November 6th

Goldstone report: UN votes for probe into Gaza war crimes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Howard Lafranchi - November 6, 2009 - 1:00am The United Nations General Assembly approved Thursday afternoon a resolution that calls on both Israel and the Palestinians to investigate the accusations of war crimes in last winter's Gaza incursion as described in a UN-commissioned report. The resolution – approved 118-14, with much of the developing world and Arab countries in favor, and the US and Israel notably opposed – underscores the broad support for the Goldstone report, the investigation commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council to look into alleged war crimes committed during the three-week-long Gaza war. » Read more

Abbas pushes back ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Laura Rozen - (Blog) November 6, 2009 - 1:00am A day after Hillary Clinton returned from a swing through the Middle East where she pushed the Palestinians to go into peace talks with Israel short of a full Israeli settlement freeze, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to not run in Palestinian elections he has called to be held in January, reports say. » Read more

Abbas Makes His Move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am Abbas Momani/Agence-France Press/Getty Images Mahmoud Abbas announcing in a televised speech on Thursday that he will step down as president of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced on Thursday that he would not seek re-election in a presidential vote he has called for in January. While he said that this was not a “maneuver,” some of his aides have said that his decision is part of a strategy to persuade President Obama to support a full peace plan for an independent Palestinian state. What’s behind this unexpected announcement? » Read more

Highlights from Abbas speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 6, 2009 - 1:00am Following are highlights from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's speech on Thursday, in which he said he did not seek re-election and deplored deadlocked talks with Hamas and with Israel. ACCUSING ISRAEL... We pledged, us and the Israelis, with the participation and sponsorship of the international community, to reach a two-state solution. But month after month, year after year, there was procrastination and the increase of Jewish settlement and Israeli settlement on our land, which compromises the credibility of negotiations. » Read more

Top Palestinian Rules Out Race for Re-election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, warned on Thursday that he would not seek re-election, the latest sign that the Obama administration’s drive to broker a Middle East peace accord, one of President Obama’s key foreign policy goals, has fallen into disarray. » Read more

November 5th

Where things stand in the Middle East after Sec. Clinton's not-so-excellent adventure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) November 3, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to the Middle East and inadvertently created yet another crisis for the Obama peace initiative. It's not so much that she badly mishandled everything -- although that argument could certainly be made -- it's more that I think her difficulties demonstrate how complicated and in some practical senses almost impossible the American diplomatic task at hand really is. » Read more

No obvious successor: An interview with Said Zeidani ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons (Interview) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am bitterlemons: In the past week we've twice heard reports that Mahmoud Abbas is considering not running for re-election. How serious do you think this is? Zeidani: As far as Abu Mazen [Abbas] personally is concerned, I don't think he is interested in another term. He has expressed his desire to step down and I think he is sincere. The question is whether he will be allowed by his own Fateh faction to do so. I think there will be pressure on him to stay and run for another term. bitterlemons: Why? » Read more

One-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Lisa Kaaki - (Book Review) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am This first critical study of the “one-state” agenda comes at a time when Palestine has witnessed no real progress on the ground and an atmosphere of hopelessness and pessimism is spreading in the region. » Read more

PA: Netanyahu promised US settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - November 4, 2009 - 1:00am The Palestinians are optimistic about comments made by American officials in recent days. Palestinians sources told Ynet on Wednesday that the Americans said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to halt construction in settlements.   The sources said that despite the Palestinians' dissatisfaction with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's public support of Israel on settlement construction, Netanyahu has officially committed to a freeze.   » Read more

'Totally divorced from reality' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am The most outrageous thing about US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement that Israel is making an “unprecedented” commitment to restrict colonisation activity in the West Bank is its total divorce from reality. » Read more