November 11th

Declaring a state? Palestinian leaders weigh in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 11, 2009 - 1:00am The Palestinian National Council proclaimed the establishment of a Palestinian state during a meeting in Algiers on 15 November 1988. Like the declaration of a Palestinian state in Gaza in 1948 amidst the war with the nascent Israeli state, the 1988 declaration has little practical meaning today. For whatever reason, recent media speculation has raised the notion that Palestinian leaders could make another such declaration in the current political climate. » Read more

Arafat celebrated five years after death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 11, 2009 - 1:00am More than 13,000 Palestinians gathered in Ramallah on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Large crowds packed into the Presidential Compound to hear a memorial from President Mahmoud Abbas, who donned a white ball cap emblazoned with the flag of Palestine and a black and white kuffeyeh as he addressed the crowd for what many anticipated to be a historic speech. Rumors spread before the event that Abbas would announce his resignation, precipitating the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

Blair Hails Economic Steps in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinians marked two significant economic breakthroughs on Tuesday, counterpoints to the growing crisis in peace negotiations with Israel: a second cellphone company opened, with a planned investment of hundreds of millions of dollars; and a long-closed crossing point from Israel opened to limited motor traffic. » Read more

A Chronicle of Gaza, in Kitsch Form ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Dan Williams - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am “I can offer you a discount on the headbands,” said Tareq Abu Dayyeh, souvenir-store owner. “They’re just like the kind used by suicide bombers.” He was making a sales pitch at his Chairman Arafat Shop, one of Gaza’s oddest commercial outlets. A battery-powered, dancing Osama bin Laden doll occupies a shelf above Barack Obama coffee mugs emblazoned with a misspelling of the U.S. president’s middle name: “Abu Hussain Palestine Loves You.” A plastic Virgin Mary and Jordan River holy water share space with plaques depicting the Dome of the Rock, the foremost Muslim shrine in Jerusalem. » Read more

November 10th

Mr. President, take Mideast heat or get out of the kitchen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am When Barack Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize next month in Oslo, Norway, one thing seems clear: It won't be in recognition of his skill in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace. For much of the past year, the administration has wandered around the not-so-Holy Land without clear direction, an accurate understanding of Israelis and Palestinians, or an effective strategy. But all is not lost. The past 10 months could be, to use the president's words, a teachable moment, and with the right lessons learned, maybe, just maybe, the president could get back on track. The lessons: » Read more

The partner who had no partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am In announcing last week that he would not run for reelection as president of the Palestinian Authority, in effect Mahmoud Abbas is also stepping down from his unofficial position as leader of the dialogue with Israel-"our partner" as we say here. » Read more

Credit where it's due ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Joharah Baker - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am With all the talk about Palestinian elections, President Mahmoud Abbas refusing to run and a possible unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, one thing remains constant--the undeterred growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it is these settlements that will render all of the above completely irrelevant if they are not stopped and dismantled in line with what they are: illegal. » Read more

From settlement freeze to baby steps ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am The Obama administration tried to jump start the Israel-Arab peace process and inject new energy into additional areas of US activity in the Middle East by instituting a settlement freeze in the West Bank. Regardless of the words Obama's people have chosen to soften the impact, this initiative has failed. The immediate fallout is the apparent resignation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and an inability to get final status negotiations moving again. » Read more

We should give credit where it's due on Abbas' firm stance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am With all the talk about Palestinian polls, President Mahmoud Abbas refusing to run and a possible unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, one thing remains constant – the undeterred growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it is these settlements that will render all of the above completely irrelevant if they are not stopped and dismantled in line with what they are: illegal. » Read more

Succeeding Abbas? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am The latest visit of Mohammed Dahlan in Amman has triggered much speculation among pundits and politicians over what he is up to. Indeed, he is not an ordinary senior Palestinian official but a very controversial politician, one that many Jordanians and Palestinians accuse of taking a leading role in cracking down on Hamas. » Read more