November 4th

Alone in the world
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yigal Sarna - (Opinion) November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


To Benjamin Netanyahu’s credit, we should first note that there are no wars during his terms in office. This was the case during his first term, and this may be the case in the second one as well. He is a cautious man. Nahum Barnea referred to it as someone on early retirement. A man who does little and finds it difficult to make decisions. In respects to wars, his hesitation should be lauded.


Palestinian workers: We're being treated like cattle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Edelson - November 3, 2009 - 1:00am


The 4,500 Palestinian workers who travel through the Eyal checkpoint, near West Bank city of Qalqilya, on their way to work in Israel, are finding it hard to enjoy the long-awaited winter. The checkpoint provides cover for those waiting to cross it, but its little shed can shelter about 100 people at the most, leaving the rest exposed to rain and cold winds. "I usually like the winter, but why do we have to stand here like this?" wondered Majid Nazal, a construction worker who crosses the checkpoint daily.


UN chief urges Israel to end 'provocative actions' in east Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Israel to end its "provocative actions" in east Jerusalem and to abide by its commitments to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. "The Secretary General is dismayed at continued Israeli actions in occupied east Jerusalem, including the demolition of Palestinian homes, the eviction of Palestinian families and the insertion of settlers into Palestinian neighborhoods," a UN statement said. "The eviction today of a Palestinian family in east Jerusalem is just the most recent incident," it added.


America, stop sucking up to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) November 3, 2009 - 1:00am


Barack Obama has been busy - offering the Jewish People blessings for Rosh Hashanah, and recording a flattering video for the President's Conference in Jerusalem and another for Yitzhak Rabin's memorial rally. Only Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah surpasses him in terms of sheer output of recorded remarks. In all the videos, Obama heaps sticky-sweet praise on Israel, even though he has spent nearly a year fruitlessly lobbying for Israel to be so kind as to do something, anything - even just a temporary freeze on settlement building - to advance the peace process.


A misguided resolution - US Rep. Brian Baird
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Brian Baird - (Opinion) November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


Before US House members vote on H.Res. 867, regarding the UN Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict, there are a few questions worth asking. First, why are we bringing this resolution to the floor without ever giving former South African Constitutional Court Justice Richard Goldstone a hearing to explain his findings?


U.S. House backs resolution to condemn Goldstone Gaza report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday condemned a UN report that accuses Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of committing war crimes in Gaza early this year as irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy. With a 344-36 vote, the House passed a nonbinding resolution that urged President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to oppose unequivocally any endorsement of the report. Twenty-two representatives voted present.


ANALYSIS / Israel preparing public for a new war in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, director of Military Intelligence, announced Tuesday that Hamas launched a rocket some 60 kilometers into the sea, apparently as an experiment. Such a rocket, if fired from the northernmost point of the Gaza Strip, could strike the southern cities of the Gush Dan area - including Rishon Letzion, Holon and Bat Yam - and possibly reach as far as Tel Aviv itself.


Controversy over draft UN resolution on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


The UN General Assembly is likely to vote in support of a UN report alleging war crimes in Gaza on Wednesday, but experts say that, if not properly worded, the resolution could close off options for further action on the matter.


Palestinians who see nonviolence as their weapon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


Every Friday, Mohammed Khatib's forces assemble for battle with the Israeli army and gather their weapons: a bullhorn, banners -- and a fierce belief that peaceful protest can bring about a Palestinian state. A few hundred strong, they march to the Israeli barrier that separates the tiny farming community of Bilin from much of its land. They chant and shout. A few teenagers throw stones. Khatib helped launch the weekly ritual five years ago in an attempt to "re-brand" a Palestinian struggle often associated with rocket attacks and suicide bombers.


U.S. hope dims for high-level Israeli-Palestinian talks over state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karen Deyoung, Howard Schneider - November 4, 2009 - 1:00am


The Obama administration has concluded that an early resumption of high-level negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over a Palestinian state is unlikely in the near future -- an acknowledgment that it has fallen short, for now, on one of its major initial foreign policy goals. While still pressing for face-to-face talks between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun to urge Arab states to encourage Palestinian participation in lower-level talks with Israel to avoid a vacuum.



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