Settlement deal will likely test all sides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am It may well be a “discussion among friends”, in the words of George Mitchell, the US envoy to the Middle East, but Israel’s continued settlement building in occupied territory is shaping up to be a crucial issue that will test the leaderships of all players involved in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. » Read more

Netanyahu Meets Special Envoy Mitchell in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Atilla Somfalvi - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Jerusalem Tuesday. The meeting is part of a round of meetings being held by Mitchell and other top US administration officials in the region this week. The Prime Minister's Office stated that the meeting was positive and that the two discussed various issues concerning the political process and not just the settlements issue. » Read more

Mitchell tells Palestinians no deal yet with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi, Ali Sawafta - July 27, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday he was still working on a deal with Israel to halt West Bank settlement activity so peace talks can resume. "We are discussing the issue but we didn't conclude an agreement yet with the Israelis," a senior Palestinian official quoted Mitchell as saying over a working dinner with Abbas. » Read more

Daughter of Gaza doctor vows to return home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Edelson - (Interview) July 28, 2009 - 12:00am The seventeen-year-old daughter of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, Shadar, who was badly injured after an IDF shell hit her family home and killed her three sisters during Operation Cast Lead, recently moved to Canada with family. In an interview to Ynet she recounted the difficult moments and spoke of her family's loss. "I miss my sisters and there are moments I can't stop the tears and I suddenly start crying," she said. Al-Aish is certain she will return to Gaza, but in the meantime she enjoys the quiet life overseas. » Read more

Obama Gives Unsettling Tough Love to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Celestine Bohlen - (Opinion) July 28, 2009 - 12:00am President Barack Obama, who vowed to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process at the start of his term, has begun with a direct and public challenge to Israel’s latest plan to build new settlements in East Jerusalem. It’s a risky move, which has already provoked a sharp rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But it is crucial, and had to be done. » Read more

'IDF has not received orders to evacuate outposts' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday that the IDF has not received orders to prepare for the evacuation of outposts in the West Bank. "At this point we have not received concrete directives to evacuate any particular outpost, excluding illegal ones," Ashkenazi said. Ashkenazi added that "wherever possible" police officers will be responsible for evacuating civilians from outposts. » Read more

'Obama is a racist,' settler rabbi tells protestors in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am The Yesha Council of settlements organized a demonstration in which some 1,500 rightists gathered near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday to protest the Obama administration's demand for a total freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Among the speakers at the demonstration was Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, the head of the Nir yeshiva in the settlement of Kiryat Arba. "Obama is a racist," Waldman told the assembled crowd. "If he continues with his actions, he will bring about the disintegration of the American superpower." » Read more

Israel, U.S. claim 'progress' in settlement dispute ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 28, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the top U.S. Mideast envoy said they made progress Tuesday on their dispute over West Bank settlements, but offered no sign of a breakthrough at a meeting in Jerusalem. President Barack Obama's envoy, George Mitchell, has been pressing Israel to halt all construction in settlements built on captured land claimed by the Palestinians, stressing that such a gesture would improve prospects for a peace deal. But Netanyahu says limited construction must be permitted to allow "natural growth" in the existing settler population. » Read more

Gates' Israel visit aims to ease tensions over Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Boudreaux - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates promised Israeli leaders Monday that American overtures to Iran are "not open-ended" and said the Obama administration is ready to press for tougher economic sanctions if diplomacy fails to halt what the two allies say is Iran's progress toward building a nuclear weapon. » Read more

Why Won’t Obama Talk to Israel? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) July 27, 2009 - 12:00am IN his global tours and TV appearances, President Obama has spoken to Arabs, Muslims, Iranians, Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans, Russians and Africans. His words have stirred emotions and been well received everywhere. But he hasn’t bothered to speak directly to Israelis. » Read more