Analysis: U.S. pinning its Mideast hopes on 90-day settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Call it a triumph of hope over experience. When Israel agreed to a 10-month partial settlement freeze last year, U.S. officials said it was exactly what they needed to get talks with the Palestinians started. They whispered that they were sure the freeze would be extended; Israel wouldn't dare curtail the negotiations by ending it.

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Analysis: U.S. pinning its Mideast hopes on 90-day settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Analysis) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Call it a triumph of hope over experience. When Israel agreed to a 10-month partial settlement freeze last year, U.S. officials said it was exactly what they needed to get talks with the Palestinians started. They whispered that they were sure the freeze would be extended; Israel wouldn't dare curtail the negotiations by ending it.

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A 90-Day Bet on Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - November 14, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — The pledge by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to push for a new, one-time-only freeze of 90 days on settlement construction in the West Bank represents a bet by the Israelis and the Americans that enough can be accomplished so that the Palestinians will not abandon peace talks even after the freeze ends.

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Israel's own citizens are the new target of extremist settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jesse Rosenfeld - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am

West Bank settlers entered the Arab city under the cover of an armed escort. As they proceeded, security forces chased Palestinian youth down alleys, firing tear gas, stun grenades and foam-covered bullets. Masked in keffiyahs, local high school students who had been striking against the settlers' provocations reorganised, throwing stones at the Israeli forces from behind makeshift barricades.

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Hard times drive Gazans into perilous 'buffer zone'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
by Jon Donnison - November 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Basam and Mustapha Adwan make for a sorry sight. In their small, cramped house in northern Gaza, which they share with 12 other family members, 24-year-old Basam sits in a wheelchair. His younger brother Mustapha sits on the floor, his crutches by his side. Both men have heavily bandaged right feet. They say they were shot by Israeli soldiers while working close to the border. "Normally they give a warning shot," says Basam, who says he was shot a month ago. "But this time there was no warning. The bullet went right through my foot." He winces as he remembers the pain. Trade flourishing

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Erekat: PA will ask US to recognize state if talks fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
November 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority plans to ask the US to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in the event that "Netanyahu and the Israelis decide to choose settlements over peace," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in an interview with Army Radio aired on Monday. "If the Americans can't do that," added Erekat, "we may turn to the UN Security Council." Erekat stated that while the Security Council cannot legally declare a Palestinian state, its permanent members can call on other nations to individually recognize a Palestinian state.

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Netanyahu strikes a deal on Israeli settlements – could it freeze peace, too?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Tel Aviv Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long caught between intensifying US demands and the restlessness of his right-wing allies, appears to have struck a deal to delay Israeli settlement expansion without unsettling his government. Mr. Netanyahu's security cabinet is expected to narrowly approve a three-month Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank, in exchange for US promises of $3 billion in military aid and a commitment not to support any United Nations resolution recognizing Palestinian sovereignty.

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New Palestinian peace plan may force Israel into action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - November 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted the worn-out tactic of soccer coaches: the best defense is a good offense. Instead of offering reasons for his refusal to freeze construction in the settlements, the prime minister is attacking the Palestinians for deciding to end negotiations. The story goes as follows. A few days ago we reported that Netanyahu's representative to talks with the Palestinians and Americans, Isaac Molho, refused to accept a Palestinian position paper on core issues - including the division of Jerusalem - from the head of the Palestinian delegation, Saeb Erekat.

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PA economy minister: Settlement removal is priority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 1, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Eliminating settlements from occupied Palestinian territory is the national objective and the basis for the government-led settlement boycott, Palestinian Authority National Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said Saturday. Since taking office a year ago, Libdeh has led a campaign to end the sale of settlement produce in the West Bank. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced the boycott in January 2010, and it was implemented across the West Bank in May.

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'PM agreed to lease Jordan Valley from Palestinians'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
November 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli sources on Monday confirmed that the US proposed that Israel lease parts of the Jordan Valley from the Palestinians for an additional seven years, Army Radio reported. According to the Monday report, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to the idea, but demanded that the arrangement be for a longer period of time than the original offer. "Seven years is not enough - an arrangement like this needs to last for dozens of years," Netanyahu said in closed talks, according to Army Radio.

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