January 26th

Israeli PM plants trees to signify claim to West Bank settlement blocs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday planted trees in West Bank settlements, in a move which he said sent a clear message that Israel would retain major settlement blocs under any peace deal with the Palestinians. "The message is clear, we are here, and we will stay here. We plant and build. This is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever," local news service Ynet quoted Netanyahu as saying at the Kfar Atzon settlement, part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. He planted a tree to mark the tree-planting festival of Tu B' Shvat.

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Abbas to form a committee to probe U.N. fact-finding report on Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered on Monday to form a committee to probe the recommendations of a United Nations fact-finding report over the Israeli war on Gaza last year. Abbas issued on Monday a presidential decree calling for forming a committee to investigate and study the report's recommendations, saying that the committee has to bring back a response after probing the report's recommendations.

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Minister: Israel rejects UN Gaza war probe call
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel will not set up a special panel to investigate last winter's Gaza offensive, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, rejecting a key demand of a U.N. report that accused the military of war crimes. Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said Israel would submit a document to the U.N. later this week that deals only with Israel's own investigations of its conduct during the three-week war. Those investigations have been conducted by the military, which has exonerated itself of any systematic wrongdoing.

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Benjamin Netanyahu rejects freeze on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian
by John Lyons - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

On a tour of the largest settlements hours after meeting US President Barack Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, Mr Netanyahu gave his strongest rejection to any permanent freeze in settlement activity and reaffirmed a commitment to "greater Jerusalem". He told settlers during one tree-planting ceremony: "The message is clear: we are here and will remain here. The settlement blocs are an indisputable part of Israel forever. "This is acceptable to the great majority of Israel's citizens and is gradually being instilled in international consciousness."

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Aide: Abbas has 2 conditions for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas laid out two preconditions for the resumption of negotiations with Israel, during his meeting with US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell on Friday, a senior aide said on Tuesday. The aide, Nimer Hammad, told Ma'an that Abbas asked that Israel commit to a real settlement freeze even for a limited period of time. His second request was that negotiations be based on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and a full withdrawal to those armistice lines. According to Nimer, the following are some excerpts from the meeting:

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January 25th

PM Netanyahu says Israel will keep some settlements forever, angering Palestinians. The LA Times profiles Tzipi Livni. The Obama administration reiterates its commitment to peace but lowers expectations. Activists fear a new intifada. Gaza clans say Hamas is undermining tribal justice. A former Israeli negotiator says an agreement is impossible. Several commentaries examine the state of the peace process and Israel's policies. Joel Beinin looks at Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Meron Benvenisti says that Israel has imposed a binational reality that cannot be undone. Hussein Ibish analyzes the dangers of political certainty among Arabs and Israelis.

The Inevitable Bi-national Regime
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Meron Benvenisti - (Opinion) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Translated by Zalman Amit and Daphna Levitt. The occupation of the territories in 1967 resulted from military action, but the military element quickly became secondary, while the “civilian” component,-settlements,-became the dominant factor, subjugating the military to its needs and turning the security forces into a militia in the service of the Jewish ethnic group. Eventually, settlements themselves were no longer as meaningful as they once had been.

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Outlook for peace process grim
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - January 24, 2010 - 1:00am

Samer Arar, 26, was not impressed with the visit on Friday of George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy. Mr Mitchell was in Ramallah for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO leader, in a renewed, and so far fruitless, US effort to get a peace process between Palestinians and Israelis going again. A waiter in a restaurant in central Ramallah, Mr Arar said Mr Mitchell’s efforts were “for nothing”.

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The Obama Administration and Verbal Backtracking
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Walid Choucair - (Opinion) January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Not a day goes by without US efforts to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations track appearing to be serious and possibly headed for producing a result, without the issue appearing difficult and nearly impossible to achieve the following day. Ever since US President Barack Obama tasked special envoy George Mitchell with responsibility for advancing peace negotiations, the region has appeared to be stuck in this cycle, which, as time goes on, increases the complications related to resuming the negotiations.

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Palestinians: Netanyahu's claim to West Bank destroys peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - January 24, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for laying Israel's claim to certain West Bank land during a tree planting ceremony in a settlement bloc earlier Sunday, saying the move undermined efforts to return to the negotiating table. "This is an unacceptable act that destroys all the efforts being exerted by Senator [George] Mitchell in order to bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, referring to U.S. President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy.

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