Lynch the leftists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yishai Rosen-Zvi - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

So what happened around here this past week? Tnuva’s chairwoman quit, Merkel was insulted, the Quartet is nagging, and, oh yeah, some leftists were beaten up. No big deal. How easy it is to get used to it. And how much they help us get used to it.

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Congress Shows Lack of Leverage With Threat To Cut Off Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

As an Israeli who sees the occupation as a plague both on Palestinians and on Israelis, I think it’s a good thing that Congress just held back $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinians as punishment for their statehood bid at the United Nations. It’s a good thing, because now that the Republican Party (and much of the Democratic Party) is indistinguishable from Likud USA, American involvement only makes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worse, so the less influence America has over here, the better.

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Hamas popularity hits a new low after opposing UN statehood bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Kristen Chick - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Of the many complaints in Gaza, one has become a popular refrain: the increasing taxes levied by Hamas. Fathi Abu Gamar, a gas station owner in Jabaliya refugee camp, readily joins the chorus: The Islamist movement that rules this tiny coastal territory takes more than half his revenue from gas sales, he says, leaving him with a tiny profit.

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Palestinian anger at US rising over UN veto threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians have long been skeptical of America's ability to help them win independence. But low expectations have turned into frustration and in some cases outright anger after the U.S. threatened to derail a bid for U.N. recognition of an independent state and Congress put a hold on $200 million in badly needed aid.

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Ex-Israeli officials: 'Price tag' attacks could start intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Following a recent increase in 'Price tag' attacks on Palestinian holy sites, former high-ranking Israeli security officials warned of the risk of a surge in violence across the region. The attack this week on a mosque in the village of Tuba-Zangariya in northern Israel, where the interior prayer hall and religious emblems were set on fire, was the most recent in a series of attacks that Jewish settlers label "Price Tag" attacks, signifying payback for any Israeli curbs on settlements in the West Bank.

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Palestinians say will work with Blair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

A senior Palestinian official on Wednesday added his voice to calls for the replacement of international Middle East envoy Tony Blair, but the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it would carry on cooperating with the former British leader. "The Palestinian presidency will continue to work with the envoy of the international Quartet Committee Tony Blair in his capacity as the choice of the Quartet," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said in a brief statement.

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General strike continues in UNRWA schools in Gaza Strip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

A general strike in all schools run by United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip continued on Wednesday. The strike was prompted by the UNRWA's Arab staff union to protest a decision which suspended the union head's work for three unpaid months. Teachers demonstrated in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza city, chanting slogans against the humanitarian organization. They halted work in all UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip, which host 220,000 students.

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Israel may increase PA control in goodwill gesture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The government is considering a Palestinian request to transfer security control of additional territory in the West Bank to PA security forces as a goodwill gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas. The initiative may be linked to efforts to get Abbas to agree to renew negotiations. The territory under consideration to be transferred is in Area B (assigned under the Oslo Accords to PA civil and Israeli security control) and Area C (assigned under the Oslo Accords to full Israeli control).

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Why Kosovo but not Palestine?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
by Zoltan Grossman - (Opinion) October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

In his September 21 speech to the United Nations, President Obama announced that he would veto UN recognition of a Palestinian state, because its independence was not a result of a negotiated settlement with Israel. He said that "peace depends upon compromise among people who must live together long after our ... votes have been tallied ... That's the lesson of Sudan, where a negotiated settlement led to an independent state. And that is and will be the path to a Palestinian state - negotiations between the parties."

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Jesus loves the little Palestinian children, too
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Dick Staub - (Opinion) October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Inasmuch as others have attempted to clear up the muddy waters of religious dogma and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, let me further muddy the waters with some insights from my own experience. As the child of an evangelical pastor, it was clear that my father and mother shared a special affection for Israel. They led “Holy Land Tours” for their friends and congregants called “For Love of His Land.” Like many Christians, their love of Israel grew out of their religious beliefs.

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