Obama's Middle East Strategy Stalls ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America by Meredith Buel - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am From the beginning of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top foreign policy priority. After nearly 10 months of diplomacy, however, the peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Some Middle East analysts say the failure to make progress is due, at least in part, to missteps made by the Obama administration. » Read more

MIDEAST: The 'Unknown' Fight the Illegal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am "Make sure your father gets this," the municipal inspector tells a ten-year-old boy at the gate of the concrete house in an alleyway in the Al-Bustan quarter of Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood right under the shadow of the walled Old City. "This" is a court-approved demolition notice, "No. 59". It's for a house under imminent threat of being torn down by the Israeli authorities because it does not have the requisite building permit. The demolition notice is headed: "To Unknown Addressee". » Read more

Abbas’ move signals end of Oslo phase ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) November 12, 2009 - 1:00am In the midst of discussions regarding possible scenarios following Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision not to run for president, few have paid attention to the larger picture. Abbas’ refusal to run for a second term as president of the Palestinian Authority signals a clear end of the Oslo phase in which he, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres were key players. » Read more

Obama must get tough ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) November 12, 2009 - 1:00am Like most of his predecessors, US President Barack Obama has failed to come up with a logical approach to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, now in its 62nd year. Many optimists on both sides of the great divide had believed that he would this month take his first, tough step towards bringing the two sides to agree on the outlines of a settlement. » Read more

Abbas sets out strict peace talk program at Arafat memorial ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 12, 2009 - 1:00am Ramallah – Ma’an – "I will make decisions as the situation develops," President Mahmoud Abbas told thousands marking the fifth anniversary of Arafat's death on Wednesday, referring to his political future and role in the Palestinian Authority. Speaking from the presidential compound in Ramallah, Abbas laid out for the assembled crowd the parameters of his political program, which seemingly leaves little room for movement unless progress comes from other sides. » Read more

Perfect Storm: Wide Gaps, Weak Leaders, Elusive Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) November 12, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s threat to withdraw from Palestinian Authority politics — an act that could have grave consequences should he make good on it — is only the tip of a large iceberg threatening to sink the very structure of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. » Read more

In Paris, Benjamin Netanyahu finds growing European doubt on Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Robert Marquand - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am Paris - Europeans, and the French in particular, strong backers of Washington's efforts to broker a Mideast deal, are starting to register frustration with the White House's handling of Israel-Palestinian relations. » Read more

Amid Growing Crisis, U.S. Asks Israel for Action To Boost Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 12, 2009 - 1:00am Facing a political crisis in the Palestinian Authority, the Obama administration has privately presented Israel with a list of measures it should take to bolster embattled leader Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas’s recent decision not to run again for the P.A. presidency was one of the main topics discussed in a November 9 meeting between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Yesh Din: Settlers build fences to keep Palestinian landowners off their own land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Dan Izenberg - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am Settlers have prevented Palestinians from cultivating almost 400 dunams of their farmland by fencing off the area and the authorities have done nothing to stop them, two Palestinian farmers charged Wednesday in a High Court petition filed by the Yesh Din human rights organization. » Read more

Israeli and French Leaders Meet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am PARIS — After meeting for 90 minutes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced in a joint statement on Wednesday evening that they had agreed to work toward “immediately reviving the peace process” in the Middle East and discussed international efforts to stop Iran from enriching uranium. » Read more