Editorial: Another US Initiative ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Is it any wonder that the Palestinians are insisting on a full settlement freeze before renewing peace efforts? » Read more

What makes sense ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am The Palestinians are right to refuse a return to negotiations with Israel unless there is a total halt to settlement construction in the occupied territories. To continue negotiations as Israel continues devouring Palestinian lands to build and expand settlements means having less and less land to negotiate over. » Read more

The American Way out and Arab Divisions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am On the occasion of her talks with Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Washington last Friday, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to palter about the real obstacle to resuming the Palestinian peace process. Prior to the visit of the US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell to the region, she relegated the problem of the ongoing Israeli settlements – on Palestinian territory designed to be part of the prospective Palestinian State– into a theoretical or even an academic issue. » Read more

A difficult path to peace can still be travelled ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am Judging from the intense activity on the Arab-Israeli peace front in recent weeks, there is reason for cautious hope that the current paralysis will end soon. The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recently in Cairo meeting the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers met the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the peace envoy George Mitchell last week, while Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, visited Cairo, Riyadh and Damascus. » Read more

Netanyahu complains about PA security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am After months of praising the work of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a delegation of US senators on Sunday that while active against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the PA security forces "have trouble going against their own renegades." Netanyahu was referring to the recent murder near Shavei Shomron of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Hai by members of Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigade. » Read more

PA demands apology from Egyptian cleric ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority on Sunday demanded a public apology from one of the most prominent Islamic scholars, who called for stoning President Mahmoud Abbas to death. Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said that if it is proven that Abbas had instigated Operation Cast Lead against the Gaza Strip, he must be stoned. » Read more

Hamas fears Gaza fence part of three-way siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip have admitted that they are concerned over the Egyptian underground barrier under construction along the Gaza-Egypt border. The fence is expected to reach a depth of 18 meters (59 feet), and span 10 km (about 6 miles), and threatens to strangle the Strip's only lifeline – the smuggling tunnels. Hamas fears that via this channel, Egypt is joining the Palestinian Authority and Israel in creating a three-way siege on the Strip that would severely hurt the movement. » Read more

Only psychiatrists can explain Israel's behavior ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am Our wild world of crime has recently been sent for observation. From the bodyguard of the IDF Chief of Staff to the killers of their own children - all have been sent for observation. The time has come, as is the custom around here, to send the country for observation, too. Maybe with ongoing treatment from specialists, the diagnosis that will save us can be made. » Read more

'Watch your step,' Barak warns Hamas over renewed Gaza rocket fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Addressing an increase of rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday advised Gaza's Hamas rulers to "watch their step, and not to cry crocodile tears if they force [Israel] to take action." Army Radio on Monday quoted Israeli security experts as saying that Hamas has lessened its determination to prevent the rocket fire from Gaza, due to growing dissent in the coastal strip. » Read more

Israel considers giving legal status to two illegal West Bank outposts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am After four and a half years of government promises to destroy the two West Bank settlements of Hayovel and Harsha, the High Court of Justice said yesterday that it intends to examine conditions on the ground there, potentially paving the way for their formal recognition. » Read more