Palestinians remove Western Wall report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman December 1, 2010 - 1:00am The Palestinian government has removed a report claiming that Jerusalem's Western Wall isn't holy to Jews from an official website, after it provoked furious reaction. The five-page report has been condemned by the U.S. and Israel as incorrect and provocative. Palestinian officials would not comment on the report Wednesday. But its author, Al-Mutawakil Taha, a civil servant in the Information Ministry, says he stands by it. » Read more

Amid security successes, Palestinians feel unease ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - December 1, 2010 - 1:00am A senior Israeli commander in the West Bank recalled that he used to carry a thick notebook full of names of wanted militants. Today, the list is so thin it "almost doesn't exist," he said. And when Israel's military chief recently visited a famous church in Palestinian territory, he had some unlikely escorts: Palestinian security forces. Such sights were inconceivable just a few years ago, reflecting the startling progress made by U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. » Read more

Hamas PM denies al-Qaida presence in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - December 1, 2010 - 1:00am BANI HASSAN, West Bank (AP) — Palestinians will be ready for statehood by August, as promised in a two-year action plan, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview Tuesday, dismissing a host of steep obstacles to independence. The former World Bank economist visited rural West Bank road destroyed by Israel to demonstrate his belief that independence is inevitable as long as Palestinians don't lose faith. » Read more

Abbas: Palestinians have 'other options' if peace talks fail ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 1, 2010 - 1:00am The PLO will explore alternative ways to gain international recognition if US efforts to advance peace talks with Israel fail, President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday. "We will spare no effort in pursuing this process and we have no choice but the choice of peace, we will continue with the peace process and we hope that US efforts will succeed," Abbas said at a news conference with German President Christian Wulff. » Read more

US denounces Palestinian claims on Western Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 1, 2010 - 1:00am The United States Tuesday denounced a Palestinian report from last week that denied Jewish connections to Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites. "We strongly condemn these comments and fully reject them as factually incorrect, insensitive, and highly provocative," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a briefing. "We have repeatedly raised with the Palestinian Authority leadership the need to consistently combat all forms of delegitimization of Israel, including denying historic Jewish connections to the land." » Read more

Fatah blames Hamas for stalled unity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 1, 2010 - 1:00am Rival Palestinian political factions have not agreed where or when they will hold the next round of reconciliation talks, and Fatah is blaming Hamas for obstructing the deal. The head of Fatah's reconciliation team, Azzam Al-Ahmad, told Ma’an radio that the next round of talks had not been agreed on yet, while Executive Committee member Nabil Sha’ath said Friday the teams were considering the Gaza Strip. “If we want dialogue, why shouldn’t we meet in the Gaza Strip,” said Nimir Hammad, an aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, in a phone interview Tuesday evening. » Read more

Israel: Easing of Gaza Blockade Did Little, Report Says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - December 1, 2010 - 1:00am A group of 22 international human-rights and aid groups issued a report on Tuesday asserting that Israel’s easing of its blockade of Gaza five months ago had made little difference to the people living there. The groups, including Amnesty International and Save the Children, said that construction material was still trickling in and that exports remained banned, meaning that the Palestinian coastal strip could not recover from Israel’s three-week war there two years ago. Israel responded that the report was distorted. » Read more