Q+A--Is al Qaeda opening a Gaza front? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - August 30, 2009 - 12:00am Explosions at two sensitive sites in the Gaza Strip [ID:nLU529969] have prompted speculation on Sunday that they were the work of al Qaeda-aligned radicals opposed to the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas. Here are comments on key questions about the incidents: WHO WAS BEHIND THE BOMBINGS? No credible claim of responsibility has been made. » Read more

Israel Launches Air Strike in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America by Robert Berger - August 30, 2009 - 12:00am Israel has launched an air strike in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. There was damage, but no reports of injuries. The Israeli air force bombed a tunnel the army said was meant to smuggle Palestinian terrorists from Gaza into Israel. A building over the entrance to the tunnel was destroyed about a kilometer and a-half from the Israeli border fence. The military said the air raid was in response to Palestinians firing a rocket into Israel on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has adopted a new policy of deterrence since he took office five months ago. » Read more

Former Israeli Prime Minister Is Indicted ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - August 30, 2009 - 12:00am Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel was formally indicted on three counts of corruption on Sunday, concluding a lengthy criminal investigation that had forced him to resign. According to the 61-page indictment, which the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, and the state prosecution presented to the Jerusalem District Court, Mr. Olmert is accused of crimes including fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and failing to report income. If convicted, he could face years in prison. » Read more

August 28th

Obama steers the peace train ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - August 28, 2009 - 12:00am It isn't formal yet, but it's bound to be soon - within the coming six weeks, Palestinians and Israelis will again sit down around the peace table. That's the upshot of Wednesday's London meeting between United States President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy, Senator George Mitchell, and Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu. Mitchell is set to come to Jerusalem in a fortnight's time with the goal of finalizing an agreement on both an Israeli settlement freeze and the consequent re-igniting of direct peace talks. » Read more

Hamas fights the Salafists to gain more legitimacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Mkhaimar Abusada - August 28, 2009 - 12:00am The recent shoot-out in a Gaza mosque between Hamas security officers and militants from the radical jihadist group the Warriors of God brought to the surface the deep tensions that divide Palestinian Islamists. Twenty-two people died, including the Warriors of God’s leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa. But Palestinian security officials doubt that these will be the last casualties. » Read more

Bibi in control until Obama calls settlements illegal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Alan Philps - (Opinion) August 27, 2009 - 12:00am In June, Barack Obama declared to the consternation of Israel that “the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements”. Since then the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has chipped away at the principle of a total freeze on settlement building with what looks like increasing success. » Read more

Netanyahu: We haven’t agreed to a settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 27, 2009 - 12:00am Israel’s prime minister denied reports that Israel has agreed to halt construction in West Bank settlements. At a news conference in Berlin on Thursday following his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Benjamin Netanyahu also said the Palestinians first must recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state before negotiations could be held. » Read more

Israel hobbling West Bank economy, says Tony Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Ben Lynfield - August 28, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's delaying tactics over the launch of a new Palestinian mobile phone network could deal a substantial blow to the West Bank's economy, Tony Blair warned yesterday in his capacity as the international community's Middle East envoy. Wataniya Mobile, based in Qatar, has been preparing for the launch of Palestine's second mobile telecoms company since 2007, with the second largest private investment in West Bank history, amounting to $700m. » Read more

PM faces uprising over 'settlement halt' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - August 28, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will return from his European trip to find that two Likud rallies have been organized to express opposition to the settlement freeze he reportedly negotiated with US envoy George Mitchell in London. The first, scheduled for Tuesday at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Tower, was organized by Minister-without-Portfolio Yossi Peled. It is not officially an anti-Netanyahu rally but rather a "pro-Jerusalem event," and yet MKs who attend are expected to bash the deal the prime minister is negotiating with the Americans. » Read more

US: Settlements no precondition on Mideast talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews August 28, 2009 - 12:00am The United States indicated Friday that its calls on Israel to freeze settlements were not a precondition for restarting Middle East peace talks, as the Jewish state held firm in its refusal. President Barack Obama's administration insisted it was not changing its stance, which has caused friction with the close US ally, that Israel halt all settlements in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem. But State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the main US goal was to relaunch talks between Israel and the Palestinians, who will decide for themselves on the contours of a peace deal. » Read more