September 7th

IMF: Israel Keeps Palestinian Economy Booming ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Benjamin Joffe-Walt - September 5, 2010 - 12:00am Israel’s decision to relax controls on movement in the Palestinian Territories has allowed the Palestinian economy to continue to boom in 2010, with growth rates of 14 percent in the Gaza Strip and 11 percent in the West Bank, the International Monetary Fund has said. » Read more

A Special Place in Hell / Real men don't talk Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Blog) September 6, 2010 - 12:00am There was something wrong with the air here the day President Obama hosted Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. There was a bottom-heavy grip to the heat, the air almost too thick to breathe, as though it had to be forced down, like medicine. In other places, this freight in the weather is the kind which announces a monsoon, or an earthquake. Not here. Here it was murder that was in the air. It just hadn't happened yet. » Read more

Egypt: Peace will 'cost' world $50B ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Peace with a hefty price? Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Tuesday that a future peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will "cost" the world between $40 and $50 billion. Speaking with Cairo's official news agency, Aboul Gheit said the amount will allow the fledgling Palestinian state to sustain itself, and offer the Palestinians some compensation for lands and services lost. In reference to the settlement freeze, which is scheduled to end on September 26, Aboul Gheit said that the subject will be "the first test to Israel earnest in the process." » Read more

A condition for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am In light of the Palestinians' acceptance of a land swap, the battle over the construction freeze in the settlements is not a struggle for their very existence, since most of them and their residents will be annexed to Israel in any agreement. The battle over the construction freeze is a battle for perception in Israel and abroad - between Greater Israel on the one hand and two states for two peoples on the other. So this battle is important for the existence of the diplomatic process. » Read more

Israeli FM pushes for new settlement construction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Matti Friedman - September 6, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's hard-line foreign minister said Monday that his party will try to block any extension of Israel's settlement slowdown, a move that could derail the recently launched Mideast peace negotiations. Avigdor Lieberman said the Israeli government must keep its promise to voters that the 10-month slowdown, declared last November under U.S. pressure in order to draw the Palestinians to the negotiating table, will end as scheduled at the end of the month. » Read more

Israel PM sees deal possible in year, spokesman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - September 6, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told visiting U.S. congressmen he thinks it could be possible to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians in a year despite huge differences, his spokesman said. Netanyahu told the visiting delegation that he "believes it possible, through such direct and contiguous negotiations, held without breaks or delays, to achieve a peace agreement within a year", spokesman Nir Hefez said on Monday. » Read more

Top Abbas aide: We're trying to reach deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Nasser Laham - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am If there is one man on the Palestinian side capable of assessing the prospects of these new direct talks between Israel and the PLO, it is President Mahmoud Abbas' top aide and spokesman. Known as "the black box" due to his vantage point as presidential spokesman for the administrations of both Abbas and former president Yasser Arafat, Nabil Abu Rudaineh has shadowed the Ramallah leadership for more than a decade. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian talks: How to keep saboteurs at bay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Clayton Jones - (Blog) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am In coming weeks, if all goes well, the spotlight in the Middle East will be on direct talks that started Thursday between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The two sides promise to meet every two weeks. But beware. Sabotage of the talks began even before they were launched in Washington. The likely aim? The derailing of any peace deal that creates a Palestinian state, a result known as the two-state solution. » Read more

Middle East peace talks, and the problem of land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Todd Gitlin, Liel Leibowitz - (Opinion) September 5, 2010 - 12:00am The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which began this week in Washington, leaves even the most loquacious Middle East experts without much to say. No bold offers have emerged from either side, and President Obama has yet to show the blend of grit, gregariousness and ingenuity that made Bill Clinton an effective mediator. All we can expect with certainty are more bouts of brinksmanship. » Read more

Abbas asks US to intervene in dispute with Israel over settlement restrictions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Mohammed Daraghmeh - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has asked the U.S. to settle a dispute with Israel over settlement expansion that is threatening to derail Mideast peace talks. Israel's 10-month partial freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements ends Sept. 26, and Israeli officials have indicated they will not extend the freeze as is. Abbas has said he'll quit peace talks with Israel unless the restrictions remain in place. Abbas said late Monday that he has asked the U.S. "to intervene in the settlement issue." » Read more