Failure to advance Middle East peace a setback for Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Howard Lafranchi - September 22, 2009 - 12:00am


Unbowed by the failure to reach an accord to restart Mideast peace talks, President Obama told Israeli and Palestinian leaders he met Tuesday that he would keep up his administration's diplomatic efforts until negotiations are relaunched. He then directed top foreign policy aides, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and special Mideast envoy George Mitchell, to continue the intense contacts with Israeli and Palestinian officials the US has pursued since Obama took office.


Obama may have lost some face in the Middle East, but don't write him off yet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


There was something wrong with that picture. Of course all the best politicians are skilled actors, so they did their best to hide the reality. But, despite the smiles and the handshake, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu could not quite conceal the weirdness at the centre of their photo-op in New York today. What the image should have conveyed was the gratitude of the leaders of two minor states, happy to be basking in the sunlight radiated by the global emperor.


President Obama enters the Mideast fray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


President Obama, exasperated by the disappointing course of Mideast peace efforts, urged Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday to reapply themselves, even though eight months of intensive American engagement has failed to return the parties to the negotiating table. Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a New York hotel ahead of a United Nations session, stepping personally into the process and offering an unusually blunt message.


A reluctant handshake - but no deal as Middle East plan falters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black, Ewen Macaskill - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Barack Obama failed to achieve a hoped-for breakthrough aimed at the resumption of Middle East negotiations yesterday ­during a three-way meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York. The president had only one success to show for months of effort: a tentative handshake between the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who met for the first time since the Israeli leader took office in March. The two appeared reluctant to shake hands, smiling hesitantly and having to be coaxed by Obama.


Obama calls for Mid-East urgency
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Mr Obama spoke after hosting the first meeting between leaders from both sides since he took office. US Middle-East envoy George Mitchell later said the US did not see any issue as a precondition for talks. The US has been pressuring Israel to comply with Palestinian demands for all building in settlements in the occupied West Bank to end before talks restart. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas shook hands in front of the cameras during what was their first encounter since Mr Netanyahu came to office in March.


Obama on peace talks: Stop talking about talking, and start talking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


The meetings ran overtime, and Mahmoud Abbas wouldn't stop arguing even after he stepped into a room full of cameras. Reporters could not make out exactly what was exercising the Palestinian Authority president in his exchange with President Obama, but fist pounding isn't usually a sign of things going well.


A Middle East Handshake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


The Summit President Obama convened Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fell well short of the administration's hopes. Mr. Obama had wanted to announce agreement on the opening of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state, with a deadline of two years. He wanted to outline agreements on how those negotiations would proceed and some of the principles that would underpin them.


Abbas says Israel must keep 2008 word
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Waked - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that Israel must honor agreements on borders and Jerusalem which he says its government made in 2008 talks with the Palestinians if stalled peace negotiations are to resume. Speaking after talks with US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abbas also repeated Palestinian insistence that Israel halt settlement building in the territories, including east Jerusalem.


Obama Presses Mideast Leaders To Broaden Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Glenn Kessler - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am


President Obama's meetings Tuesday with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority signaled his impatience with months of stalemate in the quest for Middle East peace, as well as his desire to move beyond talks about settlement construction and straight to negotiations on the final shape of the region.


In Mideast Peace Bid, Obama Pivots in His Demands
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - September 22, 2009 - 12:00am


President Obama, who has met immovable resistance from Israel over his demand for a full freeze on settlements in the West Bank, is largely setting that issue aside as a first step toward restarting Middle East peace talks.



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