Israeli settlers are suspected of torching a West Bank mosque and burning Korans. Palestinians celebrate Oktoberfest with a local brew. A compromise may be brewing over settlements. A Palestinian man is shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank. The PA denounces a new video of occupation forces mocking captured Palestinians. A new study shows both Israelis and Palestinians retaliate against each other. Israel deports an Irish Nobel laureate. Egyptian Pres. Mubarak warns of "global terror" without a peace agreement. A majority of Palestinians don't want talks to continue if settlement activity does. The ADL condemns the mosque arson. A leading Israeli poet says Israel is “an apartheid state.” Ami Kaufman says Israelis should support a Palestinian Declaration of Independence in one year. US opens a new consulate in West Jerusalem. Rock star Roger Waters says he's not anti-Semitic, just opposed to the occupation. Simon Tisdall says Pres. Obama faces humiliation if talks collapse. PM Netanyahu says he's using quiet diplomacy. Tariq Alhomayed says Netanyahu has turned the tables on Pres. Abbas. Christopher Hitchens says it's not offensive to point out the effectiveness of Jewish-American organizations.

Israel deports pro-Palestinian Nobel laureate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel on Tuesday expelled an Irish Nobel peace laureate and pro-Palestinian activist who was barred from the country for trying to bust the naval blockade of Gaza. Mairead Corrigan Maguire was placed on an early morning flight to Britain, the Interior Ministry said. She had been banned from Israel for 10 years after trying to sail to Gaza on a blockade-busting ship in June. Still, she landed in Tel Aviv last week as part of a delegation meeting Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

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Egypt president warns of 'global terror' if Mideast peace talks fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that a failure in Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations would lead to "violence and terrorism" across the world. In an interview with the journal of the Egyptian armed forces, given to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he said he has told several leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that "if the peace process collapses, violence and terrorism will erupt in the Middle East and all over the world."

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Poll: Most Palestinians back dropping talks if Israel builds settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

A majority of Palestinians would want to withdraw from Middle East peace negotiations if Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, according to a public opinion poll published Monday. The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, found that 66 per cent of participants supported that position.

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Korans burnt in West Bank mosque attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

BEIT FAJJAR, West Bank, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Jewish settlers opposed to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians were accused of setting fire to a mosque in the West Bank on Monday, burning the Koran and scrawling threats in Hebrew on its walls. "Mosques, we burn," said a warning scribbled at the door of the smoke-smudged mosque of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed for cool heads to avert the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks.

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ADL 'outraged' by West Bank mosque arson, condemns extremist Jewish violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

The Anti-Defamation League on Monday condemned the torching of a Palestinian mosque in the West Bank, an act believed to have been carried out by angry settlers as part of their "price tag operation. ? "We are outraged by the attack on the mosque in Bayt Fajar,” Anti-Defamation League Israel office said in a statement. “We join with Israeli officials in condemning this act of hate, and hope that the joint IDF-Palestinian investigative team will identify and apprehend the perpetrators of this vicious act and bring them to justice according to the law."

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Poet Zach: Israel apartheid state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Boaz Fyler - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The Knesset is on the offensive as one of Israel's leading poets has announced his intent to join the next flotilla to Gaza. Natan Zach condemned the government and said he was willing to join activists attempting to reach Gaza via flotillas. He added that while visiting Germany, he witnessed a huge rally where Israel was labeled as an "apartheid state. "I do not wish to live in such state," he said. Zach told Ynet that he did not understand why his statements caused such uproar.

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Study shows Israelis, Palestinians both retaliate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Maggie Fox - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - An unusual attempt to quantify the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians shows that both act in retaliation for violent attacks, researchers reported on Monday. They said their findings defy the perception that Palestinians attack randomly and demonstrate that both sides damage their own interests with acts of violence. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers also said they hope to shed some light on the psychology that makes both Israelis and Palestinians feel they are the victims in the conflict.

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Play the wild card
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ami Kaufman - October 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Pessimism,” “doomed to fail” and “waste of time” – these words and phrases litter the reporting and blogging on the current talks between Israel and the Palestinians. One can only hope to be pleasantly surprised and hear that by the end of next summer they will be deemed a success. But seeing as how the pessimists seem to be a majority, now may just be the time to think of creative ways to end the stalemate. One possibility would be for a third party to change the rules of the game. This would fundamentally change the status quo and force the two sides to act accordingly.

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New US consulate to open in west Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Melanie Lidman - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

After six years of construction, the American Consulate in Jerusalem will open its new facility for consular services on Rehov David Flusser in the southern Arnona neighborhood next Tuesday. The office that previously dealt with consular services, located on Nablus Road in east Jerusalem, will remain open for consulate programs, along with the facility in west Jerusalem on Rehov Agron, and America House, a cultural outreach center in east Jerusalem.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017