May 19th

Palestinians end talks in Cairo without deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Rival Palestinian factions ended talks in the Egyptian capital Monday without bridging internal rifts that have undermined prospects for peace negotiations with Israel, participants said. Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has mediated for nearly a year now without visible success, had expressed frustration at the continuing impasse, they added. » Read more

Obama presses Netanyahu over two-state plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News May 19, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama has urged visiting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Palestinian state. After their first talks since both took office, Mr Obama restated his support for a two-state plan and said the US would be "engaged in the process". He also said Israel had an obligation under the 2003 "roadmap" to stop Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Mr Netanyahu said he was ready to start peace talks "immediately" but refrained from endorsing a Palestinian state. » Read more

Emphasis Differs for Obama, Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu yesterday outlined the shared goals of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and of achieving a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. But within those broad areas of agreement were significant differences in tone and terminology that exposed their divergent approaches toward achieving peace in the Middle East. » Read more

Palestinians Discouraged by Meeting's Outcome ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, May 18 -- Palestinian officials on Monday said they were disappointed that a round of U.S.-Israeli talks in Washington produced no clear progress on the removal of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank or other issues they feel are crucial to rejuvenating stalled peace negotiations. » Read more

Obama Tells Netanyahu He Has an Iran Timetable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Sheryl Gay Stolberg - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama said Monday that he expected to know by the end of the year whether Iran was making “a good-faith effort to resolve differences” in talks aimed at ending its nuclear program, signaling to Israel as well as Iran that his willingness to engage in diplomacy over the issue has its limits. “We’re not going to have talks forever,” Mr. Obama told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel after a two-hour session in the Oval Office. The president added that he did not intend to foreclose “a range of steps” if Iran did not cooperate. » Read more

Israel's prime minister tells Obama he wants to restart peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - May 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Obama at a White House meeting Monday that he wanted to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians, but he stopped short of embracing the U.S. view of a fully sovereign Palestinian state. The Israeli leader said he wanted Palestinians to govern themselves, but without "a handful of powers that could endanger the state of Israel." Netanyahu has long insisted that any Palestinian state forgo the common trappings of statehood, including its own military, control over its borders and authority over electronic communications. » Read more

May 18th

Palestinians hope Obama will push for statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is hoping US President Barack Obama will exert pressure on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at their meeting Monday to accept the two-state solution and halt settlement construction in the West Bank, a PA official in Ramallah said on Sunday. The official said that the Palestinians would not return to the negotiating table as long as Netanyahu remained opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. » Read more

Likud ministers ready to resist PA state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would not be able to advance the formation of a Palestinian state, due to the wide majority against it in the Likud faction, MKs who oppose a two-state solution said Sunday. They said that unlike the fight against the disengagement from the Gaza Strip, when only 15 MKs out of 40 dared challenge then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, this time around, two-thirds of the Likud faction would defy a potential effort by Netanyahu to withdraw from parts of Judea and Samaria. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas agree on joint Gaza force ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am Moving closer to reconciliation? Egyptian sources reported Sunday night that Fatah and Hamas were able to reach agreement on the establishment of a joint security force in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian MENA news agency reported that the groups reached understandings on the formation of the joint force, and that the agreement on the matter as well as on other issues will be signed on July 7th. » Read more

Mitchell associate: Obama won't rush to press Bibi ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 18, 2009 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama will not rush to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their upcoming meeting, a close associate of Special Mideast Envoy George Mitchell said Sunday. "No winning strategy begins with a punch in the nose," the source said, adding that Netanyahu can expect a "business-like meeting, highlighting the common" between the two countries. Meanwhile, former Bush Administration official Elliott Abrams estimated that the first minute or two of Monday's meeting may determine the chemistry between both leaders. » Read more