Arab initiative, Israeli choice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) January 26, 2009 - 1:00am For the third time since the Arab League unanimously voted in favor of the peace plan with Israel, the people here are being called upon to vote for a new Knesset. In a normal country, the various parties' positions on this important initiative would be on full display. In Israel, for the third time, the Saudi initiative is being pushed to the margins. It is far easier to sell fear of the Iranians to the voters and to promise "a strong Israel." What does a peace plan made in Saudi Arabia have in common with an Iranian-produced bomb? Plenty, it would appear. » Read more

Netanyahu: Likud-led coalition wouldn't build new settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - January 26, 2009 - 1:00am A Likud-led government would not build new settlements in the West Bank but would allow for natural growth, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu told Quartet envoy Tony Blair Sunday, in an apparent attempt to calm the international community before this week's arrival of George Mitchell, the newly appointed U.S. envoy to the Middle East. » Read more

Iran MPs plan Gaza visit to praise Hamas resistance against 'Zionist offensive' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 26, 2009 - 1:00am Five Iranian parliament members intend to visit the Gaza Strip to congratulate the Palestinians on their resistance against the "Zionist offensive." The Iranian lawmakers will tour parts of Gaza to evaluate the damage sustained during Israel's three-week-long Operation cast Lead. Iranian parliament member Mahmoud Ahmadi said the group also plans to meet with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, whom Ahmadi called "the legitimate Prime Minister of Palestine." Another lawmaker said Tehran's foreign ministry is trying to expedite the visa process, so they can enter Gaza via Egypt. » Read more

Will Hamas win the peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Mohammed Yaghi - January 26, 2009 - 1:00am For generations to come, the Palestinians will remember the horrific war in Gaza with pain and bitterness. But what cannot yet be seen is how Palestinians will view Hamas. Whether Hamas can claim a victory and whether Palestinians will believe them will be determined by the type of ceasefire that is eventually agreed, if a formal one is eventually agreed. The endgame - for both Israel and Hamas - is thus crucially important. » Read more

Obama's Messages to the Arabs: With the Two-State Solution and against the "Jordanian Option" ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) January 23, 2009 - 1:00am When change came to the White House last Tuesday, as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, this unique man took it upon himself to call for taking responsibility and "setting aside childish things", asserting that America during his presidency will not seek isolationism but will take the responsibility of world leadership. He extends his hand but only if the hand that meets it is not a clenched fist. » Read more

Hamas wants shorter truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times January 26, 2009 - 1:00am Israel has proposed to Egyptian mediators an 18-month ceasefire with Hamas, but the Islamist group that controls Gaza said it wants a one-year ceasefire, a Hamas official said on Sunday. “Hamas listened to the Israeli proposal presented by [Israeli defence ministry official] Amos Gilad, and with it a proposal for a ceasefire for a year-and-a-half, but Hamas presented a counterproposal of one year only,” Ayman Taha told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian intelligence officials. » Read more

EU aid chief in Gaza condemns Israel and Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 26, 2009 - 1:00am The EU's foreign aid chief visited Gaza on Monday and condemned its Islamist rulers Hamas for acting like "a terrorist movement", while criticizing Israel's offensive and appealing to the Jewish state to let in more aid. » Read more

Obama envoy expected in Middle East next week ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Adam Entous, Arshad Mohammed - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am President Barack Obama plans to dispatch his Middle East envoy to the region next week, in a quick start to the new administration's efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and shore up a shaky Gaza truce. Obama has taken the Middle East by surprise with the speed of his diplomatic activism. Western, Arab and Israeli diplomats said his envoy, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, plans to meet leaders in Egypt, Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jordan, but they ruled out direct contacts with Hamas Islamists who rule the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Middle East envoy George Mitchell no stranger to conflicts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Henry Chu, Paul Richter - January 24, 2009 - 1:00am During a grinding 18-month stretch in the 1990s, U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell crossed the Atlantic more than 100 times in a dogged search for peace between Northern Ireland's Protestants and Catholics. Even though he had a Catholic upbringing, Mitchell convinced Protestant Unionists of his evenhandedness, eventually reaching the Good Friday agreement in 1998 to help settle the 800-year dispute. » Read more

This Is Not a Test ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) January 24, 2009 - 1:00am Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “Guy walks into a bar ...” No, not that one — this one: “This is the most critical year ever for Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy. It is five minutes to midnight. If we don’t get diplomacy back on track soon, it will be the end of the two-state solution.” I’ve heard that line almost every year for the last 20, and I’ve never bought it. Well, today, I’m buying it. » Read more