Israel diplomats' strike threatens PM's Washington trip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to face serious obstacles as he travels to Washington for a high-profile peace summit – but this time it is his own diplomats, not the Palestinians, who are causing him strife. On Tuesday the foreign ministry's workers' committee sent a telegram to Israel's Washington embassy, instructing staff there not to assist the prime minister during his visit. At a meeting early Tuesday, the committee decided to ramp up labor sanctions it imposed a few weeks ago to demand more pay. » Read more

Direct talks, yes, but with state-building too ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon by Hussein Ibish - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in early September offers significant opportunities and pitfalls for all parties. For the Obama administration, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the talks represents the culmination of almost a year of intensive diplomacy. Whether or not the United States has a backup plan if talks founder is entirely unclear. The administration’s assumption appears to be that direct talks will generate their own dynamics; but if they don’t, it’s not evident what the next American step will be. » Read more

Where these negotiations could be useful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that is projected for September 2 in Washington serves a number of useful purposes. Sadly, none of them is directly connected to the effort to "resolve all final status issues" trumpeted last Friday in statements by the Quartet and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. » Read more

Where these negotiations could be useful ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that is projected for September 2 in Washington serves a number of useful purposes. Sadly, none of them is directly connected to the effort to "resolve all final status issues" trumpeted last Friday in statements by the Quartet and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. » Read more

Negotiations lack clear terms of reference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am The recent US-led efforts to resume direct talks, that ended with the two sides agreeing to renew direct negotiations, reminded many observers of US efforts to establish a peace process and Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in the early 1990s, then described as "constructive ambiguity". » Read more

When America Forsakes its Palestinian Ally ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Bilal Hassen - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am US planning, European pressure, Arab complacency, and fragility of the Palestinian negotiator; these are the four factors that have made the racist right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, seem as if it is the victorious power that can impose everything it wants in the farce of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. » Read more

UN official criticises Israel over flotilla probe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press August 24, 2010 - 12:00am Israel is not co-operating with the UN Human Rights Council's probe of May's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a UN official said today. Juan Carlos Monge said the fact-finding mission is speaking to witnesses and government officials in Turkey and Jordan. But Mr Monge said Israel has not granted the team an invitation. Israel's UN mission said today it was not commenting on the investigation. Israeli commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian activists trying to break the Jewish state's blockade of Gaza. Israel says the soldiers acted in self-defence. » Read more

Coalition rhetoric heats up as W. Bank freeze nears end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Rebecca Anna Stoil - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am A month before the end of the West Bank new-construction moratorium and on the eve of direct peace talks in Washington, tensions rose Monday among government ministers regarding building in settlements on the day that the freeze expires. “Building will continue as usual, as normal,” promised National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau (Israel Beiteinu) during a midday interview on Radio Kol Chai. “Everyone will build as he wants to and needs to.” » Read more

Hope for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Aziz Abu Sarah - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am There many reasons to be pessimistic and at times to despair about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet even when things look hopeless, hope has a way of appearing, offering a vision of what can be rather than what is. Recently, I caught a glimpse of this hope in an unlikely place – the Israeli health care system. » Read more

US, Israel seek 'creative' solution for settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews August 24, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli officials confirmed Monday that the government is in quiet talks with the United States in search of a "creative" solution that will allow at least some limited construction to take place after Israel's 10-month moratorium ends on Sept. 26. "Many options are being discussed. It's not that simple," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. In Washington, a US official confirmed the dialogue with Israel and said no decisions have been taken. » Read more