Abbas vs. Ahmadinejad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Benjamin Joffe-Walt - September 5, 2010 - 12:00am The Mahmouds... For years they’ve appeared publicly to be allies. When resources were low, one rushed to the rescue of the other. When one of their rhetorical wheels would run dry, the other would pipe-in with eloquent axioms. But now, the truth about the Mahmouds has been revealed and these two former buddies have fallen out in a public barrage of invective. In the one corner we have disputed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the self-proclaimed champion of the Palestinian cause and supporter of Palestinian militant movements. » Read more

Palestinian Spokesman Abu-Rudaynah Talks to Asharq Al-Awsat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Mina Al-Oraibi - (Interview) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian Presidency Spokesman Nabil Abu-Rudaynah has affirmed that the negotiations between President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazin) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not deal with the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Their meeting was "to explore the positions." He added that all the core issues would be raised during the coming two weeks with a view to defining the position of each side before they start the negotiations. This would be a complex and critical process. » Read more

Michael Oren, making the case for Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Michael Oren outlines what may be his toughest assignment: Making the case to a skeptical public for a leader who's hard to pin down. Pitching Bibi to the Americans? No, that's an easy one. The real problem for the Israeli ambassador to Washington is how to make Israelis understand President Obama. "Obama often doesn’t get the credit he deserves in Israel," Oren said in a pre-Rosh Hashanah interview with the U.S. Jewish media. "I think it’s important at some point that he visits us." » Read more

The peace talks—and their obstacles ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis have barely begun and already the sides are facing their first major hurdle -- the end of Israel's partial moratorium on settlement building. Several issues might beset the sides as they aim to meet the yearlong deadline suggested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and endorsed (with considerable enthusiasm) by President Obama and (with less enthusiasm) by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

Disarming Lebanon's Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ahmed Moor - (Opinion) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am Lebanon is regenerating. On balance, the country's collective sloughing off of history has been more successful than not. It is only 20 years since the civil war ended, and the memories of internecine atrocities remain; sporadic sectarian violence is a fact of life here. Fortunately, the Lebanese have avoided descending once more into civil war's morass but, despite all the healing, the Palestinian refugee issue still festers. » Read more

Palestinian TV satire Watan ala Watar unites political rivals – in anger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am Political rivals Hamas and Fatah are united – in anger. But the bite-sized nightly satirical sketches of Watan ala Watar have become a Ramadan sensation, cheering thousands of Palestinian television viewers through the holy month. The show has distracted families from the iftar meal that breaks their traditional daily fast, causing them to abandon half-eaten plates of chicken, lamb and rice for 10 minutes of intensive mockery of their political leaders. » Read more

Obama, Clinton call on US Jews, Muslims to back talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama indicated he understood recent Palestinian statements threatening to quit the peace process and rejecting compromise as political posturing, according to rabbis on a White House conference call Tuesday. Obama, who spoke with rabbis of various denominations in a call marking Rosh Hashanah, was asked by a participant about comments from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas perceived in Israel as hostile to the negotiating process he launched with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just last Thursday. » Read more

PA says nabbed West Bank terrorists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday that it had arrested six men who had carried out two terror attacks that killed four Israelis and injured two last week. The Palestinians say the first attack, which killed four residents of Beit Hagai at a junction near Hebron last Tuesday, was carried out by two shooters and an accomplice. A similarly composed terror cell was responsible for the attack that occurred one day later and injured a couple, according to the authority. » Read more

Give us a border! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am The direct talks that were launched at the Washington summit should have one aim - to fix the border between Israel and the Palestinian state that will be set up in the West Bank. Israel needs a border that will delineate its borders, normalize its international status, end the dissent over the settlements and solidify the national consensus. This is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mission in life. If he succeeds, he will have justified his return to power and go down in history as a formative leader. » Read more

West Bank building freeze to continue in practice, if not officially ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am The agreement beginning to take shape on the settlement construction freeze is based on an "unspoken understanding" that security authorities will not sign new building permits, but the government will not issue a formal resolution extending the freeze. Furthermore, a review found that the building moratorium is due to expire on September 30, not September 26, as previously thought. » Read more