In Jerusalem, a Barrier Comes Down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli military on Sunday began dismantling a concrete barrier that protected residents of a once-troubled district on the edge of Jerusalem from Palestinian sniper fire. At the height of the second intifada, the violent Palestinian uprising that broke out in 2000, the barrier’s tall concrete blocks had shielded the residents of Gilo, most of whom are Jews, from gunmen who took over homes and rooftops in a West Bank village across a ravine.

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Palestinian, Israeli economy ministers meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh held a meeting Thursday with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Ben Eliezer, the Palestinian ministry said. The meeting, called by the Israeli trade and industry minister, was to discuss the PA's campaign to ban settlement produce in the West Bank. “The request for this meeting only indicates the success of the campaign and its impact on the decline in economic strength of the settlements,” Abu Libdeh said.

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Israeli-Palestinian peace talks look less likely as settlers fret over freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant - August 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli and Palestinian leaders are coming under growing US pressure to enter direct peace talks. But despite international mediation this week, they have been unable to close the gap between what their respective constituents will accept. A key sticking point is the 10-month freeze on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, set to expire next month.

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Two states are better than one
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Globe and Mail
by Shira Herzog - August 13, 2010 - 12:00am

New winds seem to be blowing in Israel’s right wing. Prominent voices opposed to relinquishing the West Bank and Jewish settlements are calling instead for its annexation, with citizenship for Palestinians living there. On the face of it, this sounds virtuously democratic. But the right has no intention of abandoning its vision of a Jewish state in expanded territory. What’s being proposed is neither practical nor intellectually honest.

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Report: Netanyahu to offer withdrawal from 90% of West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - August 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prepared a "tempting" plan to be presented to the Palestinians in the direct negotiations, as part of which Israel will offer to withdraw from up to 90% of the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem, the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Friday. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report, calling it "unfounded.

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Yishai: PM set to build in blocs only
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman, David Horovitz - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will resume building only in the settlement blocs Israel will likely keep under an agreement with the Palestinians when the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria ends on September 26, Interior Minister Eli Yishai predicted on Wednesday.

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Bulldozer injures sheikh at Jerusalem cemetery
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Sheikh Ali Abu Sheikha was injured Tuesday when an Israeli bulldozer struck him while when he attempted to block a construction crew from bulldozing a section of a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Abu Sheikha suffered moderate injuries but refused to leave the Mamilla (Ma'man Allah) cemetery, Ma'an's correspondent said. An Israeli police spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Israeli bulldozers entered the cemetery Monday night and began taking down headstones from Muslim graves, the Jerusalem-based Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said.

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High Court: Seal illegal West Bank synagogue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

The High Court of Justice on Sunday upheld a June ruling and ordered the state to seal and fence off a synagogue that it said was illegally constructed in the El Matan outpost in Samaria. El Matan is located just south of the Ma’aleh Shomron settlement, but within its official boundaries. “There is no place for delaying the execution of this order,” the court said. But it added that there was no way to intervene in the authorities’ priorities for the area. The court asked the state for an update on the matter within 60 days.

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Jordan Valley demolitions continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's Civil Administration began razing housing units Monday in the Ein Hilwa area of the northern Jordan Valley, campaign officials said. Save the Jordan Valley campaign coordinator Fathi Ikhdeirat said Israeli authorities, accompanied by border guards, began tearing down structures and handing down stop-work orders to residents. He described the move as an attempt "to clear the area of its indigenous people and include it into Israel and called on international human rights groups to intervene to bring the demolitions to a halt.

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A Talk with Palestinian Negotiator Ahmed Qurei
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - August 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat- Ahmed Qurei, who is also known by his Arabic Kunya Abu Alaa, is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and a veteran negotiator. In 1968 he joined the Fatah political party, and lived in exile with its founder, Yasser Arafat. After improving the economic fortunes of the party, he became a member of the Fatah central committee in 1989, and subsequently went on to play a prominent role in peace negotiations. He is highly regarded for the instrumental role he played in negotiating the Oslo accords of 1993.

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