September 3rd

Direct negotiations are haunted by the settlement issue and some experts worry they are too ambitious. Sec. Clinton urges Israelis and Palestinians to seek a future of peace. Ghaith Al-Omari, Gideon Grinstein and Aaron David Miller look back at previous negotiations. Hussein Ibish analyzes the settlement question. Ahmad Tibi says pressure on PM Netanyahu will be the key. Mohammed Dajani and Michael Zakim say there is hope for peace. The PA arrests two suspects in the killing of Israeli settlers near Hebron. Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza vow further attacks against Israelis. The US is pressuring Pres. Abbas to continue negotiations with or without a settlement freeze extension. The BBC looks at why Israeli-Palestinian peace is so crucial to American interests. Settlers voice opposition to negotiations. Daoud Kuttab looks at the Palestinian strategy for liberation. Shlomo Avineri says even cynics should entertain some hopes. The Arab News says the talks are off to a good start.

Palestinians authorities: We've arrested 2 suspects in deadly West Bank shooting attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority security forces detained two men on Thursday suspected of involvement in a deadly shooting attack in which four Israelis were killed on Tuesday. The four victims were residents of the Beit Hagai settlement in the West Bank. They were traveling in a car on route 60 late Tuesday when assailants opened fire at them, killing all four. Following the incident, Palestinian security forces in the West Bank carried out one of the largest arrest sweeps in history, bringing in over 300 suspects in efforts to locate the culprits.

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Israel, Palestinians agree to more peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Toronto Sun
by Jeffrey Heller, Andrew Quinn - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to a series of direct talks Thursday, seeking to forge the framework for a U.S.-backed peace deal within a year and end a conflict that has boiled for six decades. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who hosted the first session of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expressed confidence that this effort could succeed where so many others have failed.

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Palestinian source: U.S. pressuring Abbas to continue talks even if settlements expand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior Palestinian source told Haaretz that the American administration renewed its pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in direct negotiations with Israel, even if some construction in the settlements resumes after the end of the current moratorium. The source warned that Abbas would not be able to agree to a renewal of construction and will be forced to withdraw from the talks.

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Obama sets clock ticking on Middle East talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jonathan Marcus - (Analysis) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

For all the diplomatic theatre in the White House, the Middle East peace talks have by no means a full cast. Some key actors like Hamas are not present at all, preferring to mount their own bloody tableau in the West Bank. Others - like the hard-line Israeli settler movement - cast a long shadow over the deliberations. Indeed there is a clear risk that the future of Israel's partial settlement freeze, not the peace process, may dominate the early stages of these discussions.

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Q&A-Settlements loom as Middle East talks resume
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Arshad Mohammed - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli and Palestinian leaders held their first direct peace talks in 20 months on Thursday and agreed to meet every two weeks to try to settle the six-decade conflict within a year. Among the many obstacles are the deep divisions among the Palestinians and the Israelis themselves and the possibility of violence by hardliners who may wish to disrupt the effort. Here are some questions and answers about the talks. WHAT HAPPENED? The only tangible result was an agreement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud

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Settlers reveal deep disdain for events in Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Analysis) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Yaniv Mor, 30-year-old father of a one-month-old baby girl, and a settler was blunt: "We don't care about Washington. Nothing will come out of it, like always. This is a war of religions – we want everything, they want everything. There is no way there will ever be agreement. That is the reality."

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Gaza militants vow wave of attacks against Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian militant groups have joined forces to step up attacks against Israel, possibly including suicide bombings, the Hamas Islamist faction said on Thursday, after Palestinian and Israeli leaders launched direct peace negotiations in Washington. A spokesman for Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said some 13 militant groups had joined forces to launch "more effective attacks" against Israel. Asked if this included suicide bombings, he said: "All options are open."


Middle East peace talks: Why there's hope the bitter divide can be bridged
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Mohammad Dajani, Michael Zakim - (Opinion) September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

he Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a misnomer. The real political chasm actually runs down the middle of both societies, dividing them into separate camps of conflict and peace. The camp of conflict, for instance – both in its Israeli and Palestinian versions – is driven by a visionary messianism, the rejection of liberal values, a politics of violence, and the cult of death. This common zealotry has imposed a zero-sum reality of “all or nothing” on everyone else, including those majorities in both countries who would prefer to live together in peace. A common language of peace

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Clinton: only you two can achieve peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Matt Bradley, Sharmila Devi - (Analysis) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON // Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday declared their commitment to arriving at a sustainable peace as they entered their first direct negotiations in 20 months. Both sides have set the deadline of one year to reach a deal, and flanked by the Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, reminded both sides that the main responsibility for achieving it would fall on them.

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