Top IDF officer warns: Settlers' radical fringe growing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - October 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The extremist fringe of West Bank settlers is growing, a senior officer on the Israel Defense Forces General Staff warned this week. Though most West Bank settlers are law abiding, the officer said, recent years have seen an upswing in violent attacks by extremist settlers against both IDF troops and neighboring Palestinians.

»

Dallas-area Muslims fear backlash from arrests tied to terror plot
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Dallas News - October 19, 2009 - 12:00am

North Texans were both angry and relieved last month when federal agents arrested a Jordanian teenager in a failed plot to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. But for area Muslims, the arrest of 19-year-old Hosam "Sam" Smadi evoked yet another emotion – fear. "Being a Muslim in America today is not easy," said Hadi Jawad, a longtime Dallas business owner and a volunteer at the Dallas Peace Center. "We feel under siege. There is open season on our faith. Muslims are painted with a broad brush."

»

Talk to Hamas now or fight new radicals indefinitely
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nathan Stock - (Opinion) October 9, 2009 - 12:00am

History is repeating itself in the Palestinian territories. Washington refuses to engage a right-wing Palestinian group – and so spawns organizations that are even more extreme. It happened in the 1980s, when the US balked at recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and hesitated to seek a resolution to the Middle East conflict through the creation of a Palestinian state. Those long delays helped propel the rise of the hard-line Islamist party Hamas.

»

ANALYSIS / Third intifada unlikely, despite Jerusalem tensions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Nine years and 10 days after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada, tensions gripping the Temple Mount could once again lead to the eruption of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. Yet a third intifada would seem inconceivable now, for several reasons - West Bank Palestinians are tired, their economy has been improving, and the Palestinian Authority itself has no stomach for a worsening situation.

»

Lose-lose situation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) October 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Two weeks of continuous incitement by the Islamic Movement's northern branch, members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian clerics has generated a particularly volatile mixture. The escalation in Jerusalem surrounding the Temple Mount and its Al-Aqsa Mosque has led the world's most important Sunni cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to declare today "Al-Aqsa Day." In addition, there are no diplomatic negotiations under way with Israel.

»

Palestinian FM urges UN to ease Jerusalem tension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
October 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki called on UN chief Ban Ki-moon Thursday to intervene to prevent further escalation in Jerusalem. He said he asked for Ban's "immediate intervention to prevent Israel from escalating the situation in Jerusalem." Also Thursday, the High Court of Justice rejected a petition filed by the Temple Mount Human Rights group, headed by Yehuda Glick, who demanded that Jews receive access to the holy site on Friday and Saturday. IThe judge said police were responsible for making the decision and that the court could not become involved.

»

Restraint in a delicate place
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) October 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The growing tension surrounding the Temple Mount threatens to undermine the calm Israel has enjoyed for the past few months. Some of the incidents of the past few days have been routine, such as Jews and Muslims worshipping and the annual Jerusalem March; others not, such as the visit by French tourists to the mosque area and the rumor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having dinner in Silwan. Either way, they underlay the recriminations and mutual threats, the diplomatic intervention by Jordan and the United States, and the street protests by masked Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

»

Fears of third intifada as tension grows in Israel
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Telegraph - October 8, 2009 - 12:00am

fter two weeks of mounting tension and sporadic clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters, a showdown is expected when Friday prayers are called at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's old city. Thousands of Israeli soldiers and policemen are being deployed around the site after the Palestinian Authority called a one-day general strike and a leading Islamic cleric in Egypt urged the Arab world to rise up in "a day of anger".

»

Minister Braverman: Jewish extremists also at fault for riots
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sharon Roffe-ofir - October 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Minorities Minister Avishay Braverman (Labor) said Wednesday that Jewish extremists were also to blame for the recent violence in Jerusalem. Speaking to Ynet, Braverman warned that outlawing the Islamic Movement would only bolster it and hurt Israel's status. "Ministers and MKs' calls to have the movement banned only serve the Islamic Movement's political interests. Outlawing the group would only embolden extremist elements and strengthen the movement itself," he told Ynet.

»

Mosque rumour sparks clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
October 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli police mobilised reinforcements from across the country to secure the streets of Jerusalem yesterday, deploying thousands of officers amid fears that violence would escalate after two days of clashes with Palestinian protesters. Rumours that Israeli extremists planned to march on the most sacred Muslim and Jewish shrine in the Holy Land apparently fuelled the unrest. No such march has taken place.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017