January 24th

Washington Institute unveils land swap proposals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) January 24, 2011 - 1:00am A pro-Israel U.S. think tank released proposals that would reconcile allowing a majority of the settlers to stay in place with a Palestinian state through commensurate land swaps. The detailed proposal, released Jan. 20 by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, nods to longstanding Palestinian demands for a return to 1967 lines by adhering to one-to-one land swaps. Under the proposal, 68 percent to 80 percent of settlers would remain in place, and the Palestinian state would receive Israeli lands adjacent to the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Desert and parts of the West Bank. » Read more

The Palestine papers: Al-Jazeera trumps WikiLeaks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am While the leaked documents on Middle East negotiations are received in Israel and in the world as incisive evidence of the moderate positions of the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Hamas leadership as well as Abbas' rivals in Fatah will see the documents as additional proof of what they call the "defeatism" of the PA. Abbas is constantly treading the thin line between his will to acquire the sympathy of the Israeli and international public and his need to guard his back from the knives of his rivals at home. » Read more

Palestinian reporter faces trial for insulting PA President Abbas on Facebook ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Reporter who works for Al-Quds TV, which is sympathetic to Hamas, said he was held for over 50 days in Palestinian lockup after he was tagged in a Facebook image that mocked Abbas. A Palestinian reporter tagged in a Facebook image that mocked the Palestinian president said Saturday he faces trial for insulting a public figure despite already being detained for more than 50 days. » Read more

Abbas: Concessions in Palestine papers came from Israel, not us ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday denied offering secret concessions to Israel and said that reporting of purportedly leaked documents had presented Israeli positions as those of his own negotiators. "What is intended is a mix-up. I saw them present things yesterday as Palestinian, but they were Israeli ... This is therefore intentional," Abbas told reporters in Cairo after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "We say things very clearly, we do not have secrets." Abbas stressed. » Read more

PA official: Israelis don't want a two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Erekat says Al-Jazeera release part of campaign targeting PA, Abbas refused to make concessions on J'lem; Abbas: We have nothing to hide. Palestinian Legislative Council official Mustafa Barghouti on Monday said that Israelis don't want a two-state solution, according to The Guardian's news blog on 'The Palestine Papers.' "Regardless of how flexible the negotiators are and how many concessions are offered, it makes no difference because Israel does not want a two state solution. All this flexibility is in vain," he was quoted as saying. » Read more

West Bank village in Area C blocked from modern life ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Omer al-Othmani - January 23, 2011 - 1:00am For the residents of a remote Palestinian village, located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, it seems that the hands of the clock has stopped moving. Around 1,200 people live in the village with no water or electricity supply. The first ten years of the 21st century have passed, while the villagers of Froosh Beit Dajan in southeast of Nablus still lives in the "middle ages" -- isolated, gloomy, with no sign of modern life, because it was classified as part of the Area C by Israel. » Read more

January 24, 2011 Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am For two years, the Obama White House has tried to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt as a prospective peace partner — viewing him as a leader who shared U.S. goals but faced tough domestic political constraints that Washington felt obliged to help counter. That’s over. » Read more

Crowley: US cannot vouch for 'Palestine Papers' veracity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am State Dept. spokesman says US is reviewing leaks, adds Washington committed to two-state solution, will continue working with on core issues. Responding to Al Jazeera's release of over 1,000 PA documents relating to negotiations with Israel, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that the US cannot verify the documents, via his Twitter account. » Read more

Israel FM confirms interim Palestinian state plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matti Friedman - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's foreign minister confirmed Monday that he has drawn up a plan for the creation of an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders in the absence of a full peace agreement. Avigdor Lieberman argued that an interim arrangement was the only option, saying the Palestinians have turned down previous Israeli offers and no agreement is possible at present. "There is no other way. We must go back to an interim agreement," he told Israel Radio, adding, "The plan is ready." He offered no details and did not say when and if the plan would be made public. » Read more

The story behind the Palestine papers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ian Black, Seumas Milne - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am How 1,600 confidential Palestinian records of negotiations with Israel from 1999 to 2010 came to be leaked to al-Jazeera The revelations from the heart of the Israel-Palestine peace process are the product of the biggest documentary leak in the history of the Middle East conflict, and the most comprehensive exposure of the inside story of a decade of failed negotiations. » Read more