Fatah leaders review peace prospects ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Editorial) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah’s Central Committee began discussions with party leader and President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday concerning the latest developments on the resumption of negotiations with Israel. The meetings, according to sources within the committee, are due to end Monday evening, before discussing the Egyptian and Jordanian delegations’ visit to Washington, calling for further efforts on the Middle East peace process. » Read more

Israeli Robots Remake Battlefield ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Charles Levinson - (Analysis) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel is developing an army of robotic fighting machines that offers a window onto the potential future of warfare. Sixty years of near-constant war, a low tolerance for enduring casualties in conflict, and its high-tech industry have long made Israel one of the world's leading innovators of military robotics. "We're trying to get to unmanned vehicles everywhere on the battlefield for each platoon in the field," says Lt. Col. Oren Berebbi, head of the Israel Defense Forces' technology branch. "We can do more and more missions without putting a soldier at risk." » Read more

Work begins on first planned Palestinian city ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ben Hubbard - (Analysis) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am ATARA, West Bank -- Work crews have broken ground on what they hope will be the first modern, planned Palestinian city - a step officials say will help build an independent state in spite of the current deadlock in the peace process with Israel. But without Israeli approval of a short stretch of road, the $500-million project may never get off the ground. "We could build the whole city, but the question is, would people live in a city that doesn't have an access road?" said Bashar Masri, managing director of the company behind the project. "Obviously, the answer is no." » Read more

The Tel Aviv Cluster ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Brooks - (Opinion) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates. Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 21 percent of the Ivy League student bodies, 26 percent of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37 percent of the Academy Award-winning directors, 38 percent of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, 51 percent of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction. » Read more

US says no plan to cut Israel loan guarantees, but it's been tried before ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Dan Murphy - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am US Middle East envoy George Mitchell touched off a minor furor in the US and Israel over the weekend, after he told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose that "under American law, the United States can withhold support on loan guarantees to Israel" when asked what tools the US had to prod the country back to peace talks. » Read more

Obama admin. considers giving letters to Middle East parties on peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am As it ramps up efforts to get Israel-Palestinian peace talks restarted, the Obama administration is considering sending letters to the Middle East parties, diplomatic sources tell POLITICO. The letters the Obama administration is considering giving to the Middle East parties outline what the U.S. expects from Israel-Palestinian peace talks, a diplomat source said. The letters, signed by President Obama, describe terms of reference that serve as the basis for negotiations moving forward, another source who declined to be identified said. » Read more

Obama Security Aide to Join Mideast Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Matt Spetalnick - (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser will visit the Middle East for high-level talks next week, joining a renewed U.S. effort to coax Israel and the Palestinians to resume long-stalled peace talks. The trip by Jim Jones, a top foreign policy aide, will include a stop in Saudi Arabia and coincides with travels by George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, to Europe this week and then to the region later in the month. » Read more