Religious Extremism | The American Task Force on Palestine

Dahlan warns of third intifada over Al-Aqsa clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Muhammad Dahlan, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, warned on Sunday a third intifada could arise in light of "Israel's contempt for the feelings of Muslims." Responding to clashes that left dozens of Palestinians injured by police batons and tear-gas canisters on Sunday, Dahlan condemned Israel for allowing "extremist Jewish groups" to "storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque." In a statement, Dahlan said he considered "the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa playing with fire and crossing red lines." He said Israeli authorities permitted groups to enter the area to "attack worshipers inside."

Erekat: Israel deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian leaders warned Israel on Sunday not to stoke tension in Jerusalem in the hope of thwarting peace talks, after clashes at a sacred site in which Palestinians and Israeli police were injured. "At a time when [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track, Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erakat said Sunday evening.

Anger at Jerusalem shrine clash
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse 150 Palestinian protesters who had thrown rocks at non-Muslims who entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is sacred to both religions. Israeli police said the visitors were foreign tourists, but Palestinians said they were Jewish extremists. "At a time when (the US administration) is trying to bridge the divide... Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," said Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Jerusalem Diary: Monday 21 September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Tim Franks - September 21, 2009 - 12:00am

It's one of the grandest geo-political entities of them all, every word capitalised … The Middle East Peace Process. But its current progress, or signal lack of it, has been hanging on something rather more lower case - whether Israel is prepared, for a few months, to stop giving out new permits for construction in West Bank settlements. Dani Dayan believes it's not so much mundane as barmy. He's the Chairman of the Settlers' Council. "Two pandemics are running wild all over the world," he says. "The first is swine flu, the second is 'settlement psychosis'."

'Protecting' Jewish girls from Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Abe Selig - September 18, 2009 - 12:00am

Every night, dozens of young men in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood take to the streets and go out searching for girls. But theirs is not a promiscuous search. In fact, the group of some 35 volunteers is looking to prevent such interaction and to stop what neighborhood residents have overwhelmingly complained is a growing problem in Pisgat Ze'ev - Arab men going out with Jewish girls.

Op-Ed: U.S. Jews, Muslims must look forward, not back
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Salam Al-Marayati - (Opinion) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

In the 25 years I have served as a leader in the Muslim American community, I have watched and sometimes participated as the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian camps have put all their energy into trying to convert each other to their own ways of thinking -- ideologically, not theologically. The conclusion I have reached is that agreement cannot and should not be a pre-condition for engagement. As Muslims, Jews and Christians who believe in peacemaking as a social and religious responsibility, we must be the drivers of change at the grass-roots level.

Rightist gets community service for racist remarks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Aviad Glickman - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Tuesday sentenced extreme right-wing activist Noam Federman to four months of community service, after convicting him of incitement to racism. Federman was put on trial following remarks he made during a TV show in August 2005: "There are delusional people who say we can live with the Arabs in coexistence. There are delusional people who say I can live together with cancer. What is a good Arab? An Arab who has yet to murder Jews? It's hard to find any of those today."

Israeli peace groups target US fundraising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli peace activists are planning to ratchet up their campaign against groups in the United States that raise money for settlers by highlighting how tax exemptions are helping to fund the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Gush Shalom, a small peace group that advocates Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, is preparing to send details to the US tax authorities questioning the charitable status of several organisations.

Jordan an arena for Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Bickering within Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has come to the fore as never before. The divisions in the movement and their dubious relationship with Hamas have posed serious questions about the scope, if any, this movement is penetrated by Hamas.

Resolve of West Bank Settlers May Have Limits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Isabel Kershner - September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Of the hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, those who live in unauthorized hilltop outposts like this one, a hardscrabble unpaved collection of 20 trailers, are considered the most dangerous.

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