September 25th

Mid-East Quartet 'has lost grip'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

The Quartet of international powers has "lost its grip" on the Middle East peace process which it is meant to foster, a group of aid agencies says. In a damning report, the agencies say the Quartet - Russia, the US, the EU and the UN - is failing in its mission. Conditions for Palestinians, which it was meant to improve, have worsened since peace talks recommenced under US sponsorship in 2007, the agencies say. In the West Bank there was an increase in Israeli settlement and travel curbs. The report was issued ahead of a Quartet meeting in New York on Friday.

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Bomb attack on Israeli academic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
September 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

A well-known Israeli critic of Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, Zeev Sternhell, has been slightly wounded in a bomb attack. Police suspect ultra-nationalists Israelis were behind the attack. Professor Sternhall has also strongly opposed the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, describing it as immoral and ineffective. Earlier this year, Professor Sternhall was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for political science. Mr Sternhell suffered minor shrapnel wounds in one leg.

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Bush meets with Middle Eastern leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
September 24, 2008 - 8:00pm

In separate meetings with Middle East leaders Thursday, President Bush applauded Lebanon's efforts to forge a national reconciliation and told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the administration has not given up hope on an agreement to create a Palestinian state. "I appreciate your determination and your desire to have a Palestinian state," Bush told Abbas in front of reporters before an Oval Office meeting. "I share that desire with you. It's not easy."

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September 24th

Israeli prime minister designate-Tzipi Livni assures Palestinian negotiators that the peace talks will continue even while she is forming the new government (1). Five Palestinians are killed as Egyptian forces explode two smuggling tunnels on their border with Gaza (2). Fatah approves tentative plans to restructure the Palestinian government (3). Jordanian and Egyptian heads of state call for increased global assistance in the establishment of Palestinian state (4).

Israel's population on eve of Rosh Hashanah: 7.3 million, 76% Jewish
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moti Bassok - September 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5769, Israel's population stands at 7,337,000 people, including 5,542,000 Jewish Israelis (75.5 percent) and 1,477,000 Israeli Arabs (20.1 percent). The figures, published Wednesday in the Central Bureau of Statistics annual report, also include another 318,000 Israelis listed under the category of "others," in which some 200,000 foreign workers were counted. The report stated that the population has grown by 1.8 percent since last year.

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Peres: Israel isn't willing to give Syria land in exchange for rocket fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoav Stern - September 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

President Shimon Peres on Wednesday told his Turkish counterpart President Abdullah Gul that Israel "is not willing to take painful steps and return territories in exchange for rocket fire," referring to peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. The two heads of state met on the sidelines of the opening of the 63rdl United Nations General Assembly in New York. Turkey has been acting as a mediator in the recently relaunched indirect talks between Israel and Syria.

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Playing Palestinians off against each other
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - September 21, 2008 - 8:00pm

In spite of their recent fierce confrontations and the continuing hostile rhetoric, there are apparently three levels of direct and indirect dealings between Israel and Hamas of Gaza. A ceasefire was reached and is still maintained, negotiations are taking place through third parties on a likely prisoners' exchange and the two sides are exchanging views over the possible opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

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Naalin commander admits wrongdoing, but disputes criminal charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Aviad Glickman - September 23, 2008 - 8:00pm

Lt. Colonel Omri Burberg, a Naalin regiment commander who was indicted following an incident in which a bound Palestinian was shot in the foot during an anti-fence protest in the West Bank village, contested a petition submitted by human rights organizations asking to charge him with more serious offenses. Burberg was dismissed after the incident. His attorneys said Wednesday that "the inquiry into the regiment commander's behavior has led to the conclusion that this is not a case in which a mark of disgrace should be planted on his forehead, warning the public against him."

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Palestinian, Jordanian, or both?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Arwa Aburawa - September 22, 2008 - 8:00pm

?I love Jordan,? whispered a young refugee girl. ?I love Jordan even though I?m Palestinian.? Listening to Ibtisaam, a proud Palestinian who lives in the expansive refugee camps of Jordan, I could see that this was a hard confession to make. In light of her Palestinian pride it was hard to justify her love of Jordan since this was seen as a denial of her Palestinian self ? a direct challenge to her Palestinian roots.

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Voluntary Evacuation and Compensation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Colette Avital - September 23, 2008 - 12:00am

What challenges do settlements present and what is their impact on the peace negotiations?

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