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. His visit to the Palestinian Authority is aimed at highlighting the EU's commitment to the region and supporting the PA leadership. Solana is slated to visit Israel on Thursday, and meet with Israeli officials.

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China against report's referral to UNSC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Beijing will oppose discussing the Goldstone Commission's report at the UN Security Council and allowing the document to serve as a basis for law suits against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Chinese members of parliament told a visiting delegation of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in Beijing on Wednesday.

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Israel Cabinet split over calls for war inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

A meeting of Israel's inner security cabinet yesterday left ministers split over whether to yield to growing diplomatic pressure to hold a major public investigation to deflect the findings of the UN's Goldstone report on last winter's war in Gaza. The meeting postponed any decision on an independent investigation as it emerged that the Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, has so far led opposition to the setting up of an inquiry.

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Accountability: core of Goldstone's report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The Goldstone Report on the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that was released by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) late last month generated a brief flash of publicity because it criticized Israel and Hamas over conduct in the war that could be classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The deeper and wider implications of the report, however, have not been sufficiently discussed or acted upon, which is a shame.

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Wexler’s Move May Lead to More Active Role for Think Tanks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Florida Democrat Robert Wexler’s recent decision to leave Congress and join a Washington policy center dealing with Middle East peace left many in this status-crazed city baffled. It is not every day that a successful politician chooses to resign midterm. An aftershock was also felt in the smaller think-tank community, where the entry of a new player could scramble the hierarchy of those struggling to shape American policy toward the region.

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Israel hardens stance on U.N. Gaza report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel hardened its opposition Tuesday to international calls for an independent inquiry into its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter, saying it would urge the United States to stop the issue from advancing at the United Nations. The decision came at a cabinet meeting called to discuss a U.N. report that has accused both sides of committing war crimes during the three-week operation. The report, which was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council last week, recommends war crimes proceedings if Israel and the Palestinians do not conduct credible internal investigations.

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Netanyahu seeks change in laws of war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Facing mounting international pressure for an investigation into charges of war crimes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his government on Tuesday to find ways of changing the world’s laws that govern warfare. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the professional bodies within the relevant government ministries to examine the facilitating of an international initiative to change the laws of war in keeping with the spread of terrorism throughout the world,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

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In Washington, Erekat says US must denounce Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The US is obligated to expose Israel for blocking the resumption of peace negotiations, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday. "When we say that we want to resume permanent status negotiations on all core issues without exceptions, that's also an Israeli obligation," Erekat told reporters outside the State Department in Washington, DC, according to AFP. Erekat was speaking after meeting with US President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell.

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PM to decide on inquiry committee on Goldstone claims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The Cabinet is set to convene Tuesday morning in order to debate the international battle waged by Israel against the reverberations of the Goldstone Report, which claims Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet announced whether he will order the establishment of an inquiry committee on Operation Cast Lead. Meanwhile Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi have expressed their objection to such a move while the Justice Ministry said it may lend its support.

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Barak refuses to discuss Gaza probe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The security cabinet on Tuesday did not discuss the matter of establishing an independent inquiry into Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last winter, at the request of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Barak opposes an Israeli probe into the offensive as a response to the Goldstone Commission's report. Goldstone in Gaza. During the meeting, the security cabinet discussed different ways to deal with the report. Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz gave the cabinet a number of options, including putting together a commission of inquiry.

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