Why the Israeli 'consensus' on settlements is not so simple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick<br /> - September 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Responding to calls from President Barack Obama to extend an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted this weekend for the first time that he's open to new limits on building after the Sept. 26 expiration.

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Israel Bends Slightly on Settlement Building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - (Analysis) September 12, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, signaled for the first time on Sunday that he was willing to limit, though not completely halt, construction in the West Bank settlements after a partial building moratorium expires later this month. The hints of flexibility came as diplomats worked to defuse a potential crisis over settlement building that threatens to derail fledgling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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Peace Now: 2,066 settlement homes to be built as soon as freeze ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - (Analysis) September 12, 2010 - 12:00am

2,066 new homes would be ready for continued West Bank construction as soon as a moratorium on settlement building is lifted later this month, a report by the Israeli left-wing NGO Peace Now said Sunday, adding that work on another 11,000 potential units could hypothetically start as well.

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Settler leader: Extending West Bank freeze will end Netanyahu gov't
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury, Chaim Levinson, Jonathan Lis - (Analysis) September 12, 2010 - 12:00am

A continuation of a moratorium on West Bank settlement building would usher the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, a prominent settler leader said on Sunday, thus commenting on what many consider to an earlier remark by the premier. Speaking at a meeting of Likud ministers earlier Sunday, Netanyahu hinted that he was open to a formulation of a partial building freeze in the settlements after September 30. "The freeze order is support to expire at the end of the month," Netanyahu said.

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Editorial: Unsettled issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) September 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Abbas will not be able to continue talking while Israel continues building With the expiration of Israel’s partial freeze on settlements only two weeks away, President Barack Obama is concerned. The “major bone of contention” he referred to over the weekend is the potential lifting of the settlement moratorium which could wreck the talks before they get out of first gear. The president’s credibility and the future of talks depends on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Settlers vow to keep on building – at any cost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - (Analysis) September 11, 2010 - 12:00am

As Israeli and Palestinian leaders prepare for key peace talks in Egypt, hardline Jewish settlers are vowing to sabotage a political process that they fear, if successful, could endanger the survival of the Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sit down for a second round of talks on Tuesday in a US-sponsored effort to end nearly two decades of deadlock, but opponents of the negotiations say they are quietly confident of their failure.

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Palestinian federation launches campaign against settlement products
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Mohammed Mar’i - (Analysis) September 11, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian federation of Laborers on Saturday launched an international campaign to boycott the products of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories. Shaher Sa'ad, Secretary-General of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), told Arab News that his federation lunched the international campaign to boycott the products of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.

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Fatah: Settlements deepen occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) September 10, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- "Settlements deepen the occupation, they steal Palestinian lands and water; with settlements there is no peace," a statement from the Fatah Central Committee said Thursday. In an effort to clarify the staunch stance of Palestinain negotiators around the settlement issue, a document was released by the committee following a Ramallah meeting ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, as negotiations will resume on 14 September, a day after the Eid holiday closes.

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1 dead in West Bank shooting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) September 9, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Gunmen shot dead one person near the illegal settlement of Ma'ale Adumim in the occupied West Bank late Thursday, Israeli security sources said. One other person was seriously injured in the apparent attack, medics said. Israel Radio reported that the victims were Palestinian citizens of Israel, and no suspected motive was immediately announced.


Jewish settlers confident talks will fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck - (Analysis) September 9, 2010 - 12:00am

In the coming weeks, Danny Dayan and his neighbours will be at the centre of diplomatic attention as policymakers from Washington to Jerusalem try to breathe life into a new round of Middle East peace talks. He, in turn, will do his utmost to ensure that the latest diplomatic effort is stillborn.

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