Palestinian TV satire Watan ala Watar unites political rivals – in anger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Political rivals Hamas and Fatah are united – in anger. But the bite-sized nightly satirical sketches of Watan ala Watar have become a Ramadan sensation, cheering thousands of Palestinian television viewers through the holy month. The show has distracted families from the iftar meal that breaks their traditional daily fast, causing them to abandon half-eaten plates of chicken, lamb and rice for 10 minutes of intensive mockery of their political leaders.

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Middle East peace talks, and the problem of land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Todd Gitlin, Liel Leibowitz - (Opinion) September 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which began this week in Washington, leaves even the most loquacious Middle East experts without much to say. No bold offers have emerged from either side, and President Obama has yet to show the blend of grit, gregariousness and ingenuity that made Bill Clinton an effective mediator. All we can expect with certainty are more bouts of brinksmanship.

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Clinton: only you two can achieve peace
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The National - September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON // Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday declared their commitment to arriving at a sustainable peace as they entered their first direct negotiations in 20 months. Both sides have set the deadline of one year to reach a deal, and flanked by the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, reminded both sides that the main responsibility for achieving it would fall on them.

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PA official vows: 'We'll hit Hamas with an iron fist'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority security forces have vowed to arrest Hamas members and bring order to the West Bank, according to a Thursday report by London daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "We arrested hundreds of Hamas members, and we'll continue to do so," a high-ranking Palestinian Authority official told Asharq. "We will prevent them, however we can, from bringing anarchy to the West Bank. We will hit them with an iron fist."

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The Strip Under Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Abdullah Iskandar - August 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has been escalating its political discourse against the Palestinian Authority, on the occasion of the latter answering Washington’s call for direct negotiations with Israel. The debate over taking such a step will thus prevail over other issues with the nearing of the date for starting these negotiations on the 2nd of next month.

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Lebanon's law on Palestinian workers does not go far enough
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ahmed Moor - (Opinion) August 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Beirut pulses with expatriate lives. Foreign nationals come from everywhere for lots of different reasons. Some of them are here to teach, others come to learn Arabic, and still others come to write. Few of them stay for 62 years.

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Do We Want the Direct Negotiations to Succeed?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The parties involved in the Palestinian-Israeli issue have finally settled on starting direct negotiations between the Palestinian National Authority [PA] and the Israeli government to reach a final solution to the conflict between the two sides under the supervision of the United States. And in order to give a strong impetus to the negotiations, a kind of ceremony will be held in the US capital attended by several sides involved in the negotiations, such as the members of the Quartet and the Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel.

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Silwan residents say settlers provoked clash
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood said settlers attempted to enter the Al-Ein Mosque early Thursday morning, sparking skirmishes that lasted until after sunrise. Israeli forces arrived as locals said they were attempting to drive the settlers out of the mosque area. Two settler cars were torched, and several windshields smashed in the violence. The incoming border police force was described as "massive," and said to have been firing tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated bullets toward Palestinians.

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West Bank Security Barrier Draws Artists and Advertisers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Daniel Estrin - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

What many Israelis see as a security barrier, and many Palestinians see as a prison wall, Majd Abdel Hamid sees as a blank canvas. “It’s really tempting as an artist,” said Abdel Hamid, a 22-year-old Ramallah-based painter. Back in 2007, Abdel Hamid and two assistants spent two 10-hour days painting a 130-foot-long portion of the barrier that separates Israel from the West Bank. On the concrete slabs, they stenciled a jumble of Arabic letters. Unscrambled, the letters spell out the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, written in 1988 by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

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A state of Palestine in the making
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Kenneth Chasen - (Opinion) August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The short drive from Jerusalem to Ramallah begins as you'd expect. The pristine setting of the old-new holy city slowly morphs into a more disordered vista on the outskirts of town — small Arab villages, humbly built of stone, displaying signs of economic decay. The streets are nearly empty.

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