August 26th

Peace plans come and go. Obama may have to try a wholly new approach ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Freedland - August 25, 2009 - 12:00am Surely the heart should give a cheer at the hints and signals that suggest Barack Obama will stand before the world next month, either at the UN general assembly or the G20 in Pittsburgh, and launch his own bid for Middle East peace. We have told ourselves for so long that a solution is possible – that everyone knows the contours of an eventual agreement between Israelis and Palestinians – that the urge is almost overwhelming to believe it is within reach. » Read more

US takes on Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear programme in one massive gamble ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ewen Macaskill - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am The Obama administration's approach to two of the world's most intractable and dangerous problems, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear programme, is to link them together in the search for a solution to both. The new US strategy aims to use its Iran policy to gain leverage on Binyamin Netanyahu's government. » Read more

Barack Obama on brink of deal for Middle East peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ewen Macaskill - August 25, 2009 - 12:00am Barack Obama is close to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal that will allow him to announce a resumption of the long-stalled Middle East peace talks before the end of next month, according to US, Israeli, Palestinian and European officials. Key to bringing Israel on board is a promise by the US to adopt a much tougher line with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons programme. The US, along with Britain and France, is planning to push the United Nations security council to expand sanctions to include Iran's oil and gas industry, a move that could cripple its economy. » Read more

Dilemma of Palestinian settlement builders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Heather Sharp - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am "I feel like a slave," says 21-year-old Palestinian Musanna Khalil Mohammed Rabbaye. "But I have no alternative," he says, as he waits among a group of sun-beaten men in dusty work boots outside the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim. The phrase comes up again and again as the labourers try to explain why they spend their days hammering and shovelling to help build the Jewish settlements eating into the land they want for a future state of Palestine. Mr Rabbaye wants to be a journalist and is trying to fund his studies. » Read more

Israel and US discuss settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News August 26, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has met US envoy George Mitchell as part of a renewed drive to reach a deal on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The US has been pushing for a complete end to Israeli construction in the hope of kick-starting stalled peace talks. The meeting in London followed talks with UK PM Gordon Brown, when Mr Netanyahu rejected any construction freeze in occupied East Jerusalem. He demanded again that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state. » Read more

Palestinians: Abbas open to meeting with Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian officials say President Mahmoud Abbas is open to a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations next month. The meeting would be the first between the two leaders since Netanyahu took office in March. Earlier, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev said "there is a possibility" that a three-way meeting may be held between Abbas, Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama in September. » Read more

U.S. mulls Peres plan for Palestinian state with interim borders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am The American administration is said to be studying President Shimon Peres' plan for the establishment in the near future of a Palestinian state with temporary borders, with guarantees and a timetable for a permanent agreement that will include solutions on all core issues. Peres presented the plan to U.S. envoy George Mitchell as well as senior Palestinian officials and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He also discussed it with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni. » Read more

One-state solution is a blueprint for a nightmare ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am The continued failure of the Mideast peace process and the escalation of violence from the second intifada to the Gaza war have led many to think that the two-state solution is pedestrian, unimaginative and inhuman. Many Palestinians and a small but vocal group of Jews back Edward Said's claim that a one-state solution with full right of return for all Palestinians must be endorsed. This, they say, would finally lead to absolute and full justice. » Read more

Netanyahu, Mitchell fail to reach deal on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 26, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell failed to reach an agreement on the issue of West Bank settlements during a meeting Wednesday in London, according to spokespeople for the two men. However, Netanyahu and Mitchell did make progress in their meeting, the spokespeople said in a joint message afterward, adding that the two agreed on the need to begin meaningful diplomatic negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of reaching a regional peace agreement. » Read more

US said to be weighing "temporary" Palestinian borders formula ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 26, 2009 - 12:00am Bethlehem – Ma’an – US President Barack Obama’s administration is considering an Israeli proposal for the creation of a Palestinian state with “temporary borders” an Israeli newspaper said on Tuesday. The plan also includes guarantees and a timetable for a final peace agreement that includes permanent borders and addresses other core issues including the fate of Jerusalem. The Haaretz report did not indicate what the “temporary borders” of the state would be. Palestinian officials have not commented on the report. » Read more