PM lacks majority in any cabinet forum to renew freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lacks a majority to pass a new moratorium on housing starts in Judea and Samaria in any possible forum of ministers, The Jerusalem Post has established. Netanyahu has been making an effort to gauge what kind of support he would have if he wanted to renew the freeze in order to satisfy US President Barack Obama and bring the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table.

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A shared story offers hope to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Daphna Baram - October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

A piece of news from Israel this week hides a grain of hope in a rather bleak reality: a group of high school students demanded to meet a senior official at the education ministry after one of their textbooks was banned from use in schools. The book in question, Learning Each Other's Historical Narrative, was the fruit of a joint project in which Israeli and Palestinian teachers constructed a text presenting both narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alongside each other.

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A shift in epicenter of Palestinian struggle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Jesse Rosenfeld - October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

In a country that continues to call itself “the only democracy in the Middle East,” it would appear that the days of Israel trying to present expanding segregation in the context of liberal values are over. While the legislation calling for non-Jews to declare loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state has been billed as Netanyahu’s capitulation to his coalition in order to extend a partial settlement freeze, the reality is that Israel has shifted its primary target of controlling Palestinians to its own Arab citizens.

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Jewish or Israeli?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

I have always tried my best to differentiate between Jews and Israelis. It bothers me when Palestinians use these two terms interchangeably. Every time I cross the Jordan River, I overhear people talk on their cell phones, saying how they just got into the Jewish side, left the Jewish side, or were waiting to go through the Jewish side. Such comments can be heard as people approach or leave an Israeli checkpoint or have any other dealings with Israelis.

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Israelis Remain in Tug-of-War Over the Rabin Legacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Kalindi O'Brien, David Rosenberg - October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Fifteen years after Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down at a Tel Aviv rally, the tug-of-war has yet to let up over the former prime minister’s legacy as the architect of a troubled peace process and a symbol of the dangers to democracy from extremism. Officially, Rabin is mourned by all of Israel. His name appears on city squares and streets as well as schools and hospitals. As in years past, he was memorialized at official government ceremonies earlier this month on the date of his assassination on the Hebrew calendar.

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Israel convicts Israeli-Arab of spying for Hezbollah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - An Israeli-Arab human rights activist was convicted of spying for the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah by an Israeli court on Wednesday. Amir Makhoul confessed to the charge as part of a plea bargain under which the Haifa District Court dropped a separate charge of aiding the enemy in time of war, for which he could have been sentenced to a much longer term, court papers showed. The spying charge carries a maximum 10-year jail term.

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Some Israelis Hoping for A GOP Win, But Will History Repeat Itself?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

As predictions of a Republican tidal wave in the coming congressional elections became more certain, some Israelis were experiencing goose bumps of anticipation. Many on the right in Israel believe a shift of one or both houses of Congress to a Republican majority could limit the Obama administration’s ability to pressure Jerusalem — even more than it is already limited with the Democrats — in its quest for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Minister Erdan set to be appointed UN ambassador
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Atilla Somfalvi - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan is expected to be appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, senior Likud officials said on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman supported the decision, which ended a months-long dispute between him an Netanyahu over the appointment.

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Negev councilor cuts off 4,000 Bedouin's water supply
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yanir Yagna - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

A Negev politician cut off the water supply of some 4,000 Bedouin for 24 hours this week because he did not want his town to shoulder their nearly NIS 2 million water bill. The water was turned back on Tuesday afternoon, by order of the Be'er Sheva District Court, pending a hearing set for Thursday. "They're not under the jurisdiction of Lakiya, but their water bills are sent to us," said Lakiya town council head Khaled al-Sana, referring to the Bedouin residents. "I have 10,000 residents in the town, and I have to pay the bills of another 4,000 residents? That just isn't right."

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Feature: War on olives in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Nidal Ishtayeh - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

NABLUS, West Bank, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Abdel Karim Hussein, 38, was "shocked" after getting a permission from the Israeli army to reach his farm adjacent to the Alon Moreh Jewish settlement east of the West Bank city of Nablus, to harvest his olive trees. Hussein said the fence of the settlement occupies parts of his 325-dunum (325,000 square meters) farm. "Reaching the farm is a journey of torment, because I can only reach my land twice a year after coordination with the Israeli-Palestinian security liaison office." But getting the permission is far from getting a happy ending.

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