January 25th

Threatening posturing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) January 25, 2010 - 1:00am Israel is not only talking down peace prospects in the Middle East, it is also behaving aggressively towards Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and has made clear its intention to strike at Iranian nuclear capabilities. A few days ago, an Israeli minister said that the battle against Hizbollah, in southern Lebanon, is not over. He was clear in describing the Israel war against Lebanon in the summer of 2006 as unfinished business, saying that it is only a matter of time before his country will wage war again on Lebanon. » Read more

Olmert's negotiator: Full Mideast peace impossible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid - January 25, 2010 - 1:00am "I do not believe that in the foreseeable future there is a possibility of an agreement with the Palestinians on all the issues, especially on the problematic core issues," says Udi Dekel, who headed the negotiations task force in the previous government. Dekel spoke on Thursday at a conference on the unofficial "Geneva Initiative" peace plan. Other participants included many members of the diplomatic corps. » Read more

Where next for Israeli-Palestinian peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from China View by David Harris - January 25, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is in the region once again in a bid to persuade Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Despite the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Mitchell has brought with him some interesting ideas, Israeli and Palestinian analysts said they do not hold out much hope for talks resuming any time soon. ONE YEAR ON » Read more

Editorial: Obama and Mideast ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) January 25, 2010 - 1:00am US President Barack Obama hit the mark when he acknowledged that the Middle East peace process has not moved forward; that “we overestimated our ability to persuade” the Palestinians and Israelis “to start engaging in a meaningful conversation;” and that “what we did this year didn’t produce the kind of breakthrough that we wanted.” But in the Time magazine interview marking the first anniversary of his inauguration, Obama’s next comment was odd: “If we had anticipated some of these political problems on both sides earlier, we might not have raised expectations as high.” » Read more

U.S. fully committed to Middle East peace: Mitchell ATFP World Press Roundup Article from China View January 25, 2010 - 1:00am AMMAN, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States is committed to comprehensive Middle East peace and the two-state solution which stipulates the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state, U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell said on Sunday. "President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. are fully committed to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East," Mitchell told reporters following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Jordanian capital of Amman. » Read more

Long the glue of Gaza, clans say Hamas is undermining tribal justice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am The residents of Gaza have a name for the period of tribal lawlessness that plagued their impoverished territory between Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 and the Hamas takeover of 2007. Marred by rampant tit-for-tat murders, kidnappings, theft, and checkpoints run by armed clans, Gazans call these years ayam al-fowda, or the “days of chaos.” Those days are gone, however, after 2-1/2 years of strong Hamas rule successfully disarmed the territory’s rival clans – made up of just one or sometimes several extended families – and restored order again to Gaza’s streets. » Read more

The Liebarak of Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) January 25, 2010 - 1:00am The business is registered in the name of Benjamin Netanyahu. But the reality is different. Netanyahu has never been more than a slick patent medicine salesman. That is a type that appears frequently in American Westerns and sells an elixir that is good for everything: From the flu to lunacy. The main weapon of the vendor is his tongue: His stream of words builds castles in the air, blows up glistening bubbles and silences all doubts. » Read more

With Mideast peace talks stalled, activists fear a new intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am US peace envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday to try to break a diplomatic impasse that some say could give rise to a new Palestinian uprising, or intifada. After a nearly year-long vacuum in negotiations, Palestinian and Israeli peace activists say that Israel has escalated arrests of protesters to prevent wide-scale demonstrations. » Read more

Building a Different Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Joel Beinin - (Opinion) January 15, 2010 - 1:00am Like every other woman in her village Umm Hasan wears a headscarf. Her husband and other male relatives are not on the scene. But this is not an obstacle to her animated interactions with the sixteen Israelis and foreigners she has never previously met but welcomes into her home. Among the visitors are a German and a Serb who are making a film about Palestinian hip-hop. Everyone has come to participate in the weekly demonstration against the separation barrier organized by the local Popular Committee. » Read more

U.S. appears to lower expectations in Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - January 23, 2010 - 1:00am As U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell wrapped up his Mideast trip Friday with little to show for his efforts to kick-start peace talks, the Obama administration was signaling a growing pessimism that Israelis and Palestinians would return to negotiations any time soon. In his first visit since November, Mitchell met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. But officials on both sides said little progress was made toward restarting talks that collapsed a year ago. » Read more