Are serious negotiations around the corner? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) February 25, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinians and many others around the world are trying to figure out whether the current US-backed push to restart Mideast talks will lead to serious negotiations or will it be just another act that leads nowhere. » Read more

‘Two-State Solution’ Faces a Patchwork of Challenges ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - February 24, 2010 - 1:00am As the Obama administration struggles to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, a two-state solution remains the final goal, supported by governments in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Washington and Moscow. It enjoys at least lip service from everyone from Benjamin Netanyahu on the right to Noam Chomsky on the left. It is a term that has become as much mantra as policy. » Read more

Palestine's strongest weapon is peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) February 25, 2010 - 1:00am To live under occupation is to face many indignities and dilemmas. How to deal with the occupier? By violence or by peaceful means? History has examples of both. But parallels are never exact. The dilemma facing Palestinians is whether to go on working with the international consensus that supports our independence, or to wage war against the overwhelmingly superior forces of the occupier, Israel. » Read more

A tale of two assassinations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) February 24, 2010 - 1:00am There are times when it's a good idea to assassinate a Hamas leader, even in a foreign country, and times when it's a bad idea. The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month (which everyone presumes to have been the Mossad's work) was a bad idea. By contrast, the Mossad's attempt in September 1997 to kill Khaled Mashaal in Amman was a good idea that went bad in the execution, so to speak, as I wrote in a column titled "Hit 'em back" two weeks afterward. » Read more

March to mark Goldstein massacre ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Greer Fay Cashman, Yaakov La, Tovah Lazaroff - February 25, 2010 - 1:00am Amid heightened tensions in Hebron, Palestinians plan to march in the city on Thursday, to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the Baruch Goldstein massacre. On February 25, 1994, the Israeli American physician killed 29 Muslims who were praying at the mosque that is part of the Cave of the Patriarchs complex. He wounded another 150 before being beaten to death. The march comes after the cabinet on Sunday added the Cave of the Patriarchs to the list of Jewish heritage sites marked for renovation and preservation. » Read more

US slams Israel over designating heritage sites ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press February 25, 2010 - 1:00am The Obama administration criticized Israel for designating two shrines on Palestinian territory as Israeli national heritage sites. The criticism came as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday she hopes long-stalled peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians will resume. Clinton told a congressional committee that groundwork is being laid to restart the talks with the help of US envoy George Mitchell. She did not say exactly when the negotiations might resume, but her remarks come amid a flurry of US diplomatic activity in the region. » Read more

Dispersing white phosphorous clouds over Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) February 25, 2010 - 1:00am If you have a moment or are bored or depressed, if you suspected there might be some truth in the criticism of Israel, or if you just feel like laughing out loud, just enter the Information and Diaspora Ministry's Web site. » Read more

To preserve Zionism, Netanyahu must end the occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) February 25, 2010 - 1:00am Finally there is a vision. Speaking to Haaretz earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined for the first time his vision of the future: Israel as a global technology leader, grounded in its values and moving toward peace from a position of power. You can like the vision or hate it, accept it or reject it, but now it is clear what Netanyahu is proposing against Peace Now of the left, and how he is dividing those in the center. His overall goal is now apparent. » Read more

Report: Australia already warned Israel against faking its passports ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz February 25, 2010 - 1:00am Australian authorities had already warned Israeli intelligence against using doctored passports in its clandestine activities around the world, the Australian newspaper The Australian reported on Thursday. The Australian report came as Canberra warned Israel earlier Thursday that if it was involved in the alleged use of three forged Australian passports in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, it would not be considered the act of a friend. » Read more

Abbas satisfied with EU's support as Ashton plans Mideast trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua February 25, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his satisfaction at the European Union (EU)'s support for Jerusalem as the future capital of both the Israeli and the Palestinian state when he met European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday. Abbas said the idea marked "the start of a political role" for the EU in the region and he would like the United States to adopt such a position. He reiterated that an independent Palestine would be in Israel' s "vital interest" when he spoke to Belgian senators and deputies during his two-day visit to the EU. » Read more