Shas party split on settlement freeze extension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yair Ettinger, Jonathan Lis - October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

The office of Shas chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai issued a statement on Sunday night that said Yishai had been instructed by Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to "strongly oppose any form of a settlement freeze extension."

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Ministerial C'tee passes J’lem-Golan land referendum bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman, Rebecca Anna Stoil - October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

A bill requiring a national referendum before relinquishing land in Jerusalem and the Golan Heights passed during a special meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Monday, laying the groundwork for it to become law within weeks.

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Netanyahu’s Moves Spark Debate on Intentions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An offer on Monday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to freeze West Bank Jewish settlements in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state — instantly rejected by the Palestinians — was the latest complex maneuver engendering debate about his intentions.

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Deputy PM: Israel officials doubt peace reachable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Aron Heller - October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An Israeli deputy prime minister says members of the Cabinet's decision-making circle doubt a peace deal with the Palestinians can be reached in the near future. Moshe Yaalon's remarks appear contrary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated commitment on trying to reach an agreement within a year. Yaalon spoke to Army Radio on Tuesday. The peace talks, which resumed last month, have stalled over Israel's refusal to renew a moratorium on West Bank settlement construction.

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Strenger than Fiction / Loyalty oath is not about Arabs, it’s about hatred of liberal values
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

There is nothing left to say about how bad, harmful and useless the new citizenship law is: Labor Party Minister Isaac Herzog has warned that it is another step towards fascism; legal experts like Mordechai Kremnitzer have pointed out that it doesn’t serve any identifiable purpose except making Arabs feeling even less at home in Israel. Likud Ministers Benny Begin and Dan Meridor have pointed out how harmful the law is for the relation with Israeli Arabs and for Israel’s standing in the world.

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Israeli Cabinet Approves Citizenship Amendment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a contentious draft amendment to the country’s citizenship law that calls for non-Jews seeking to become citizens to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and a democratic state. Decried by opponents as unnecessary, provocative and racist, the amendment, which is subject to approval by Parliament, encountered a storm of criticism and drove open divisions within the ruling coalition.

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Transcripts on ’73 War, Now Public, Grip Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — For many Israelis, the 1973 Arab-Israeli war was their single most terrifying moment, when a woefully unprepared nation, deluded into believing that its neighbors regarded it as impregnable, suffered a devastating attack and struggled back to victory at enormous cost with last-minute American help. Last week, the confidential discussions of Israel’s top leaders in the first days of that war, known here as the Yom Kippur War because the attack began on that Jewish holy day, were declassified and gripped the public.

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Rachel Corrie trial continues in Israel, reviving controversial case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Haifa, Israel — Seven years after an Israeli military D-9 bulldozer buried American pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie under sandy soil near Gaza's border with Egypt, her family has effectively put the Israeli army on trial for her death. The Corrie family is demanding a symbolic $1 in punitive damages from the state for wrongful killing and negligence.

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U.S. giving away too much, too early in Mideast peace talks, some say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Reporting from Washington Only a month into a new round of peace talks, the Obama administration is drawing criticism from allies and veteran diplomats that it is giving away too much just to keep negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians from collapsing. Administration officials have offered an assortment of inducements to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank for two months. Palestinian officials have threatened to break off the talks unless Israel extends the freeze that expired Sept. 26.

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Palestinian sees no serious talks with Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - October 7, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A senior Palestinian official said on Thursday he saw no hope of a serious peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in some of the darkest comments to date on the U.S.-mediated talks. Yasser Abed Rabbo's remarks signalled deep Palestinian skepticism about the outlook for the talks, which began on Sept. 2 but have been on hold since an Israeli moratorium on new settlement building in the West Bank expired last week. The United States wants the talks to continue and has been trying to find a formula to save the negotiations.

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