December 17th

International law is clear: Israeli settlements are illegal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Iain Scobbie - (Opinion) December 17, 2009 - 1:00am


Eric Rozenman's Dec. 11 Op-Ed article, "Israeli settlements are more than legitimate," is legal nonsense that disregards history. He is correct in his observation that Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine permitted "close settlement by Jews on the land, including state lands and waste lands not required for public purposes," but the conclusions he then draws are flatly wrong.


A Legacy of Regret for a Saudi Diplomat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael Slackman - December 17, 2009 - 1:00am


The year that Prince Saud al-Faisal was appointed foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, Gerald R. Ford was president of the United States, the Vietnam War ended and Microsoft had just opened its doors.


December 16th

Enough of blaming the Goldstone Report!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


A brief news item in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) a few days ago made depressing reading. It was entitled: “State Department blames Goldstone for stalled peace talks.” “Wow!” I thought to myself, has it really come down to this? The United States and Israel, who do not hesitate to toot their horn about their democratic credentials, now blame the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process on Judge Richard Goldstone, the main author of a report on potential war crimes during the Gaza war that was issued last September by the United Nations Human Rights Council inquiry commission?


EU's Ashton to travel to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Irish Times
by Ruadhan MacCormaic - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


THE EUROPEAN Union’s new foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, will travel to the Middle East early next year to press for a resumption of peace talks. Baroness Ashton, appointed last month as the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, is expected to visit Jerusalem in early February to keep pressure on Israel to halt settlement building and urge Palestinians back to negotiations. Addressing the European Parliament yesterday, she reiterated that the time was ripe for a resumption of peace talks, which have been suspended for a year.


Civilising the debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Keith Kahn-Harris - (Opinion) December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


Last Sunday's Observer finally broke a story about which rumours had been circulating for a while: Professor David Newman, a British-Israeli geographer at Ben Gurion University, Israel, received an astonishing couple of emails from Michael Gross, a British-Jewish businessman, philanthropist and member of the university's board of governors, threatening to "use whatever influence I have at BGU to have you thrown out" and, even more extraordinarily, saying "I hope you perish" and "the sooner you are removed from BGU and the face of the earth, the better."


Activists planning Temple Mount ascent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Abe Selig - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


A group of activists dedicated to bringing Jews to the Temple Mount told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that they were hoping to see hundreds of participants take part in a planned "mass pilgrimage" to the site scheduled for Thursday morning in honor of Hannuka, which celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple after it was recovered from Hellenist Greeks more than 2,000 years ago.


Clashes break out between Hamas, Fatah students in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


Clashes broke out at the al-Azhar University in Gaza after Hamas members sought to hang Hamas flags on the site in commemoration of the organization's 22nd anniversary. The university is affiliated with Fatah. Students clashed with the Hamas members. Some of them were arrested by security forces who were dispatched to the site.


IDF raids Naalin photographer's home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


Family members of a girl who shot a video showing an Israel Defense Forces soldier firing a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian in the West Bank village of Naalin last year say the army has been harassing them ever since. The relatives told Ynet that a massive IDF force raided their house on Wednesday night and left behind a lot of damage. The girl's father and brother were then summoned for investigation. An IDF official claimed, however, that the soldiers arrived to arrest a man suspected of rioting and that the incident had nothing to do with the videotape.


UN: Much of West Bank closed to Palestinian building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


Israel effectively allows Palestinians to build in only 1 percent of Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank over which it retains full control, according to a new report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The report also said that so far this year Israel has demolished 180 Palestinian structures in Area C. As a result, 319 Palestinians, including 167 children, have lost their homes.


U.S. planning to restart Israel-PA talks based on '67 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - December 16, 2009 - 1:00am


The United States and Egypt, along with France, are planning a joint move to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks on the basis of the June 4, 1967, borders, territorial exchanges and a complete freeze of construction beyond the Green Line, including East Jerusalem. The freeze would not be announced publicly. Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said in an extensive interview with the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat that "once they realized their earlier approach had failed, the Americans see themselves forced to change direction."



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