Clinton says no substitute for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday there was "no substitute for face-to-face discussion" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speaking at a Washington dinner for advocacy group the American Task Force on Palestine, Clinton said negotiations were "the only path that will lead to the fulfillment of the Palestinian national aspiration." Clinton reiterated the US administration for a two-state solution, which she said was critical for Israel's long-term future and to end "The indignity of occupation" for Palestinians.

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Talks the only way forward for Mideast peace: Clinton
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ottawa Times
by Andrew Quinn - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday there was no "magic formula" to break an impasse over peace talks, but said hard work could still yield a deal. Clinton, speaking to a Palestinian advocacy group that supports a peaceful end to the conflict, said both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remained committed to a two-state solution despite a standoff that threatens to torpedo the U.S.-brokered peace talks less than two months after they were launched.

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Minister: Israel seeks to retain PA market
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 16, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) – Israeli policy aims to retain the Palestinian Authority as a market for Israeli goods, PA Planning Minister Ali Jarbawi said Friday. Speaking at a meeting with former Canadian Finance Minister Greg Selinger, Jarbawi said Israel was obstructing the development of the Palestinian private sector. Meanwhile, the PA was working hard to develop the sector as the core of a future Palestinian state, Jarbawi said.

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Palestinians earn a living making Jewish skullcaps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jon Donnison - October 15, 2010 - 12:00am

From the minaret of the next-door mosque, the call to prayer rings out as their fast-moving fingers click the needles at a rapid rhythm. Slowly forming in their laps are three small, round, white pieces of crocheted cloth. These three Palestinian Muslim women are making one of the most obvious symbols of Jewishness and Judaism - the kippa. Kippot (as they are known in the plural) are the small domed skullcaps that many Jewish men wear on their heads. Kippa literally means "dome".

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Is Fayyadism working?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Raja Khalidi - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Donor nations and the Middle East Quartet met in New York last week to renew commitments to the beleaguered Palestinian economy and budget support to the insolvent Palestinian Authority. Paving the way, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad presented a midterm report on his government's program. He has coined the forthcoming second and final year of the program as the "Homestretch to Freedom." In tune with Fayyad, the Quartet reaffirmed support for the PA's plan and commended its significant progress toward the statehood goal.

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In West Bank, Peace Symbol Now Signifies Struggle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinians from villages like this one in the West Bank governorate of Ramallah still remember when the olive harvest was a joyous occasion, with whole families out for days in the fall sunshine, gathering the year’s crop and picnicking under the trees. “We considered it like a wedding,” said Hussein Said Hussein Abu Aliya, 68.

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In West Bank, olive groves are on the front line in struggle over land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

When members of the Shalabi family went out recently to harvest their olives, they discovered that a few dozen trees had been chopped down, their branches hacked by vandals. In other groves belonging to this Palestinian village, there were scores of dead trees that had apparently been poisoned, with holes drilled in their trunks. The groves are near Adei Ad, an unauthorized Jewish settlement outpost, and villagers, citing past incidents of assaults and harassment, pointed an accusing finger at the settlers.

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Palestinian dream city hits snag from Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Ben Hubbard - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

ATARA, WEST BANK — It is billed as a symbol of the future Palestine: a modern, middle-class city of orderly streets, parks and shopping plazas rising in the hills of the West Bank, ready for independence, affluence and peace. But the $800-million project has hit a snag: Palestinians say construction of the city of Rawabi depends on getting an access road, which can't go ahead without Israeli permission.

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Jericho unveils massive ancient mosaic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Visitors to ancient Jericho got a rare glimpse Sunday of a massive 1,200-year-old carpet mosaic measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet), making it one of the largest in the Middle East. The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in sweeping geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain.

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Ministry fails to reimburse West Bank farmers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 6, 2010 - 12:00am

West Bank farmers say they feel betrayed by the Palestinian Authority finance and agriculture ministries, after failing to meet promises of support for farmers whose land lies close to Israel's separation wall. Speaking to Ma'an, farmers from different West Bank areas slated for confiscation for the separation wall said they signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance, which would reimburse farmers for building water wells for irrigation at their own expense.

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