UN Chief: Mideast conflict worsening amid stalled talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 22, 2010 - 1:00am United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations, declaring that failure to do so could destroy any chances of progress. "In the absence of talks, confidence between the parties has diminished," the UN chief said at a meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in New York. » Read more

Erekat: Israel imposing 1-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem - Ma'an - Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday blasted statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would never withdraw from eastern areas of the occupied West Bank. Erekat termed the statements a direct challenge to the international community, casting Israel’s readiness for peace further into doubt, by imposing further conditions on negotiations and announcing Israel's intention to continue its occupation irrespective of the outcome. » Read more

Dweik: Hamas doesn't recognize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Dweik on Thursday denied reports by Israeli news outlets that he said on Wednesday Israel has a right to exist. "The media reports in question were inaccurate," he said in a statement, adding that since his release from an Israeli prison last year, Israeli news outlets have repeatedly misrepresented his views. » Read more

Hamas government: Don`t call us `deposed` ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Gaza – Ma'an – The Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip issued an appeal to the media on Thursday, asking editors not to describe it as the al-muqalah government, translated as "dismissed" or "deposed." While Ma'an English describes the government in Gaza as the "de facto government," most local and international Arabic news agencies use the "dismissed" or "deposed" to describe the technical position of the Hamas-lead authority. » Read more

In Israel, Mitchell presses on with patience honed in N. Ireland ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived here Thursday for a new round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, amid President Obama’s admission that he had been too optimistic about the prospects for peace. Mr. Mitchell, here for the first time since last November, met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv and was scheduled to hold talks later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

For Israelis, Mixed Feelings on Aid Effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The editorial cartoon in Thursday’s mass-circulation Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot showed American soldiers digging among the ruins of Haiti. From within the rubble, a voice calls out, “Would you mind checking to see if the Israelis are available?” » Read more

US envoy meets Abbas amid pessimism over peace deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Nasser Abu Bakr - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — US envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday to push Middle East peace efforts despite President Barack Obama's admission that his drive for a deal may have been overambitious. Mitchell's talks in Ramallah, the political capital of the occupied West Bank, came a day after meetings with the Israeli government and talks in Syria and Lebanon, two countries the envoy said should play a key role in achieving a comprehensive Middle East peace deal. » Read more