June 11th

Peres calls for Palestinian state with provisional borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm

Israel and the Palestinians should move onto the second stage of the road map peace plan, which stipulates the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, President Shimon Peres said on Thursday. Peres made the comments during a meeting with the European Union's chief foreign policy official, Javier Solana, with whom he discussed the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

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US envoy backs 'Palestinian aspirations'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The US is seeking a "early conclusion" of peace talks leading to Palestinian statehood, its special Mid-East envoy said after talks in Ramallah. Former Senator George Mitchell was speaking to reporters after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town. The US is experiencing unusual tension in relations with Israel over its opposition to Palestinian independence. He said meeting both sides' aspirations was the "only viable solution".

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More than Hamas’s rhetoric must change
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Opinion) June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Just over a month ago, Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, referring to Barack Obama’s commitment to Israeli-Palestinian peace, declared: “I promise the American administration and the international community that we will be part of the solution, period.” Reading between the lines of the New York Times interview where he delivered this remark, Meshaal’s position was far less flexible than his statement of intent. Still, there is something interesting about Hamas’s recent rhetoric.

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Mitchell calls for ‘peace’ with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 11, 2009 - 12:00am

The US envoy George Mitchell called today for Arab states to take “meaningful steps and important actions” to make peace with Israel, after talks with the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. Mr Mitchell arrived in Cairo from Israel and the Palestinian territories, reiterating Washington’s position that a Palestinian state was the only viable answer to the Middle East conflict. “We are working hard to achieve our objective, a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel,” Mr Mitchell told reporters.

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Real hope for peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Whatever one may think of Barack Hussain Obama's speech in Cairo last week, there was no doubt it was historic and unprecedented for an American president. By any measure he was eloquent and charismatic and sounded genuinely eager for a new beginning with the Arab and Muslim world.

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Obama proving true to his word
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Francis Matthew - June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Very few expected US President Barack Obama's speech to Muslims to lead to action on the Middle East so quickly. Only a week after Obama set out a whole new philosophy on how America would like to approach Muslims, George Mitchell, his special envoy to the Middle East, is already travelling in the region and looking at how to find a way forward in the Palestinian peace process.

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June 10th

Special Mideast Envoy George Mitchell meets with Israeli and Palestinian leaderships (1) (2) (4) (7), urging a swift resumption to peace talks and reiterating the U.S. commitment to peace based on two states (8). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seeks agreement within the party to hold the Sixth Fatah Congress (5). A report by Israeli human rights group Yesh Din finds that Palestinians in the West Bank are facing an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers (11). Israel continues its refusal to accept a settlement freeze (14).

Can Mitchell, now in Israel, calm settlement dispute?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

US special envoy George Mitchell arrived here Tuesday, poised to fast-forward President Barack Obama's plan for change in the Middle East. But due to Israeli resistance to a key facet of that plan – freezing West Bank settlement growth – Mr. Mitchell's trip is looking likely to be a diplomatic marathon, requiring the patient persistence he cultivated in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is loath to implement a settlement freeze, and many in his right-wing constituency support settlements or live in them, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

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Minister Yaalon rejects swift peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

An American plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within two years may lead to the establishment of "Hamastan in the West Bank," Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said during an event at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in honor of late journalist Ze'ev Schiff. The peace process may take up to five years, Yaalon said, adding that "instant peace" will fail because of realities on the ground.

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Rights group warns of growing settler violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian farmers in the West Bank are paying the price for the government's efforts to evacuate illegal outpost in the region, data published by human rights group Yesh Din on Wednesday revealed. According to the organization, in recent weeks there has been an alarming rise in the number of attempts to uproot or damage trees in villages in the area, and the phenomenon is expected to expand if the security forces do not take action against the perpetrators.

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