December 3rd

Journal of an Ordinary Grief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Rayyan Al-Shawaf - December 3, 2010 - 1:00am

“What is homeland?” asks famed Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in his Journal of an Ordinary Grief, an intriguing but uneven collection of ruminations and autobiographical fragments that first appeared in Arabic in 1973 and is now being published posthumously in English. He has several answers. The most powerful? “To hold on to your memory – that is homeland.”

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US mum on efforts for Israeli settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
December 3, 2010 - 1:00am

The United States declined Thursday to say whether or not efforts by Washington to have Israel impose a new settlement freeze on Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories had failed. In Jerusalem, the US administration informed the Palestinian Authority "that the Israeli government did not agree to a new settlement freeze," a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity. But State Department spokesman Philip Crowley declined to confirm the remarks. "As we've said many, many times, we're not going to give you a play-by-play," Crowley told reporters.

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Mideast Conflict Plays Out In A House Divided
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - December 3, 2010 - 1:00am

On the surface, Jerusalem's Old City seems like the ideal melting pot of cultures and religions. Muslims, Christians and Jews live in this ancient walled enclave of less than half a square mile. It is a place that seems so removed from the modern world that surrounds it, and yet is so intrinsically a part of it. But an undercover war is being waged here: The Old City is the beating heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and everyone wants a piece of it. 'Revival Of Jewish Life'

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December 2nd

A Hamas leader says it will accept the results of a Palestinian referendum on peace. Leaked cables suggest Syrian support for Hamas may be negotiable. Pres. Abbas is still waiting for an American response on settlements and appears frustrated. Two Palestinians are killed at the Gaza border. Palestinians under 40 are blocked from the al-Aqsa mosque. A PA cabinet reshuffle may have been postponed. Palestinians blame Israel for the failure of talks. Israel announces yet another settlement expansion project, angering Palestinians. Israel unveils new anti-rocket technology. Palestinians ask Israel to drop opposition to WTO membership. The Palestinian ambassador in Washington says Congress shouldn't interfere in the peace process. Libyan leader Qaddafi proposes a binational state at the UN. An Israeli rabbi says houses should not be rented to Palestinians. Leonard Fein says the ZOA is deliberately distorting Palestinian poll results. There may have been a falling out between Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan. Michael Jansen says George Mitchell may be preparing to step down as Middle East envoy. The Arab News says Washington needs to take more responsibility for Israeli policies.

Palestinian minister asks Israel to back WTO membership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 2, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has officially asked Israel to lift its opposition to Palestinian attempt to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Palestinian minister of economy, Hassan Abu Lebda, told Xinhua that he met Israeli trade and labor minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, in Jerusalem Wednesday and "told him of the Palestinian request as a Palestinian right." Media reports on Thursday quoted Ben-Eliezer as saying that Israel will back the Palestinian request to get observer status at the WTO.

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Frustration Behind Abbas' call for unilateralism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - December 2, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has once again raised the possibility of unilaterally declaring a independent Palestinian state without signing a peace agreement with Israel. After a meeting with German President Christian Wulff in Bethlehem on Tuesday, Abbas told reporters that if talks with Israel fail then the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will look for other options to achieve independence.

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Palestinian delegate to U.S.: Congress shouldn't interfere in Mideast peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - December 2, 2010 - 1:00am

While the Jewish community of Washington, D.C. was busy lighting the first Hanukkah candle, the Palestinian mission to the United States held an event at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City marking at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Several weeks before the Republicans are to take command of the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, the head of the Palestinian mission to the U.S., Maen Rashid Areikat, sounded quite frustrated with the peace process - and wary of the prospects of the conduct of a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

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Israel discloses technology to deal with rockets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Daniel Estrin - December 2, 2010 - 1:00am

An Israeli military unit on Wednesday showed off a new system to counter chemical attacks. It quickly measures temperature and wind direction to determine areas to evacuate and then feeds hospitals casualty assessments.

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Gaddafi proposes bi-national state at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Itamar Eichner - December 1, 2010 - 1:00am

Every year on November 29 the United Nations General Assembly holds a discussion on the situation in the Middle East. Usually, the "conclusions" from the event are formulized into a series of condemnations against Israel, but this year Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi managed to confuse everyone and steal the show yet again. Humanitarian Award Erdogan wins Libyan human rights prize / AFP Turkish prime minister to receive Muammar Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights next week Full story

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Palestinians angry over new Israeli building plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Matti Friedman - December 2, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians criticized an Israeli decision to push forward plans for 625 new homes in east Jerusalem, saying Thursday the project shows Israel has chosen "settlements and not peace." Israel's Interior Ministry confirmed Thursday that the new housing project in Pisgat Zeev, a sprawling area of 50,000 residents, was permitted to proceed by a district planning committee late last month. Further approval is required at the district and national levels, and actual construction would not begin for at least two years.

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