November 3rd

In face of Arab anger, Clinton amends view on Israel's offer to curb West Bank growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Karen Deyoung - November 3, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to soothe Arab uneasiness Monday over weekend statements she made praising the Israeli government's offer to "restrain" growth in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying it "falls far short" of the Obama administration's hopes and is "not enough." » Read more

Clinton Denies Easing Pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Struggling to stem protests from the Arab world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday reiterated that the Obama administration still wanted Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements, even if it regarded Israel’s compromise offer as “unprecedented.” Arab officials expressed alarm that the United States seemed to be easing pressure on Israel after Mrs. Clinton said in Jerusalem on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal of restrained settlement building was better than anything previous Israeli governments had offered. » Read more

November 2nd

Palestinians must prepare for statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am In an article last week, Ahmad Samhi Khalidi derisively dismissed the plan of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to build the infrastructural, administrative and economic framework of a Palestinian state in spite of the occupation. » Read more

Support the boycott-Israel campaign ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am A new dimension of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is emerging as an effective means of peaceful protest against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land: boycotting Israel. Some four years ago, a loosely connected group of Palestinian activists and civil organisations launched an international appeal calling on citizens and corporations to join the boycott Israelcampaign to protest the occupation. » Read more

So that the Goldstone Report Does not Get Buried at the Security Council ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am A third mistake lies in wait for the Palestinian Authority if it does not pay heed to the dynamics of the interests shared by the five permanent members of the Security Council, represented by their unwillingness to allow the Goldstone Report to reach the council hall at this juncture. » Read more

Analysts look ahead to a peace process without Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is on another mission to persuade Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate peace. But she may have to continue in the future without Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, who twice last week reportedly said he was considering not running for a second term if and when new Palestinian elections are held. With Washington apparently softening its position on an Israeli settlement construction freeze as a precondition for talks, Mr Abbas may feel he has been backed into a corner and can ill afford to back down. » Read more

US credibility damaged by reversal on Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Paul Woodward - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am In a speech in Cairo that was widely applauded across the region last June, the US president, Barack Obama, boldly declared: "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." Five months later Mr Obama's resolve appears to have withered. He sent his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, to deliver news that Israel was only too eager to hear. » Read more

Rips in the Peace Camp’s Big Tent ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am The first national conference of J Street, the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby, convened October 25 in Washington, D.C., with all the understated reserve of a new iPhone launch or the christening of the Queen Mary. Gathered in a swank hotel a short walk from the White House, some 1,500 activists from across the country sat through hours of speeches by big-shot politicians and diplomats, earnestly debated tactics and philosophy, handed out awards over chicken dinners and jabbered excitedly in the corridors. » Read more

Obama yet to deliver on Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jeremy Bowen - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am When he travelled to Cairo at the beginning of June this year being president must have seemed much easier than it does now. He gave a speech there, in a grand lecture theatre at the university, that was intended as a key foundation stone for his presidency. It was supposed to begin to repair the damage done to America's standing in the Muslim world, and especially in the Arab Middle East by his predecessor. Most importantly of all, it was to accelerate the president's push for Middle East peace. » Read more

‘Fayyad’s Two Year Plan is a Very Smart Move’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am James L. Wolfensohn, a former head of The World Bank, served as the first Mideast envoy of the Quartet, the entities sponsoring the Road Map peace plan: the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia. While Mr. Wolfensohn’s experience and reputation in world finance is unparalleled, his service as the Quartet’s first envoy provides an expertise very few can match. He speaks with Felice Friedson, President and CEO of The Media Line. » Read more