Goodwill moves likely upon PM’s return ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am The Defense Ministry is drafting a comprehensive list of confidence-building measures that it anticipates it will be asked to implement after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu returns to Israel on Friday from his meeting with US President Barack Obama, The Jerusalem Post has learned. » Read more

Fatah leader says no progress in proximity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 9, 2010 - 12:00am A senior Fatah leader said here on Thursday that the Israeli-Palestinians proximity talks did not yield any progress that meets previously set conditions. The meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday did not provide any good signs, Nabil Shaath, a Fatah Central Committee member, told reporters in Cairo after meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. » Read more

Netanyahu: Mideast deal possible in year if direct peace talks start ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday that if direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority begin, it would be possible to reach a peace deal within a year. In his speech to the prestigious foreign-policy think tank, Netanyahu stressed that he did not return to the post of prime minister in order to do nothing and said he was willing to make unprecedented concessions. » Read more

A society falling apart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am Among the regimes in the Western world, Israel stands out with certain characteristics that generally do not indicate a strong democratic system. Its parliament is paralyzed, the opposition is nonexistent, and contempt for the law is becoming more pronounced. This not only refers to the unrest caused by the ultra-Orthodox, but also to something much more dangerous, the unrest caused by the settlers. » Read more

Study: Trauma influences Gazan terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Judy Siegel - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am An international study of Gazan teens has found that those who most supported terrorism have at least one family member who was wounded or killed by IDF action against terrorism. The team, led by human aggression expert Prof. Jeff Victoroff at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, said that the most militant and aggressive youth are more closely linked to “past trauma and perceived political injustice, rather than to aggression.” » Read more

About 4 mln Palestinians live in West Bank, Gaza Strip: report ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua July 9, 2010 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is estimated at 4.05 million, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Thursday. About 2.51 million of the population lives in the West Bank and 1.54 million in the Gaza Strip, PCBS said in a report issued ahead of the World Population Day which falls on July 11, adding there are 2.06 million males and 1.99 million females. The city of Hebron is the highest populated area in the West Bank, as the report said some 600,000 people live there. » Read more

Netanyahu signals no extension of settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Thursday he would not extend beyond September a 10-month moratorium on new housing starts in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. "I think we've done enough. Let's get on with the talks," he said, when asked in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations whether he would extend the limited freeze he put in place to coax the Palestinians into peace negotiations. » Read more

Analysis: Finally, presidential empathy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am Watching Barack Obama work his charismatic magic on Channel 2 interviewer Yonit Levy on Thursday night, and through her on the Israeli public, one was quickly reminded afresh of how it was that this remarkable politician defied immensely improbable odds to become president. » Read more

Palestinians say Israeli PM’s call for direct talks is just a ploy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am From Ramallah to Gaza, Palestinian reactions to the announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington that Israel wants to move immediately to direct negotiations may best be described as a collective shrug of the shoulders. There is “nothing new” in any of the statements that have come out of Washington, said Ghassan Khatib, head of the Palestinian government’s media office in Ramallah. » Read more

Obama urges Israel to seize chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said in a rare interview with an Israeli television station he thought it may be possible to achieve a Middle East peace deal in the next few years and urged Israel to seize the chance. "We probably won't have a better opportunity than we have right now. And that has to be seized," Obama told Channel 2 television in remarks broadcast on Thursday, two days after his talks at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more