Israel, Palestinians trade blame for peace deadlock ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 21, 2009 - 12:00am Israel and the Palestinians on Friday traded blame for failure to resume stalled peace talks after US President Barack Obama renewed his call on both sides to resume negotiations as soon as possible. A senior Israeli official said the Palestinians had rejected repeated calls by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume talks that have been frozen for eight months. » Read more

Poll: Only 12 percent of Israelis believe Obama supports Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) August 20, 2009 - 12:00am Only 12 percent of Israelis believe U.S. President Barack Obama's policies are supportive of Israel, according to a poll released on Thursday. The poll was conducted jointly by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Police and Survey Research and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was conducted between August 9 and 15. The poll also found that 64 per cent of Palestinians still feel Obama's policy is more supportive of Israel, while 40 per cent of Israelis think it is more support of the Palestinians. » Read more

Obama urges renewed Mideast peace talks as soon as possible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 20, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israel and the Palestinians to restart stalled peace talks as soon as possible and urged both sides and the Arab states to take steps to advance the process, the White House said on Thursday. "Obama spoke by phone to Jordan's King Abdullah and agreed on the need to move forward on Middle East peace," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. The president has promised sustained engagement in the elusive quest for an Israeli-Palestian peace deal but has had trouble getting the sides to make conciliatory gestures. » Read more

Settlers taped attacking Palestinians evade arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 21, 2009 - 12:00am Despite the video footage and the international public outcry it generated, the Judea and Samaria police are closing the case of a severe beating of three Palestinians by masked settlers, without having managed to produce even a single suspect, according to the complete investigation file obtained by Haaretz. » Read more

Netanyahu struggles to reach deal over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am TEL AVIV // As prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to reach a compromise with the US on settlement expansion: he is increasingly facing a challenge from key political allies at home who are pushing for continued Jewish construction on territory Palestinians want for a future state. The hurdles Mr Netanyahu may face should he agree to any building limits were highlighted on Wednesday, when a top government minister and member of the premier’s own party called a left-wing, anti-settler group a “virus” and suggested Israel defy a US call for a settlement freeze. » Read more

U.S. finalizing groundwork for resuming talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 20, 2009 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration will "finalize the steps" for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks in the next few weeks, the White House spokesman said. "The president said that Special Envoy (George) Mitchell would follow up with the parties in the next few weeks to finalize the steps they would take and lay the groundwork for resumption of negotiations," Robert Gibbs said Thursday. » Read more

US raps Israel over limit on Palestinian-Americans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Gavin Rabinowitz - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The United States has complained to Israel over rules that keep Palestinian-Americans from entering Israel, officials said Thursday. A travel update posted by the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem says that for some time, Israel has not permitted Palestinians who also hold American passports to enter through Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport, requiring that they use the Allenby Bridge land crossing from Jordan directly into the West Bank. » Read more

ATFP Welcomes State Department Intervention on New Restrictive Israeli Visas Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - August 21, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, August 21 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed the intervention by the US State Department describing new restrictive Israeli visas as "unacceptable." Reports suggest that the new visas, which are marked "Palestinian Authority only" and restrict access to areas Israel considers under Palestinian jurisdiction, are being issued at the Allenby Bridge crossing mainl Read more