Israeli police, Arabs clash over rightist march
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli police on Wednesday fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse Arabs who were protesting against a rally by ultranationalist Jews in an Israeli-Arab town. Riot police, some on horesback, charged about 200 Arabs who threw stones at them before retreating, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Ten masked Arabs were arrested. About 30 Jewish demonstrators had travelled from Jerusalem to Umm el-Fahm in northern Israel, the seat of an Islamic movement whose leader, Sheikh Raed Salah, says Israel endangers Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

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PNA furious over Israeli legislation over Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Israeli draft bill ranking Jerusalem as a national priority zone has enraged the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The law encourages young Israelis to move to the city to benefit from a series of economic, education and social development plans. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the law is another step forward to declare Jerusalem as Israel's undividable capital. The Palestinians claim the eastern part of Jerusalem as a capital for their future state.

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A popular but problematic position
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's "Jewish state" or "nation state of the Jewish people" demand is popular with the Israeli public. The right wing likes it because it is patriotic and seemingly "anti-Arab". The left and center cannot easily oppose it because it dovetails with their emphasis on ending the occupation in order to maintain Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in view of the demographic threat. Netanyahu can even take credit for getting US President Barack Obama to endorse the Jewish state demand.

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Just Knock It Off
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Some of Israel’s worst critics are fond of saying that Israel behaves like America’s spoiled child. I’ve always found that analogy excessive. Say what you want about Israel’s obstinacy at times, it remains the only country in the United Nations that another U.N. member, Iran, has openly expressed the hope that it be wiped off the map. And that same country, Iran, is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

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Clinton: We promise not to 'turn our backs' on Palestinians or Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Paul Rogin - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

In a rousing 30-minute speech Wednesday night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implored attendees at the annual gala for the American Task Force on Palestine not to give up on the struggling Middle East peace process, despite past, current, and future obstacles.

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Clinton urges Arabs to give more money to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged Arab countries to offer greater financial support to the Palestinian Authority. "It takes more than plans and commitments to support making the state of Palestine a reality," Clinton told the annual dinner of the American Task Force on Palestine, a pro-Palestinian group which calls for a Palestinian state. The chief US diplomat paid tribute to the Palestinian Authority's efforts, saying it needs a "larger, steadier, and more predictable source" of financial support.

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Official: Israel seeks de facto recognition of east Jerusalem's illegal annexation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Patrick Galey - October 19, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday accused Israel of seeking a de facto recognition of its illegal annexation of East Jerusalem by hosting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference in the city. Erekat said in a press statement emailed to reporters that the Palestinians thanked the countries that have decided to withdraw their attendance to the OECD Tourism Committee Summit to be held in Jerusalem on Oct. 20.

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Netanyahu's, Barak's silent freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ofer Petersburg - October 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Despite the end of the West Bank building moratorium, the construction of thousands of planned homes are frozen in practice, as top government officials refrain from granting them the final go-ahead, Yedioth Athronoth reported Monday. Palestinian Side Among other homes, about 1,300 housing units in Jerusalem, which passed all the planning and construction procedures, are not getting the green light that would turn them from blueprints to active construction sites.

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A devious plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) October 17, 2010 - 12:00am

With the Palestinians already threatening to walk away from the Middle East peace talks unless Israel renews its partial ban on West Bank settlements, the unveiling of 238 new homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem could well kill off the negotiations.

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240 settlement units planned for East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized construction for 240 housing units in the illegal Jerusalem settlements of Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot, Israeli media reported Thursday. The units were included in a tender which listed 3,500 housing units across Israel, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. The fact that 240 of the units are to be built in East Jerusalem was made "as inconspicuous as possible."

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