December 11th

State Dept. blames Goldstone for stalled peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) December 10, 2009 - 1:00am The Goldstone report drove the Israelis and Palestinians apart, a U.S. State Department official said. The aside by Assistant U.S. Secretary of State P.J. Crowley in a briefing for reporters Tuesday was the clearest signal of U.S. frustration with the United Nations Human Rights Council report into last winter's Gaza war, authored by South African Justice Richard Goldstone, that recommended war crimes charges against Israel and Hamas. » Read more

PA plans dollar-pegged currency ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jonathan Ferziger, Alisa Odenheimer - December 11, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinians plan to resurrect the pound from a six-decade hiatus if they manage to build a state, securing its value with a dollar or multicurrency peg, according to Palestine Monetary Authority Governor Jihad al-Wazir. Wazir, the closest thing Palestinians have to a central-bank chief, also said in an interview that he was fighting to stop Hamas from tampering with Gaza Strip banks and to strengthen the financial system for a "tough" year ahead. For advice, he sometimes turns to Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer. » Read more

Disappointed US scales back its Middle East diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - December 11, 2009 - 1:00am With the Palestinians refusing to return to the negotiations, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu not calling for a complete settlement freeze and the Arab world declining to make any gestures to Israel, the current sense in Jerusalem is that the US is scaling back its intensive involvement in the diplomatic process. The best example of this is that US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has not been to the region in over a month and is not now expected to come back until January, after the holiday season in the US. » Read more

'PA police cornerstone of future state' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - December 10, 2009 - 1:00am The development of a fully functioning Palestinian civilian police force is a crucial cornerstone for the establishment of a Palestinian state, the head of an EU mission set up to bolster Palestinian police in the West Bank said during a press conference in Ramallah on Wednesday. British Chief Constable (ret.) Paul Kernaghan, the outgoing head of the EU Police Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (EUPOL COPPS), said his vision was "to see the Palestinian Civil Police [PCP] operating alone on the streets of Palestine." » Read more

Israel's talks with Vatican fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - December 10, 2009 - 1:00am Israel's efforts to reach understandings and achieve reconciliation with the Vatican have failed for the time being. The talks between Israeli officials and the Vatican have hit a dead-end, Ynet learned Thursday. The failure mostly stems from disagreement in respect to the Vatican's demand for sovereignty at the Last Supper Room on Jerusalem's Mount Zion. The Vatican also upheld its objection to the confiscation of Church land across Israel for public purposes. » Read more

Bibi, Barak at odds on priorities map ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - December 10, 2009 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking into possible amendments to the designation of national priority regions in Israel, while one of his main coalition partners, the Labor Party, is expressing its displeasure with the scheme. The PM is looking into various proposals presented to him, the PM's Office said Thursday evening in the wake of harsh criticism of the plan. The national priority designation, which includes the settlements, has irked the Labor party, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak announcing that he will attempt to delay a government discussion of the issue. » Read more

U.S. not opposed to Israel pumping more funds into settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Mazal Mualem, Barak Ravid - December 11, 2009 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to seek cabinet approval for a new map of "national priority" zones does not contradict Israel's declaration of a 10-month construction freeze in West Bank settlements, the prime minister's bureau assured senior United States administration officials late Thursday. The new map would enable another 110,000 settlers - most of whom live outside the major settlement blocs - the economic benefits conferred on residents of zones already included on Israel's list. » Read more

Likud minister: Settler population could grow by 10,000 in next year ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz December 11, 2009 - 1:00am The population of Israeli settlements in the West Bank could grow by 10,000 in the coming year despite a declared temporary freeze on Israeli building in the territory, Likud Minister Benny Begin has said. Begin told a conference on Thursday night that the moratorium would be painful but was not a full construction "freeze" in the accepted sense of the word. He noted that 3,000 homes already started would be completed regardless of the freeze, and said about 10,000 more settlers would move in, according to reports by Israel Israeli media. » Read more

Abbas: West Bank mosque torching is despicable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 11, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday said that Israel must rein in settlers' provocative actions, after assailants vandalized a mosque in the West Bank village of Yasuf, torching furniture and spraying Nazi slogans in Hebrew on the premises. "The torching of the mosque in Yasuf is a despicable crime, and the settlers are behaving with brutality," said Abbas, who called the act a violation of religious freedom. "The settlers' unruly behavior must be stopped," Abbas added after meeting on Friday with United Arab List-Ta'al chairman Ahmed Tibi in Amman. » Read more

Full text: 'A moment of truth' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 11, 2009 - 1:00am A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering Introduction » Read more