October 29th

Abbas: Resuming negotiations remains first option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Resuming direct peace negotiations will remain the first option of the Palestinian leadership, Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday. "We are ready to go back to the negotiations as soon as Israel stops settlement activities," Abbas told a news conference in Ramallah after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Abbas said he has "seven options" to respond to Israel's expansion of Jewish settlement in the West Bank which caused the U. S.-brokered negotiations to halt after nearly three weeks since it restarted.

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Abbas: We may seek UN recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he would consider asking the UN to recognize a Palestinian state. Speaking in Ramallah after a news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Abbas said the move, one of "seven options," could come within months. “Among these options is to demand that the United States take a stance on recognizing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and the possibility of going the UN Security Council,” Abbas told reporters.

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PA opposes Hamas involvement in peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority opposes efforts to normalize ties between Hamas and the international community, a PA security official said Wednesday. Adnan Dmeiri, PA security services spokesman, said the US and EU were making efforts to engage Hamas in the peace process. "This is not the first attempt by some Europeans and Americans to present Hamas as the party that can 'provide the commodity,'" Dmeiri told Ma'an.

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Fayyad says not planning to run for president
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Appointed Prime Minister in the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad said an end to the Palestinian factional split could only be rectified by a turn at the ballot boxes, the Jerusalem daily newspaper Al-Hayyat reported Friday. An interview published by the newspaper quoted Fayyad as saying he believed the ballot box should be the Fatah-Hamas mediator, with Palestinians and the international community agreeing to accept the results.

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The Israeli-Palestinian settlement impasse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Saeb Erakat - (Opinion) October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

It comes as little surprise that Palestinian-Israeli negotiations are at an impasse. The lesson after nearly two decades of bilateral negotiations is that direct talks alone are not enough to guarantee peace. A principled, unshakable commitment to international law is also required. International law sets the benchmark for a just peace and helps ensure that Palestinians and Israelis are treated equally. It also maps a path toward lasting reconciliation rooted in a culture of rights and mutual respect.

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Remembering Rabin, Some See His Legacy Fading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

In the 15 years since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish militant after a peace rally here, blood seeping onto a song sheet in his breast pocket as he lost consciousness, his legacy in Israel has seemed clear — warrior turned peacemaker, symbol of a tough nation with an outstretched hand.

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Remembering Rabin, Some See His Legacy Fading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

In the 15 years since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish militant after a peace rally here, blood seeping onto a song sheet in his breast pocket as he lost consciousness, his legacy in Israel has seemed clear — warrior turned peacemaker, symbol of a tough nation with an outstretched hand.

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October 28th

Lawrence Korb says convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard should be freed. Egyptian officials will meet Pres. Abbas in Ramallah, and may urge resumption of talks. Arab leaders call for a strike in Umm Al Fahm. A Palestinian citizen of Israel is convicted of working with Hezbollah. Gaza¹s loss of citrus crops hits the economy. The UK pledges $55 million to the PA. Hamas leaders call for dialogue with the West. The PA will rededicate refurbished schools in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel finally appoints a new UN ambassador. PM Fayyad says Palestinians will have a state in 2011. Some Israelis are sabotaging, others helping, the Palestinian olive harvest. A website against campus divestment activism is launched by a pro-Israel group. The Israeli right is hoping for a big GOP win in the US midterms. George Hishmeh says few options remain for Palestinians. Daoud Kuttab looks at the tensions between the Jewish and Israeli identities. Jesse Rosenfeld says the epicenter of the Palestinian struggle has shifted into Israel itself.

Minister Erdan set to be appointed UN ambassador
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Atilla Somfalvi - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan is expected to be appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, senior Likud officials said on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman supported the decision, which ended a months-long dispute between him an Netanyahu over the appointment.

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Fayyad: PA will declare independent state in August 2011
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the PA will declare an independent Palestinian state in 2011, while picking olives with a reporter from Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, according to an interview published on Thursday. "The deadline is next summer, when the Israeli occupation of the West Bank must end," Fayyad said. "In 2011, we will celebrate 66 years of the United Nations and the United Nations will celebrate the birth of our nation."

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