November 19th

Ahmed Qureia: Two-state solution becoming hopeless ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 19, 2009 - 1:00am Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel’s decision to build 900 settlement homes in Gilo is “another nail in the coffin of the peace process,” member of the PLO executive committee and Chairman of the Department of Jerusalem affairs Ahmed Qurei said Wednesday. The PLO official called the decision one “disrespectful” to the personal efforts of US President Barack Obama who has been attempting to revive the peace process since he stepped into office more than a year ago. » Read more

Israeli warplanes strike Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 19, 2009 - 1:00am Gaza/Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip in three locations early on Thursday, according to the country’s military and Palestinians in the coastal Strip. A military spokesperson said the strikes targeted a “weapons manufacturing facility in the southern Gaza Strip and two smuggling tunnels in the Rafah border area.” Sources in Gaza confirmed that two tunnels were bombed, in addition to a facility said to be operated by Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. » Read more

Ramallah's road map to statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am Looking at this city, you can imagine what a Palestinian state could someday be like if folks got serious: The streets are clean, there's construction in every direction and Palestinian soldiers line the roads. A visitor sees new apartment buildings, banks, brokerage firms, luxury car dealerships and even health clubs. » Read more

Real Estate Shopping Is Used as Political Theater on Jerusalem’s Contested Ground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - November 18, 2009 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Dov Hikind, a member of the New York State Assembly, was in this disputed city on Wednesday looking for property to buy. He said he was most excited about a new apartment complex overlooking the Old City called Nof Zion. At noon, Mr. Hikind led a group of about 50 American Jews in laying a cornerstone for the next phase of Nof Zion, with construction scheduled to start next spring. “I want to buy here,” Mr. Hikind said. “I might make a deal while I am here this time.” » Read more

Mideast Peace Talks Hang in Balance Over Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - November 18, 2009 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Two weeks after the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, vowed not to run for re-election and hinted that he might resign, the Middle East peace process has sunk into a deep crisis amid urgent efforts to revive it. » Read more

November 18th

The Obama Presidency and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Brandeis University Crown Center for Middle East Studies by Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki - November 18, 2009 - 1:00am The first ten months of the Obama administration’s efforts to achieve a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli peacemaking have led to widespread disappointment among Palestinians and to growing anxiety among Israelis. Inevitably, this unsatisfactory interim report card is partly a result of the high expectations created by President Barack Obama himself, during the presidential campaign as well as in his inaugural address and following his inauguration. » Read more

The Only Hope Left? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Daoud Kuttab - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am Mahmoud Abbas is in a bind. Faced with a seemingly insurmountable impasse to negotiations with Israel, the Palestinian Authority president can either resign from his PLO chairmanship or come up with some serious, unilateral action to break the deadlock. With hopes that Barack Obama would stand up to the right-wing Israeli leadership dashed, an unwillingness to return to violent resistance, and the inability to resign his presidency of the PA in protest, the Palestinian leader has no alternative but to declare a Palestinian state unilaterally. » Read more

Editorial: Time for action ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) November 18, 2009 - 1:00am If both Israel and Hamas condemn the proposal of a UN declaration of independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, as they have, it suggests it must be the right idea. The Palestinian Authority has come up with it because nothing is happening to the peace process. It is their way of forcing it back onto the international agenda. » Read more

Let down by Obama, Palestinians see few options ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Tom Perry - (Opinion) November 18, 2009 - 1:00am With US diplomacy seemingly going nowhere, Palestinians are exploring desperate and at best symbolic measures to press a demand for a state that even firm believers in peace among them fear may never emerge. Appeals to the United Nations and European Union to consider recognizing a state that Israel says it cannot accept on the Palestinians’ terms look unlikely to break the deadlock. » Read more

The world tires of the Palestinian cause ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - November 18, 2009 - 1:00am The atmosphere in Cairo this week tells us much about the contemporary Arab world’s view of the Pa­lestine cause in relation to domestic issues in every Arab country. Ordinary Arabs and their governments alike seem fed up with the incompetence of the Palestinian leadership, while remaining strongly committed emotionally to the justice and rights of the Palestinian cause. This is emotionally satisfying for Palestinians, but not very promising politically. » Read more