IDF to seek legal advice during future conflicts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Analysis) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has issued an order requiring the Israel Defense Forces to consult with the army's legal advisers while military operations are underway and not just when they are being planned. Ashkenazi imposed the stricter regulations despite opposition by several commanders, including members of the General Staff. » Read more

Fayyad: PA will clear West Bank of settlement products ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Editorial) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am Salfit – Ma'an – Before tossing goods made in Israeli settlements into a fire on Tuesday, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad affirmed the dedication of the Palestinian Authority to ridding local markets of the goods, and ridding the West Bank of the settlements entirely. The products being tossed were all found in the Salfit municipality, southeast of Nablus. They were found on trucks and in shops in the district, and would have been for sale to Palestinians. Much of the time goods from settlements are discounted or spoiled. » Read more

Restarting Mideast Peace Talks: Back to the Treadmill? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tony Karon - (Opinion) January 6, 2010 - 1:00am The Middle East peace process is a lot like a daytime TV soap opera — it has repeated the same dramatic formula for two decades and looks set to continue in the same vein, never reaching a denouement. Word from the region ahead of next week's visit by the Obama Administration's special envoy, the retired Senator George Mitchell, is that the U.S. plans to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks on a two-year deadline for the creation of a Palestinian state. That time frame was immediately dismissed as unrealistic by Israel's Foreign Minister. Skeptics might remember that President George W. » Read more

Fresh US push for Mideast peace: 'More like jazz than chess' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) January 5, 2010 - 1:00am Tel Aviv The US is launching a fresh diplomatic push to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, this time with the help of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a go-between. Top officials have held a flurry of high-level meetings in Egypt this week. But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is digging in his heels for a full freeze on Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank before restarting negotiations. Israel is balking at agreeing to a deadline for a peace deal. » Read more