Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Defying Israeli restrictions, Palestinians renovate and rededicate schools in occupied East Jerusalem. Egypt¹s intelligence chief arrives in Israel. Israeli soldiers shoot a mentally disabled Palestinian in Gaza. PLO officials say dissolving the PA is an option. Jewish-Arab relations in Israel hit a new low. Xinhua interviews Nabil Shaath. Israeli tour guides once again are operating in Palestinian-controlled areas. Gaza children work to support their families. Ha¹aretz looks at how the GOP win in the House will impact Middle East policies, though the State Department insists there will be no change. Yossi Sarid says Israel has no answer to PM Fayyad¹s moderate policies. The UK Foreign Secretary will break protocol and meet Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem. An Israeli town moves to restrict home sales to Palestinians. DM Barak says negotiations will restart after the US elections. Yonatan Preminger says Israel does not want peace. Israel¹s outgoing military intelligence chief says its next wars will be more difficult. The Independent profiles FM Lieberman.

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Israel: Defying Ban, Palestinians Renovate East Jerusalem Schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - November 2, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian Authority said Tuesday that the authority had helped renovate 14 schools in East Jerusalem, in defiance of Israeli claims of sovereignty over the area and its ban on Palestinian political activity there. He went to a school in Dahyiat al Barid, on Jerusalem’s outskirts, to dedicate a section the authority had helped renovate, but Israel barred him from entering a refugee camp within the municipal boundaries for another ceremony. He said at the dedication that it did not matter if he was stopped. » Read more

Egypt intelligence chief to visit Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Egyptian intelligence chief Omer Suleiman will arrive in Israel on Thursday in an attempt to break an impasse in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, news reports say. Suleiman is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to discuss ways of resuming negotiations, Egyptian reports said. Suleiman is expected to explain to Israeli officials that the impasse will result in violence that will harm both Palestinians and Israelis. News of Suleiman's visit was first reported Monday by Israeli media. » Read more

Gaza medics: Israeli forces shoot mentally disabled man ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 3, 2010 - 12:00am A mentally disabled man was shot Tuesday by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said. Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Silmiyya said the 40-year-old man was transferred to hospital. An Israeli military spokesman said soldiers saw a Palestinian approaching the security fence in the area, and shot at his lower body after he failed to respond to warning shots. The army considers the area close to the border to be a combat zone, he added. » Read more

PLO official: Dissolving PA an option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 2, 2010 - 12:00am PLO negotiator Nabil Sha'ath said Tuesday that dissolving the Palestinian Authority would be considered as a last resort if efforts to end Israel's occupation failed. The Fatah official told Ma'an radio that if the PA was unable to meet its responsibilities, it would be shameful to retain authority. "Its decisions are shot down by the occupation, as the people of the West Bank can’t visit Gaza and Gazans can’t live in the West Bank. It is not permitted for anyone to build a new Palestinian village or city, which is unacceptable." » Read more

Palestinian PM stakes claim to east Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - November 2, 2010 - 12:00am DAHIAT AL-BARID, WEST BANK — Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday staked a claim to Israeli-controlled east Jerusalem, announcing that his government quietly helped fund the renovation of 14 schools in what the Palestinians hope will be their capital. However, Fayyad stopped short of a full-fledged confrontation with Israel. He heeded an Israeli warning not to set foot in Jerusalem for the announcement and instead chose a West Bank school on the edge of the city as a venue. » Read more

Jewish-Arab relations in Israel hit boiling point ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Diaa Hadid - November 2, 2010 - 12:00am Relations between Israel's Jewish majority and its Arab minority have never been warm, but they appear to have hit a new low that has activists on both sides worried the troubled relationship is beyond repair. In the past month alone, Israeli lawmakers have introduced a series of bills that aim to marginalize Arabs. Rabbis in a northern town have urged followers not to rent homes to Arabs. Extremist Jews marched through this town and set off a violent riot. And a prominent Arab activist has admitted in a plea bargain to spying for the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. » Read more

Interview: Palestinians prepare to discus with AL on peace standstill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Omer al-Othmani, Osama Radi - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am A senior Palestinian official said Tuesday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) planed to discuss with the Arab League the stalled peace process. Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian negotiator and a member of the Fatah party's central committee told Xinhua in an interview that the worst option of this plan is to resolve the PNA and the resignation of PNA President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

Israeli tour guides back in Palestinian areas after 10 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 3, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli Tourism Ministry is touting a recent decision to allow 50 Israeli tour guides and drivers to work in Bethlehem and Jericho, after a decade-long absence. Officials deemed the move, which was jointly taken with the Civil Authority coordinating civilian affairs between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), a success and plan to increase the numbers of permits. » Read more

Gaza children go to work to help families ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Standing under the sun in a dusty street, Ahmed Al-Massri looks older than 13, his age. As he sees a car parking in Gaza City's upper neighborhood, he rushes to offer cleaning its windows. A Palestinian woman, looking wealthy, nodded and handed over the young boy some tips, asking him to go home instead of " wandering in the streets." The boy put the money in his tiny pocket, and thanked the lady, telling her that he only wanted "to work to earn my living, not to beg." » Read more

How will the Republican-controlled House affect U.S.-Israel ties? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am The Republican's victory in the House of Representatives on Tuesday leaves many in Israel wondering whether President Barack Obama's stymied domestic agenda will encourage him to concentrate more on foreign policy, including the Middle East peace process. » Read more

Why Salam Fayyad is Israel's public enemy number one ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu marches from victory to victory. After beating the U.S. president, he returned and bested the Palestinian prime minister, who Tuesday skipped a scheduled visit in East Jerusalem. Salam Fayyad is public enemy number one in Israel these days. We proscribe him, because the world finds him praiseworthy. Fayyad is not corrupt, and that's a problem. He's not even a hedonist, apparently. He is pleasant, his cheeks stubble-free - altogether nicer and less threatening than Yasser, say. » Read more

British foreign secretary to meet Palestinian activists in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am British Foreign Secretary William Hague will on Wednesday meet with a group of Palestinian activists campaigning against Israel's West Bank barrier, as part of a tour of Jerusalem. Hague, a rightwing Conservative minister in the United Kingdom's coalition government, was scheduled to arrive in Israel late Tuesday for a trip for secret roundtable discussions on the Iranian nuclear program with a long list top Israeli officials. » Read more

Carmiel initiative tries to prevent home sales to Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Carmiel's local paper is running an ad calling on residents of the "Jewish, Zionist city" to email anonymous information on home sales to Arabs. "I side with keeping the Jewish Zionist character of Carmiel intact," says Deputy Mayor Oren Milstein. Demographic Test We need more Jews / Lawrence J. Epstein Op-ed: Both Israel, US Jewish community must implement population growth methods Full Story » Read more

Barak: Negotiations to resume after US elections ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am The peace talks with the Palestinian Authority will move forward after the midterm elections in the US, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday. "There are elections in the US today, and I suppose that it will take them a few weeks after the elections to settle in," he said during a visit to a high school in Emek Hamaayanot Regional Council in northern Israel. "I hope and believe that we can see real progress in the negotiations in the next few months." » Read more

Does Israel want peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yonatan Preminger - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am hose Palestinians are a joke. Israel makes concessions, expends every effort in confidence-building measures, and what do they do? Nothing. In 2000, we withdrew from Lebanon. In 2005 we left Gaza, pulling out the settlers completely. In 2009 we agreed to a building freeze in the West Bank. For 10 months Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu risked his coalition to enable Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to sit with us at the negotiating table. » Read more

US: 'Election results will not affect Mideast policy' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Regardless of who wins the US legislative elections, American-led peace efforts in the Middle East will continue, US State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said Tuesday, as Democrats prepared to face Republican challengers, reported AFP. "Democratic and Republican administrations supported by Congress under Democratic or Republican leadership have all supported our pursuit for comprehensive Middle East peace," Crowley said. "So this is a significant national interest and I would not expect any electoral results to have an impact on that." » Read more

MI chief: Next conflict will be bigger, broader, deadlier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Rebecca Anna Stoil - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Outgoing head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin may have initially waxed sentimental on Tuesday during his final appearance before the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but the MI head later gave a stark warning regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and painted a grim portrait of what Israel’s next war could look like. » Read more

Lieberman: The man dragging Israel to the right ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Foreign Secretary Avigdor Lieberman greets William Hague today in a more powerful position than ever William Hague is entitled to a little more than the usual trepidation that afflicts every minister making a first visit as Foreign Secretary to the political minefield that is Israel and the occupied territories. For today, he comes face-to-face with his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, one of the most controversial politicians in the democratic world who also royally humiliated the last two European foreign ministers to pay him a visit. » Read more

Hague breaks protocol to meet Palestinian activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, is to take the unusual step today of meeting Palestinian activists involved in regular unarmed protests and demonstrations against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. » Read more

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