September 27th

Abbas: Talks waste of time if settlements continue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 27, 2010 - 12:00am PARIS (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas told members of France's Jewish community on Sunday that peace talks would be futile if Israel's settlement activity continued in the West Bank. Abbas met with 20 well-known members of the Jewish community at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris, reiterating that "if Israel does not continue the freeze on settlement process, the peace process will be a waste of time." » Read more

The Palestinians Are Taking the Initiative to End the Occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - September 24, 2010 - 12:00am New York-The concept of building the state or destroying it remains obscure for many in the Arab region – this not out of a lack of awareness but rather purposely. This is why many ignore the importance of what the Palestinian Authority is doing in terms of strengthening the building of the Palestinian state’s institutions, in parallel with political negotiations, as a strategy to end the Israeli occupation. » Read more

West Bank settlement construction resumes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 27, 2010 - 12:00am NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israelis resumed construction across several illegal West Bank settlements on Monday, following the expiration of Israel's 10-month partial moratorium at midnight. Israel's Channel 2 said construction would be resumed in at least eight illegal West Bank settlements, including Kiryat Arba in Hebron. » Read more

Obama and his audacity of hope for Middle East peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) September 24, 2010 - 12:00am At the United Nations on Thursday, President Obama took a risk by speaking so optimistically about the fragile Middle East peace talks. He told his international audience that “this time will be different.” The president offered that outcome as a choice, but even so, he went out on a limb by pronouncing that one short year from now, the UN could have a new member: a sovereign Palestine living in peace with Israel. In 2003, President Bush held out that possibility for 2005. » Read more

As Israel settlement freeze ends, one-year peace plan begins ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am Tel Aviv — If negotiators can overcome today’s deadline to resolve a dispute on Israeli settlement expansion and keep peace talks alive, the date of September 2011 will begin to loom as the target for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. » Read more

Israeli settlers rev bulldozers as settlement freeze nears end ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am Tel Aviv — With Israel and Palestinian negotiators deadlocked over settlement expansion just hours before the expiration of a 10-month Israeli settlement freeze, Jewish settlers vowed to renew building during symbolic celebrations in the West Bank. » Read more

Palestinian President Abbas has the most to lose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) September 25, 2010 - 12:00am PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Middle East peace diplomacy has made some progress, but an early error still haunts it. The president's ill-advised attempt to force a freeze of Israeli housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank could cause the breakdown this weekend of direct talks on a final settlement, only a month after they began. » Read more

Palestinian President Abbas has the most to lose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) September 25, 2010 - 12:00am PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Middle East peace diplomacy has made some progress, but an early error still haunts it. The president's ill-advised attempt to force a freeze of Israeli housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank could cause the breakdown this weekend of direct talks on a final settlement, only a month after they began. » Read more

U.S. Scrambling to Save Talks on Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel allowed a politically charged freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank to expire on Sunday, but the Palestinians did not carry out a threat to quit peace negotiations, setting the stage for further frantic efforts to keep the talks alive. For President Obama, who had publicly called on Israel to extend the freeze, the Israeli decision was another setback in what has been a tortuous effort to help resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. » Read more

Mideast Talks Teeter as the Settlement Freeze Expires ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel’s freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank expired at midnight, but Palestinians did not immediately carry out a threat to quit peace negotiations as several settlements resumed limited home building on Monday and American-led efforts to save the talks moved into high gear. For President Obama, who had publicly called on Israel to extend the freeze, the Israeli decision was another setback in what has been a tortuous effort to help resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. » Read more