Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Israel kills a leader of an Al Qaeda-inspired organization in Gaza, and hints the US approved the strike. Former Pres. Clinton remembers the late PM Rabin and says peace is still possible. The first settlement goods case comes before a Palestinian court. Pres. Abbas says the US is trying to restart peace talks and denounces Israel's "aggressive policies." A new poll says 56% of Palestinians oppose resuming talks in the face of ongoing settlement activity. Sec. Clinton plans to meet PM Netanyahu and says the US is working nonstop on peace. Israel says it will officially monitor Palestinian “incitement.” Israel cuts off special dialogue with Britain and cooperation with UNESCO. US midterm elections may impact Mideast policy. Israel may introduce civil marriage. Israel is blocking Palestinian officials from crossing the Allenby Bridge. Another poll shows a sharp drop in support for Hamas in Gaza. Britain's FM backs nonviolent Palestinian protests. George Hishmeh looks at tensions between Israel and the Vatican. Daoud Kuttab says education is a key to successful Palestinian statehood.

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Israel Attack Kills a Top Militant in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Fares Akram - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am A Palestinian leader of an Islamic extremist group inspired by Al Qaeda was killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military. The car in which the militant was traveling exploded near a central police compound. Hamas officials said an Israeli missile fired from a drone caused the blast. The Israeli military gave no details about how the attack, which ended a period of relative calm, was carried out. The sound of the blast echoed through the city, and a column of black smoke and fire rose from the car, which was destroyed. » Read more

Finish Rabin’s Work ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Bill Clinton - (Opinion) November 3, 2010 - 12:00am TODAY marks 15 years since an assassin’s bullet killed my friend, Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister. Since his death, not a week has gone by that I have not missed him. I loved him and his wife, Leah, very much. On the occasion of the anniversary of his death, his yahrzeit, the world would do well to remember the lessons of his life: his vision for freedom, tolerance, cooperation, security and peace is as vital now as it was 15 years ago, when he happily spoke and sang for peace at a huge rally in Tel Aviv just before he was killed. » Read more

PA court to hear first settlements case ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The first case of smuggling goods from settlements into West Bank shops was filed in a Bethlehem court Wednesday, in a move that will test a new Palestinian Authority law prohibiting the sale of such products. Although customs officers have patrolled West Bank shops and detained several people since the law went into effect over the summer, the case of the Bethlehem merchant will be the first to see the inside of a courtroom. » Read more

Abbas: US trying to restart peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Continuous efforts have been made by US mediators to bring stalled peace talks back on track, President Mahmoud Abbas told the Kuwait News Agency KUNA on Wednesday. As PA officials insist that the midterm elections - which took seats in the nation's congress away from President Barack Obama's Democratic party - will not harm the process, Abbas said officials from all parties involved were continuing efforts. » Read more

Poll: 56% oppose resuming talks with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 4, 2010 - 12:00am More than half of Palestinians in the occupied territories oppose a return to direct negotiations with Israel in the face of ongoing West Bank settlement expansion, an opinion poll released Wednesday suggests. The survey, from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, prepared by Beit Sahour-based pollster Nabil Kukali, also showed that 56.2 percent wanted rival Palestinian factions to sign Egypt's proposal for political reconciliation. » Read more

Clinton plans to meet Israel's Netanyahu next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 4, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the United States next week. "I do intend to see Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United States next week," Clinton told reporters at a news conference with Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, the second-to-last stop on her two-week Asia-Pacific tour. » Read more

Israel takes aim at Palestinian 'incitement' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Ian Deitch - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel announced Wednesday it will officially monitor "incitement" by the Palestinians, taking aim at what it says are widespread provocations against the Jewish state that undermine efforts to reach Mideast peace. The announcement further strained an atmosphere that has grown increasingly tense in recent weeks following the breakdown of U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace talks. Palestinians accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to divert attention away from the impasse in the negotiations and its own failures to live up to obligations, such as a settlement freeze. » Read more

Israel cuts off special dialogue with Britain ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Daniel Estrin - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israel has suspended a special strategic dialogue with London as long as Israeli officials visiting Britain face possible arrest for suspected war crimes against Palestinians, officials said Wednesday. The announcement came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Officials from both countries said the matter would be high on the meeting's agenda, and the British Foreign Office said it was working to resolve the matter. British officials also said Hague would repeat Britain's criticism of West Bank settlements. » Read more

Israeli media weigh impact of U.S. midterm election on Obama's Mideast policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Gur Salomon - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am The Republican party's victory in the U.S. House of Representatives has made Israeli media to think its impacts on President Barack Obama's Middle East policy, U.S.- Israeli relations and the future of the stalled Israeli- Palestinian peace talks. Despite Obama's attention to the foreign policy front, with most efforts channelled to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal, U.S. analysts attribute the Democrats' loss of control over Congress to American voters' dissatisfaction with Obama's economic policies. » Read more

News Analysis: New US Congress affects Obama's Middle East policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Early results of the U.S. midterm elections indicate President Barack Obama's Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party has increased its presence in the Senate, which may affect Obama's role as a peace broker in the Middle East. When Obama convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year to impose a ten-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank so that the peace process could be resumed, hopes were high that it could lead to a breakthrough. » Read more

Israel sets to grant civil marriages ATFP World Press Roundup Article from November 4, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli government plans to begin granting marriage licences for non-Jews and others officially defined as not belonging to a particular religious denomination. Some 300,000 such couples, which have up to now had to travel overseas to marry in civil ceremonies, often to nearby Cyprus, will be able to officially wed without the Chief Rabbinate's approval, possibly by the weekend, Israel army radio reported Wednesday. » Read more

Clinton: U.S. working non-stop to advance Mideast peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 4, 2010 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed on Thursday her plans to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the United States next week, adding that she believed the Middle East peace process could progress despite recent obstacles. "I do intend to see Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United States next week," Clinton told reporters at a news conference with Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, the second-to-last stop on her two-week Asia-Pacific tour. » Read more

Israel blocking Palestinian officials from using main Jordan crossing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Avi Issacharoff - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli authorities have decided to block any Palestinian official aside from the president and prime minister from crossing over the Allenby Bridge from the West Bank into Jordan. Coordinator of Government Activities in the West Bank Eitan Dangot announced the decision late Wednesday. The move seems geared specifically at two senior members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement – Ahmed Qureia and Mahmoud Dahlan – who have made aggressive remarks about Israel of late. » Read more

IDF spokeswoman completely denies hinting Israel coordinated Gaza hit with Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 3, 2010 - 12:00am An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said Thursday that she had been completely misquoted ina reported that hinted the army's assassination of a Islamist militant leader in Gaza had been cleared in advance with Washington. "I did not, in any way, say that," said the spokesman. Following the clarification. DPA agreed to publish a correction to the article. Asked whether Israel had coordinated the hit on Mohammed Nimnim, a commander in the Army of Islam group, with its American ally, the spokesman did not respond. » Read more

Deputy FM: Israel won't cooperate with UNESCO ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews November 3, 2010 - 12:00am "Israel has no intention of cooperating with UNESCO," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told the Knesset on Wednesday in response to the world culture organization's decision to characterize the site of Rachel's Tomb as a Muslim mosque. "We should see the organization's call to remove the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb from the list of Israel's national sites as part of Palestinian escalation in international organizations," he said. » Read more

Poll: Gazans disappointed with Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - November 3, 2010 - 12:00am A recent poll conducted in Gaza has revealed a sharp drop in support for Hamas, but the ruling Islamist movement is preventing the survey's publication, the state-run Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported Wednesday. A random survey of about 1,000 Gazans revealed a sharp decrease in support for the activities of Hamas' security services and indicated dissatisfaction with the performance of the Hamas government's offices and the Palestinian factions. » Read more

British FM backs non-violent struggle against security fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am British Foreign Minister William Hague on Wednesday met with the Palestinian prime minister and Israeli foreign minister, but his visit with Palestinian activists made the most headlines. Hague met with three senior Palestinian activists spearheading the popular struggle against Jewish settlements and the West Bank security fence, and expressed his support in their non-violent struggle. International Judgement Meridor cancels UK visit for fear of arrest / Attila Somfalvi » Read more

'Israel's aggressive policies threaten peace talks' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Kuwait on Wednesday, following a visit to Bahrain earlier in the week as part of a tour of the Gulf region to "exchange views with brotherly leaders and the region on the latest developments of the Palestinian question," Kuwait News Agency reported. According to the report, Abbas praised Kuwaiti support for the Palestinian people, saying "Kuwaiti-Palestinian relations are historical and excellent. It is a great honor for us that the Fatah movement was launched in Kuwait." » Read more

Historic move to expose Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) November 4, 2010 - 12:00am A recent meeting in the Vatican of some 200 Catholic bishops, mainly from the Arab world, will very likely go down in history for adopting the strongest condemnation by Christian church leaders of present-day Israeli policies and actions. » Read more

PA’s path to independence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) November 4, 2010 - 12:00am I can see the path to the state of Palestine. And education is an integral part of it. Palestinians have always prided themselves on being among the highest educated among all Arabs, but if this was true in the past, it is not true anymore, and it is certainly not true for Palestinians in the occupied territories. » Read more

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