Did militant Israeli settlers burn mosque near Bethlehem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Tel Aviv, Israel — Israel is worried that Jewish militants torched a West Bank mosque overnight Monday in a bid to undermine peace negotiations with the Palestinians. A mosque in the Palestinian village of Beit Fajar, just south of Bethlehem, became the fourth in the last two years to be the target of an arson attempt, according to human rights workers. The attack is believed to be part of a campaign by vigilante settlers to ignite violence by attacking Muslim holy sites.

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Bibi pushing quiet diplomacy in bid to restart talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is "in the midst of sensitive diplomatic contacts with the U.S. administration" in the effort to continue peace talks with the Palestinians. In a statement Sunday at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu called the direct peace negotiations begun one month ago "a vital interest for the State of Israel." He urged his ministers to "be patient, act responsibly, calmly and -- above all -- quietly."

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Deadline extended in bid to keep Israel-Palestinian talks alive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Tel Aviv, Israel — Sputtering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks received another reprieve over the weekend when a key Arab League meeting was postponed until Friday. It was the second delay for the meeting, which Palestinians said could mark their withdrawal from negotiations if Israeli settlement expansion continued.

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Take a good look at Olmert’s fingertips
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

He was talking about the negotiation he had conducted personally with Mahmoud Abbas, just before he himself was forced to vacate the prime minister’s office. That was the climax of the speech he made last week at a meeting of the “Geneva Initiative”. Before analyzing it, a few words about the host and about the speaker.

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ADL 'outraged' by West Bank mosque arson, condemns extremist Jewish violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

The Anti-Defamation League on Monday condemned the torching of a Palestinian mosque in the West Bank, an act believed to have been carried out by angry settlers as part of their "price tag operation. ? "We are outraged by the attack on the mosque in Bayt Fajar,” Anti-Defamation League Israel office said in a statement. “We join with Israeli officials in condemning this act of hate, and hope that the joint IDF-Palestinian investigative team will identify and apprehend the perpetrators of this vicious act and bring them to justice according to the law."

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Poll: Most Palestinians back dropping talks if Israel builds settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

A majority of Palestinians would want to withdraw from Middle East peace negotiations if Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, according to a public opinion poll published Monday. The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, found that 66 per cent of participants supported that position.

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Pressure mounts on PM to reject US ‘benefits package’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has begun efforts to persuade Likud cabinet members to support a deal with the US in which Israel would limit construction in Judea and Samaria for 60 days in return for American promises, Likud officials confirmed on Sunday. While the proposal has not been finalized, Netanyahu’s associates have started making inquiries with the ministers, asking them to be flexible.

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Lieberman 'key' to cabinet vote on settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

A cabinet decision to extend the moratorium on settlement construction, which expired late last month, hinges on the support of either Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman or Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias, senior Likud officials told Haaretz yesterday. The officials said that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks the cabinet to extend the freeze, he would need the vote of Atias, a Shas minister seen as a moderate, or of Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party.

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Israel, Palestinians start to blame each other as talks look shaky
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

The latest round of the U.S.- sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were stumbling as the two sides differed on the issue of whether or not Israel should extend its 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank after it ended last week. Analysts said that both Israel and the Palestinians are now trying to escape being blamed for delaying the peace talks, while reaffirming close relations with the Washington. BLAME GAME STARTS

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Palestinians: Peace talks hinge on Israeli settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - October 3, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM - The Palestinian leadership said on Saturday that there would be no resumption of peace talks without a halt to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, backing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a dispute that has imperiled recently renewed negotiations.

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