November 3rd, 2009

Personality of the Month: Dr. Salam Fayyad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from This Week in Palestine November 3, 2009 - 1:00am Born in Nablus in 1952, Dr. Salam Fayyad remembers his early school years in Tulkarem, when doing well at school was not the main thing (as it continues to be today), it was the only thing. Well, almost the only thing. Back then, after-school street football was also a daily routine and a prominent item on his agenda. » Read more

Settlers take control of East Jerusalem home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 3, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli settlers arrogated the home of the Al-Kurd family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Tuesday, residents of the area said. About 30 settlers were seen entering the house and throwing the family's furniture into the street. The settlers have refused to leave the building and Israeli police blocked members of the Al-Kurd family from entering the area. Witnesses also reported heated arguments between police and Palestinian residents. » Read more

A Stalemate Looms in Obama's Mideast Peace Effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time by Tony Karon - (Opinion) November 3, 2009 - 1:00am The Obama Administration's bid to relaunch an Israeli-Palestinian peace process is falling apart faster than you can say settlement freeze — in no small part because President Obama began his effort by saying settlement freeze. On Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found herself struggling to persuade skeptical Arab foreign ministers to see the silver lining in Israel's "No, but ..." answer to the U.S. demand that Israel halt all construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. » Read more

Palestinians downbeat despite US backtracking ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) November 3, 2009 - 1:00am The Palestinians remained pessimistic about the likelihood of relaunching peace talks with Israel despite US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's attempt to clarify earlier remarks about settlements. During a visit to Morocco, Clinton told Arab leaders that Washington remained opposed to all Israeli settlement activity after she had praised an Israeli offer to ease construction as "unprecedented" during a visit to Jerusalem. » Read more

Palestinian PM criticizes Clinton for letting Israel set peace agenda ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Following US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit here this weekend, Palestinians are reacting with frustration over what appeared to be a shift in the Obama administration's policy toward Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank. Although Secretary Clinton had previously insisted that the US wanted a total freeze on West Bank settlement expansion, she said during her meetings here this weekend that Palestinians should return to negotiations without preconditions – and lauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's steps toward limiting settlement growth as "unprecedented." » Read more

Interview: How Salam Fayyad plans to save the Palestinian dream ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - (Interview) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian elections are scheduled to be held in less than three months, but the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Salam Fayyad, isn't concerned about running for office. Rather, he's set his sights on a longer-term platform: establishing a Palestinian state by 2011 – a goal he outlined recently in a clear, well-organized booklet titled "Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State." » Read more

In face of Arab anger, Clinton amends view on Israel's offer to curb West Bank growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Karen Deyoung - November 3, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to soothe Arab uneasiness Monday over weekend statements she made praising the Israeli government's offer to "restrain" growth in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying it "falls far short" of the Obama administration's hopes and is "not enough." » Read more

Clinton Denies Easing Pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Struggling to stem protests from the Arab world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday reiterated that the Obama administration still wanted Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements, even if it regarded Israel’s compromise offer as “unprecedented.” Arab officials expressed alarm that the United States seemed to be easing pressure on Israel after Mrs. Clinton said in Jerusalem on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal of restrained settlement building was better than anything previous Israeli governments had offered. » Read more

November 2nd

Hillary Clinton to Embark upon Uphill Mideast Mission Media Mention of ATFP In Xinhua - October 29, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank this weekend. This will be her second visit to the region since Barack Obama entered office as U.S. president some 10 months ago. Coming at a time when relations between Israel and the Palestinians show no outward sign of improvement, analysts see Hillary's visit to be a tough mission and do not expect it to achieve much. A NEGATIVE BACKDROP » Read more

Clinton's Middle East message seems to misfire Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's message on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks this weekend was not notably different from what President Barack Obama himself said in New York in September at a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But the prevailing perception and coverage in the wake of Clinton's meetings in Israel and Abu Dhabi Saturday are that the U.S. » Read more