January 25th

Israeli's Livni says reports of her political demise are premature
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders, Batsheva Sobelman - January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Many people expected Tzipi Livni to become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir. After her high-profile stint as foreign minister, the centrist Kadima party she heads won more votes than any other in elections last year. International leaders praised her as a new-style Israeli politician who could finally make peace with the Palestinians. Yet things aren't working out that way for Livni. Rather than making history, the 51-year-old is fighting for her political life.

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The perils of certainty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 23, 2010 - 1:00am

Among the most dangerous aspects of the political culture surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on both sides are glib assertions of inevitable victory and the uninterrogated assumptions that inevitably lie behind them. It's an obvious point, but was brought home to me with some force yesterday when a friend pointed out the following passage from a particularly foolish Arab-American blog:

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Netanyahu Says Some Settlements to Stay in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 24, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Sunday that several Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank would always remain part of Israel, a comment that upset the Palestinians even as the Obama administration’s Middle East envoy was trying to coax them back into peace talks. The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, helped plant a tree in a West Bank settlement near Jerusalem on Sunday. Mr. Netanyahu spoke about the Etzion bloc on Sunday.

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January 22nd

Special Envoy Mitchell meets with Pres. Abbas. A Ha'aretz commentary asks who is to blame for stalled talks, as Obama administration officials say they underestimated the obstacles. Controversy continues to surround Israel's aid effort in Haiti. Hamas asks media to stop describing it as "deposed," and one of its leaders denies he said it recognizes Israel. PLO officials say Israel is imposing a one-state reality. UNSG Ban says the Middle East conflict is intensifying. The Jerusalem mayor defies a court order to remove Jewish settlers from a Palestinian house. Settlement construction is continuing in spite of the "freeze." A commentary in The National says there are lessons for Gaza in Haiti's devastation. Rami Khouri speculates about Europe's role and George Hishmeh says Israel needs introspection. PM Fayyad leads a civil society effort against settlement activity. Gaza faces a dangerous fuel crisis. Jeffrey Goldberg interviews Elliot Abrams on West Bank development.

Elliott Abrams on The West Bank Resurgence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
(Interview) January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

In my continuing mission to understand the Obama Administration's understanding of the Middle East peace process (such as it is), I turn now to Elliott Abrams, the key Middle East policymaker on President Bush's National Security Council. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked by bigger questions than those that concern George Mitchell's travel schedule.

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Gaza Faces ‘Catastrophic’ Gas Shortage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Rachelle Kliger - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

An impending shortage of cooking gas in the Gaza Strip is likely to cause a humanitarian disaster unless Israel allows more into the coastal enclave, say industry representatives. With winter temperatures in Gaza dropping, petrol and gas vendors say Palestinians are getting only a third of the gas need for heating and cooking.

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MIDEAST: Civil Society Takes On Israeli Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Salam Fayyad turned civil society activist this week. In Salfit, on the West Bank, the Palestinian prime minister threw onto a giant bonfire goods made in Israeli settlements. The fire was lit by municipal officials as part of a new Palestinian Authority (PA) campaign to ban anything produced by settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Fayyad told the campaigners, "We must all, officials and public, join together in cleaning our markets of settlements products."

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Israel facing the looking glass
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

The row between Israel and Turkey when Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon undiplomatically “rebuked” the Turkish ambassador to Israel during a humiliating encounter over a Turkish television programme critical of Israel reminds me of the saying: “The [black Israeli] pot calls the [shiny Turkish] kettle black.”

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Will European action follow rhetoric?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Just as the United States apparently is gearing up for phase two of its foray into Arab-Israeli peace-making diplomacy, some Europeans seem to be awakening from their long slumber on the issue. Several symbolic or rhetorical gestures in recent weeks indicate that the European Union wants at least to raise its voice and profile on Arab-Israeli peace-making. Its approach is intriguing, given Europe’s potential to play a more activist role in promoting the rule of law as the basis for any negotiated agreement.

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In Haiti’s misery, a lesson for Gaza: history does not wait
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Alan Philps - (Opinion) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Since the earthquake struck Haiti 10 days ago, an arresting satellite picture has flitted across television screens. It shows the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which is divided between Haiti, the western third, and the Dominican Republic, to the east, the bigger part of the island. From space, Haiti is grey-brown, all of its forests having been cut down for timber or fuel. But the Dominican Republic is lush and green, visibly flourishing. The two parts of the island seem to come from separate continents, though all that actually divides them is their frontier.

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