September 28th

Erekat: Israel deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian leaders warned Israel on Sunday not to stoke tension in Jerusalem in the hope of thwarting peace talks, after clashes at a sacred site in which Palestinians and Israeli police were injured. "At a time when [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track, Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erakat said Sunday evening.

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Dahlan warns of third intifada over Al-Aqsa clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Muhammad Dahlan, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, warned on Sunday a third intifada could arise in light of "Israel's contempt for the feelings of Muslims." Responding to clashes that left dozens of Palestinians injured by police batons and tear-gas canisters on Sunday, Dahlan condemned Israel for allowing "extremist Jewish groups" to "storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque." In a statement, Dahlan said he considered "the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa playing with fire and crossing red lines." He said Israeli authorities permitted groups to enter the area to "attack worshipers inside."

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Hamas: Elections cannot be held on tim
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Hamas believes that elections simply cannot be held on schedule on 25 January 2010, sources in the movement in the West Bank told Ma’an on Sunday.

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Palestinian TV airs daring satire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 20, 2009 - 12:00am

On "Saturday Night Live," which has long parodied politicians ranging from Jimmy Carter to Sarah Palin, these characters would be well within bounds: An Islamist judge who is a latent homosexual. A negotiator who emerges from peace talks stripped to his boxers. A president who worries about his Israeli-issued checkpoint pass. But this is Palestinian state TV. Premièring during the holy month of Ramadan, the first-ever Palestinian political satire show turns national leaders and military strongmen into absurd protagonists on its nightly broadcasts, winning a growing viewership.

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A call to moral accounting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Chicago Tribune
by Brant Rosen - (Opinion) September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

On Sunday night, the Jewish community will begin our annual Yom Kippur fast. The physical deprivation is a crucial element of the day, but as with many faith traditions, the fasting itself isn't really the point. Going without food and water is, rather, a device, intended to sharpen our senses and lead to reflection. This reflection is notably, pointedly, not a personal pursuit. All through the Yom Kippur prayers, we're called to do "cheshbon nefesh," a moral accounting, as a community: "We have sinned," we pray. "Forgive us."

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Palestinians and Israelis Clash at Jerusalem Holy Site
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Clashes broke out Sunday between Palestinians and the Israeli police at a holy site in Jerusalem revered by both Muslims and Jews, after Muslim worshipers threw stones at a group of foreign tourists, apparently mistaking them for Jewish activists.

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September 25th

In a new poll Palestinians express overwhelming support for a two-state peace agreement with Israel, and strong majority support for President Abbas and the PA, but with a substantial minority expressing sympathy for Hamas. US officials say negotiating talks are on track, although Palestinians and the Middle East Quartet continue to insist on a settlement freeze. In the Los Angeles Times, Aaron David Miller questions whether President Obama has the will to break through the Middle East stalemate. Israeli occupation authorities in Gaza announce they will longer deal with human rights groups, as a Palestinian is killed in a tunnel collapse and UNRWA calls for more aid to refugees. Arab and Israeli commentators continue to examine the fallout from the tripartite UN meeting and President Obama's subsequent speech.

The Prospect for a Breakthrough
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) September 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Although the Obama administration's efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have not, as yet, produced tangible results, the prospect for a breakthrough in negotiations may be closer today than it has been in many years. Notwithstanding the inherent skepticism about the prospect of real progress, the conversion of certain regional and international developments have altered the political dynamic and created a new set of opportunities for a negotiated settlement.

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Souvenir photo at the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) September 25, 2009 - 12:00am

No concrete results were expected from the September 22 meeting held at the United Nations by US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. This marks the end of phase 1 of Obama’s intriguing foray into Arab-Israeli peacemaking.

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Excessive American Kindness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) September 25, 2009 - 12:00am

The first conclusion one can draw from the tripartite summit which brought together Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas in New York, as well as from the US President’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, is that US diplomacy, which promoted a climate of optimism during the past few months and expressed its desire to play an active and positive role in resuming peace negotiations on balanced bases, was quick to abandon such a role with the emergence of the first difficulties, and has retreated to a position of spectator of an imbalanced “arm wrestling match” which, if it were to begin, wo

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