Netanyahu urges recognition of Israel as "Jewish people's state" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Analysis) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged the Palestinians to recognize Israel as "Jewish people's state" and called for "two states for two peoples " as part of a solution to the Israeli -- Palestinian conflict. "We say that the solution is two states for two peoples, meaning two national states, a Jewish national state and a Palestinian national state," Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet session. » Read more

Erekat: No infighting on negotiations team ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The PLO's chief negotiator denied on Sunday, reports in the Arab media that he and another Palestinian officials were sparring over who would represent President Mahmoud Abbas at an upcoming peace summit. Saeb Erekat told Ma'an that President Abbas appointed him as head of the Palestinian negotiations delegation, which meant he - and not Nabil Shaath - would attend the Sharm Ash-Sheikh summit on Tuesday, where peace talks that began on 2 September in Washington are set to continue. » Read more

Israel to allow car parts into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities said they would be allowing the entry of car oil and spare parts into Gaza on Monday for the first time since its blockade of the coastal territory was enforced in 2006, a Palestinian liaison official said. Raed Fattouh said one terminal, the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, would be open for the transfer of five truckloads of car parts and oil, as well as 165 truckloads of other goods. » Read more

Israeli shelling kills 3 in north Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli shelling killed three people including an elderly man in the northern Gaza Strip late Sunday, witnesses said. The bodies of shepherds Ibrahim Abu Said, 91, and Ismail Abu Odeh, 21, were taken to a hospital in Beit Hanoun, medics said. Ibrahim was apparently Ismail's grandfather. An Israeli military spokesman said forces identified a number of suspects attempting to fire an RPG toward an Israeli position. He said forces fired on the Palestinians, apparently hitting them. » Read more

What's so wrong with giving peace a chance? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune by Ron Grossman - (Opinion) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am Perhaps never before has a bit of diplomatic theater received such ho-hum reviews as when Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu had dinner at the White House earlier this month, unless the record belongs to a previous sit-down between Palestinian and Israeli leaders. And yet . . . The Middle East is the land of "and yet." It's been the sign-off phrase for myriad attempts to end decades of stalemate and violence. » Read more

Who's bluffing: Abbas or Netanyahu? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am The conventional wisdom about Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu as they head into the second round of Mideast peace talks this week goes something like this: Abbas is a moderate who genuinely wants a two-state settlement but may be too weak politically to deliver. Netanyahu is a hawk who holds a commanding political position in Israel but doesn't really accept Palestinian statehood. » Read more

Obama: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks might focus first on possible border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - (Analysis) September 10, 2010 - 12:00am President Obama on Friday signaled that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators might begin their peace talks by focusing on the potential border between the two states in order to overcome conflicts over Israeli settlement growth on the West Bank. » Read more

Israel Bends Slightly on Settlement Building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - (Analysis) September 12, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, signaled for the first time on Sunday that he was willing to limit, though not completely halt, construction in the West Bank settlements after a partial building moratorium expires later this month. The hints of flexibility came as diplomats worked to defuse a potential crisis over settlement building that threatens to derail fledgling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. » Read more