Demolition, clashes and 'price tag' at West Bank outpost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Some 50 youngsters, some of them hooded, blocked the entrance of security forces to Ramat Migron on Wednesday. Soldiers and police officers arrived at the West Bank outpost to demolish five illegal structures. During the ensuing clashes, which involved settlers, Palestinians and security forces, at least four people were lightly hurt by pepper spray and stones thrown by Palestinians. Some of the settlers hurled rocks at security forces and set tires on fire at the entrance to the outpost.

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Chronicles of peace or epitaphs of failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Arab League rescued Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama from being boxed into a corner. The one month extension granted to the peace process during which they have to find a way back to negotiations provides a little room to breathe and avoids having Obama take the direct fallout from a foreign policy failure prior to the crucial midterm elections on November 2.

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In West Bank, olive groves are on the front line in struggle over land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

When members of the Shalabi family went out recently to harvest their olives, they discovered that a few dozen trees had been chopped down, their branches hacked by vandals. In other groves belonging to this Palestinian village, there were scores of dead trees that had apparently been poisoned, with holes drilled in their trunks. The groves are near Adei Ad, an unauthorized Jewish settlement outpost, and villagers, citing past incidents of assaults and harassment, pointed an accusing finger at the settlers.

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US nudges Palestinians to answer Israeli proposal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States nudged the Palestinian Authority to make a counter-offer to Israel's proposal for a new freeze on building in Jewish settlements if the Palestinians recognized Israel as a Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said if the Palestinian leadership recognized Israel "as the homeland of the Jewish people," he was ready to ask his government to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building. The Palestinians immediately rejected the proposal, which they have long opposed.

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U.S.: We want clear path, not two-month delay of peace process deadlock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States doesn't want a two-month delay on peace process but rather achieve a clear path that allows Israel and the Palestinians to continue negotiations, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to extend the settlement freeze in return for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. "We don't just want to push the can down the road two months," U.S. State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley said.

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Top 10 worst errors Israel is about to make
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Blog) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

1. The Loyalty Oath. What it is: A proposed amendment to Israel's Law of Citizenship, which, if approved by the Knesset, would require non-Jews seeking citizenship to pledge allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state." The bill does not require Jews to make the same declaration. Why it matters: A watershed measure which has been widely condemned as formally racist, passage of the bill, a key demand of Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu party, could also fuel Lieberman's drive to head the Israeli right, and eventually, run for the premiership.

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Biding time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States will most probably succeed in convincing Israel to extend its partial and temporary settlement moratorium for another two or three months. It has already offered a package of benefits that seems completely disproportionate to what is being asked for, and which even US newspaper The New York Times has described as “overly generous.”

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Palestinian President Presents Four Alternatives to Arab Follow-Up Committee
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Sawsan Abu-Husain - (Opinion) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas presented four alternatives, which he described as "historic," concerning the prospects of the direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This took place at the recent meetings of the Arab initiative committee in the Libyan city of Sirte on the sidelines of the extraordinary Arab summit. The alternatives are as follows: First: If Israel decides to halt the settlement activities, the direct negotiations will continue, and its pace will be accelerated.

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Shas party split on settlement freeze extension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yair Ettinger, Jonathan Lis - October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

The office of Shas chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai issued a statement on Sunday night that said Yishai had been instructed by Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to "strongly oppose any form of a settlement freeze extension."

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Netanyahu’s Moves Spark Debate on Intentions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An offer on Monday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to freeze West Bank Jewish settlements in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state — instantly rejected by the Palestinians — was the latest complex maneuver engendering debate about his intentions.

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