Gaza farmers harvest olives with peace activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Ahmed Aldabba, Osama Radi - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am For the first time in two months, Palestinian farmer Abdul Qader al-Basyoni, joined by international and local peace activists, managed to enter his olive farm which is dozens of meters away from the security fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel. The 50-year-old man with grey hair, from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, hurried to touch the ripe olive fruits that dangled on the branches in his deserted 20-donums (1,000 square meter) field located in the heart of a 300-meter wide no- man zone imposed by the Israeli army along its borders with the enclave in 2008. » Read more

Ministry fails to reimburse West Bank farmers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 6, 2010 - 12:00am West Bank farmers say they feel betrayed by the Palestinian Authority finance and agriculture ministries, after failing to meet promises of support for farmers whose land lies close to Israel's separation wall. Speaking to Ma'an, farmers from different West Bank areas slated for confiscation for the separation wall said they signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance, which would reimburse farmers for building water wells for irrigation at their own expense. » Read more

Hamas wing threatens PA leadership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas' military wing on Wednesday threatened to target Palestinian Authority officials "if PA security forces continue to detain and sue resistance activists in the West Bank." Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubayda read a statement on behalf of 12 military groups in the Gaza Strip saying "we are fed up with the PA security's behavior in the West Bank. Over the past period, we have preferred to give reconciliation efforts all the time needed, however, we hereby say we will not remain silent for long." » Read more

Can Palestinian police get respect through soccer clinics? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am For years, the Palestinian police force has been considered by many in the West Bank and Gaza to be weak, corrupt, disconnected from the people – not to mention in cahoots with Israel. But, in an effort to win the hearts and minds of the Palestinian grassroots, the West Bank police force has embarked on a community outreach campaign, organizing soccer clinics, town meetings, and antidrug information chats for kids. » Read more

Rabbis replace Korans at burned mosque in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am In a rare act of conciliation Tuesday, a group of rabbis from Jewish settlements near the Palestinian town of Beit Fajar visited a mosque there that had been torched by arsonists and brought Korans to replace those burned in the blaze. The attackers, who struck early Monday, left behind Hebrew graffiti and are suspected to be radical Jewish settlers. The rabbis, from the Gush Etzion cluster of settlements south of Bethlehem, arrived in a convoy of Israeli military government jeeps escorted by Palestinian police. » Read more

A key back channel for U.S., Israeli ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - October 6, 2010 - 12:00am Dennis Ross, a longtime Middle East expert, has emerged as a crucial, behind-the-scenes conduit between the White House and the Israeli government, working closely with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's private attorney - and also Defense Minister Ehud Barak - to discreetly smooth out differences and disputes between the two governments. » Read more

Netanyahu Examines Offer on Settlement Freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am As the Palestinians consider withdrawing from peace talks with Israel unless a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank is extended, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is engaged in his own calculations about whether accepting an American offer aimed at prolonging the freeze would destroy his political coalition. » Read more

Risks and Advantages in U.S. Effort in Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - October 5, 2010 - 12:00am When President Obama reopened face-to-face talks between the Israelis and Palestinians last month, he pledged that his administration would hold their hands but warned, “The United States cannot impose an agreement, and we cannot want it more than the parties themselves.” With the negotiations deadlocked over the issue of Jewish settlements, several veterans of Middle East peacemaking said Mr. Obama’s warning had come true — only weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, agreed to sit down. » Read more