October 15th

Abbas: No alternative to 2-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2010 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that the Ramallah-based government had yet to rule out the 2-state solution to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. "We fully support the 2-state solution, a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders living side by side with Israel in peace, security and stability," Abbas said after meeting with Finland's President Tarja Halonen. "We insist that this is the best solution for the future of both Palestinians and Israelis; there is no other option," Abbas said countering growing calls that the PLO give up talks with Israel. » Read more

Hamas leaders banned from entering Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2010 - 12:00am Egyptian authorities will prevent a number of Hamas leaders from traveling through the country en route to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj. Hamas officials told Ma'an that among the leaders prohibited from accessing Egypt are lawmaker Salah Al-Bardawil and spokesmen Sami Abu Zuhri and Fawzi Barhoum. Abu Zuhri confirmed the ban, saying he was informed by Hamas' leadership that "an Egyptian official made contact and notified us of Egypt's refusal to allow a number of Hamas leaders to travel for Hajj." » Read more

240 settlement units planned for East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 15, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized construction for 240 housing units in the illegal Jerusalem settlements of Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot, Israeli media reported Thursday. The units were included in a tender which listed 3,500 housing units across Israel, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. The fact that 240 of the units are to be built in East Jerusalem was made "as inconspicuous as possible." » Read more

Smothered by Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mustafa Barghouthi - (Opinion) October 14, 2010 - 12:00am Negotiations between two unequal parties cannot succeed. Success in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations requires a reasonable balance of power, clear terms of reference and abstention of both sides from imposing unilateral facts on the ground. None of that existed in the talks that were re-initiated in September. » Read more

Israel's right needs perpetual war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) October 15, 2010 - 12:00am The facts must be acknowledged: The heads of the rightist parties have a strategic outlook and the ability to take the long view, and they also know how to choose the right tools to carry out their mission. » Read more

Poll: 36% of Jews want to revoke Arabs' voting rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews (Analysis) October 15, 2010 - 12:00am Thirty-six percent of Israeli Jews are in favor of revoking the voting rights of non-Jews, Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing findings by the Dahaf polling agency, headed by Dr. Mina Tzemach. The poll was held in the aftermath of an amendment to the Citizenship Act, approved by the government Sunday, which requires new citizens to pledge their allegiance to a "Jewish and democratic state". » Read more

Poll: 36% of Jews want to revoke Arabs' voting rights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews October 15, 2010 - 12:00am Thirty-six percent of Israeli Jews are in favor of revoking the voting rights of non-Jews, Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing findings by the Dahaf polling agency, headed by Dr. Mina Tzemach. The poll was held in the aftermath of an amendment to the Citizenship Act, approved by the government Sunday, which requires new citizens to pledge their allegiance to a "Jewish and democratic state". » Read more

October 14th

An Unworthy Oath ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am The Declaration of Independence approved on May 14, 1948, heralds the new nation of Israel as a “Jewish state” but never defines what that actually means. There’s no mention of religion, indeed no mention of God. » Read more

Should Israel Abandon Policy of Nuclear Ambiguity? A New Book Argues Yes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am It’s a policy that has been around for so long that most Israelis and Americans cannot imagine a world without it. For the past four decades, Israel has adhered, almost religiously, to the idea of nuclear ambiguity, or opacity. It has refused to either confirm or deny it has the bomb, and it has repeated the same vague mantra that “Israel will not be the first country to use nuclear weapons” in the Middle East. » Read more

Israeli forces train for Arab transfer riots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - October 14, 2010 - 12:00am Israel secretly staged a training exercise last week to test its ability to quell any civil unrest that might result from a peace deal that calls for the forcible transfer of many Arab citizens, the Israeli media has reported. The drill was intended to test the readiness of the civil defence units, police, army and prison service to contain large-scale riots by Israel's Arab minority in response to such a deal. » Read more