Internal Israeli Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Netanyahu Examines Offer on Settlement Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

As the Palestinians consider withdrawing from peace talks with Israel unless a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank is extended, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is engaged in his own calculations about whether accepting an American offer aimed at prolonging the freeze would destroy his political coalition.

PA: Latest Israeli soldier video 'deeply offensive'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A personal film showing an Israeli soldier dancing around a Palestinian woman uploaded to YouTube on Monday "is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier," a Palestinian Authority statement said. The video, showing an Israeli soldier belly-dancing next to a woman who is a blindfolded and handcuffed, head leaning against a concrete wall, sparked outrage for Palestinians and embarrassment for the Israeli military, as Tel Aviv papers branded the incident "Another YouTube embarrassment for IDF."

Poet Zach: Israel apartheid state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Boaz Fyler - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The Knesset is on the offensive as one of Israel's leading poets has announced his intent to join the next flotilla to Gaza. Natan Zach condemned the government and said he was willing to join activists attempting to reach Gaza via flotillas. He added that while visiting Germany, he witnessed a huge rally where Israel was labeled as an "apartheid state. "I do not wish to live in such state," he said. Zach told Ynet that he did not understand why his statements caused such uproar.

Take a good look at Olmert’s fingertips
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

He was talking about the negotiation he had conducted personally with Mahmoud Abbas, just before he himself was forced to vacate the prime minister’s office. That was the climax of the speech he made last week at a meeting of the “Geneva Initiative”. Before analyzing it, a few words about the host and about the speaker.

Korans burnt in West Bank mosque attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

BEIT FAJJAR, West Bank, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Jewish settlers opposed to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians were accused of setting fire to a mosque in the West Bank on Monday, burning the Koran and scrawling threats in Hebrew on its walls. "Mosques, we burn," said a warning scribbled at the door of the smoke-smudged mosque of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for cool heads to avert the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Pressure mounts on PM to reject US ‘benefits package’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has begun efforts to persuade Likud cabinet members to support a deal with the US in which Israel would limit construction in Judea and Samaria for 60 days in return for American promises, Likud officials confirmed on Sunday. While the proposal has not been finalized, Netanyahu’s associates have started making inquiries with the ministers, asking them to be flexible.

Lieberman 'key' to cabinet vote on settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

A cabinet decision to extend the moratorium on settlement construction, which expired late last month, hinges on the support of either Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman or Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias, senior Likud officials told Haaretz yesterday. The officials said that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks the cabinet to extend the freeze, he would need the vote of Atias, a Shas minister seen as a moderate, or of Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party.

Arsonists set fire to mosque in West Bank town
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

BEIT FAJAR, WEST BANK - Arsonists set fire to a mosque in this Palestinian town early Monday, charring Korans, burning holes into the carpet and scrawling "revenge" in Hebrew near the doorway. The attack, which residents blamed on Jewish settlers, threatened to stir passions amid a crisis in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks over settlement construction. It was strongly condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

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