Giving up on an Israeli-Palestinian settlement is simply not an option ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) December 20, 2010 - 1:00am The Obama administration has mercifully, and honestly, admitted that the time has come to abandon its policy of seeking a settlement freeze as a path to negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The administration will pay a political price for this. It will be blamed for having failed, and it will endure the gloating of its critics. However, the United States will remain, in the end, the single party that everyone else will look to for providing answers and for defining which policy direction to take. » Read more

Establishment of independent Palestinian state is inevitable ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Adel Safty - (Opinion) December 20, 2010 - 1:00am The so-called peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be more about process and less and less about peace. The refusal of the Netanyahu government to renew the moratorium on colony construction in the Occupied Territories (described by various American administrations as obstacles to peace) has led to the collapse of the negotiations. » Read more

Ecuador Next to Recognize Palestinian State – Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali al-Saleh - (Opinion) December 18, 2010 - 1:00am Bolivia is the latest country to recognize the State of Palestine after it officially announced yesterday that it recognized a sovereign Palestinian State along its 1967 borders. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday welcomed Bolivia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and praised the bilateral relations between the two countries.. » Read more

Hamas in dispute with UN over school trips for Palestinian pupils ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian December 20, 2010 - 1:00am Hamas, the Islamist movement ruling the Gaza strip, has asked the United Nations to stop exposing Palestinian children to the Holocaust during trips organised for outstanding students from Gaza, and instead concentrate on Palestinian victims. "The UNRWA [the agency for Palestinian refugees] has to stop the visits they do, where they teach the Holocaust and where they promote solidarity with Jewish suffering created by the Nazis," said a statement from the department for refugee issues. » Read more

A double freeze in Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tzachi Hanegbi - December 20, 2010 - 1:00am Haim Saban has a dream: Help the Israelis and Palestinians adopt a pragmatic vision that will advance the goal of peace between the two nations. » Read more

Abed Rabbo: Peace process may die if doesn't get boost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 20, 2010 - 1:00am The peace process is frozen but it might die if it does not get a real boost, top PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo said during an interview aired Monday on Army Radio. Abed Rabbo added that US Mideast envoy George Mitchell "did not bring us any new proposal" during his last visit to the region, following a deadlock in negotiations. "We submitted a complete portfolio to the Americans about our perceptions on the issue of borders and security, and we expect the Israelis to do the same," the Palestinian negotiator said. » Read more

Erdogan: Israel is to blame for failed peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 20, 2010 - 1:00am Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that while there were recently high level talks between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Israel in Geneva, there were no changes in Turkish demands regarding the "Israeli aggression against the humanitarian aid ships in Gaza" and the "murder" of nine Turkish citizens, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. » Read more

Bat Yam rally: 'Arabs dating our sisters' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoav Zitun - December 20, 2010 - 1:00am An organization called Jews for a Jewish Bat Yam is expected to protest on Monday against the "assimilation of young Jewish women with Arabs living in the city or in nearby Jaffa." The protest will be held around 7:30 pm near the Bat Yam mall, not far from the police station. The organizers are also expected to show support for the controversial rabbis' letter. Prejudice? » Read more

'Palestinian hurting their cause by pursuing unilateral statehood' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Interview) December 20, 2010 - 1:00am The outgoing chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Howard Berman (D-CA), talks to Haaretz about the Palestinians' plan for unilateral declaration of statehood, Turkey's ties with Israel and the U.S., and President Barack Obama's foreign policy. There are some fears of a stalemate in foreign policy following the midterm elections. What are the chances of cooperation between the parties, especially as the 2012 elections approach? » Read more

Does Israel have a peace partner after all? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) December 20, 2010 - 1:00am It may be that the big news from Sunday's visit to Ramallah of the Geneva Initiative supporters is that somewhere, out there in the Palestinian territories and in Israel, there is still a peace camp that appeared to have entirely disappeared. In other words, to use the slogan of the Geneva Initiative, "there is a partner." More than 200 people, Israelis and Palestinians, crowded the conference room of the Muqata yesterday to hear their host, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and have lunch. » Read more