November 10th

We should give credit where it's due on Abbas' firm stance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am With all the talk about Palestinian polls, President Mahmoud Abbas refusing to run and a possible unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, one thing remains constant – the undeterred growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it is these settlements that will render all of the above completely irrelevant if they are not stopped and dismantled in line with what they are: illegal. » Read more

Succeeding Abbas? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am The latest visit of Mohammed Dahlan in Amman has triggered much speculation among pundits and politicians over what he is up to. Indeed, he is not an ordinary senior Palestinian official but a very controversial politician, one that many Jordanians and Palestinians accuse of taking a leading role in cracking down on Hamas. » Read more

Abbas isn't finished just yet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Sami Moubayed - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am The last thing Mahmoud Abbas needed was a pat on the back from his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres, shortly after announcing that he would not seek another term as president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). » Read more

Obama-Netanyahu talks see no result ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English November 10, 2009 - 1:00am The latest attempt by the US president to salvage the Middle East peace talks appears to have come to nothing after his meeting with Israel's prime minister ended with only a brief statement from the White House. Binyamin Netanyahu left the White House on Monday after spending an hour and forty minutes inside with Barack Obama, without making the customary public appearance with his host. A brief White House statement said that the two leaders discussed a number of bilateral issues, including Iran and "how to move forward on Middle East peace". » Read more

Palestinian leaders foresee bleak future ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am It must be assumed that the discussion at the somewhat reluctantly and hastily arranged meeting in Washington last night between Barack Obama, the US president, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, would have focused almost exclusively on the future of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. » Read more

How Will the Palestinians Survive without Mahmoud Abbas? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am We must not forget that the Palestinian president – no matter who he might be – is an important figure not just for the West Bank, but for the entire Arab world. This is because the Palestinian President is the guardian of the most important cause – the Palestinian Cause – and therefore possesses exceptional [political] legitimacy in the Middle East's political arena. Therefore the issue that we are facing is one that concerns everybody. » Read more

Farouk Shami: Palestinian Immigrant, Entrepreneur and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 8, 2009 - 1:00am FAROUK SHAMI is Palestinian-American immigrant who invented an ammonia-free line of hair care products which he parlayed into a fortune. Passionate about his adopted United States, Shami recently made news by turning his Farouk Systems into an all-American operation, building a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas, creating thousands of jobs for the local community. Shami is running for the office of Governor of the State of Texas. He was interviewed by The Media Line’s Felice Friedson. *** » Read more

US and Israeli leaders hold talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News November 10, 2009 - 1:00am President Barack Obama has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House as the US struggles to revive the Middle East peace process. The talks in Washington came amid heightened tension over Mr Netanyahu's refusal to freeze settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the meeting was unusual. There were no photos, no press calls, and none of the public warmth Israeli leaders usually get from US presidents. » Read more

Weisglass: Something happened during White House meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Edelson - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am Attorney Dov Weisglass said the fact that reporters were not allowed in the Oval Office during Monday night's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, as well as cancellation of a briefing the Israeli leader intended to hold for reporters, was indicative of either a crisis or far-reaching understandings regarding the Mideast peace process. » Read more

Blair: Abbas leaving office due to frustration over stalled peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 10, 2009 - 1:00am The United Nations envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, said Tuesday that he believed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision not to seek re-election was a reflection of deep frustration regarding the slow pace of peace negotiations. Speaking to Army Radio while on a visit to Jerusalem, Blair called Abbas a man of peace, and said he worried the decision would harm any chance of toppling Hamas' power in the Gaza Strip. "People are impatient to get into the negotiation regarding the Palestinian and Israeli states," Blair told Army Radio. » Read more