January 15th

Egypt works on resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations soon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 14, 2010 - 1:00am CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is now working to create some common ground between the Palestinians and Israel so as to resume their talks in the near future, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki on Thursday. Egypt's official MENA news agency quoted Zaki as saying that negotiations based on a U.S. vision for the final settlement is what Egypt is working to achieve. "We hope to see the U.S. move in this direction," he said, adding that Egypt is talking with all parties in coordination with Washington. » Read more

U.S. tells Abbas pushing hard for Mideast talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tom Perry - January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made clear he still wants U.S. President Barack Obama to press Israel to halt all expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before he would consider new negotiations. U.S. national security advisor Jim Jones told Abbas in Ramallah that Washington was "trying very hard to find a way to resume the negotiations," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters after the meeting. » Read more

Bomb in Jordan Misses Convoy of Israeli Diplomats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Charles Levinson - January 15, 2010 - 1:00am A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of vehicles carrying Israeli diplomats in Jordan on Thursday, but no one was injured, according to Israeli and Jordanian officials. "All I can say at this moment is there was an attack that targeted an Israeli embassy vehicle," foreign-ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "The Israeli embassy staff in the vehicle were not injured. The vehicle proceeded." A senior Israeli official said Israel's ambassador to Jordan, Danny Nevo, wasn't in the convoy, but refused to specify who was. » Read more

Obama's second try at Mideast peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Last year, the Obama administration urged Israel and Arab players in the region to take several interim steps that might create enough confidence to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. For lack of sufficient step-taking by all sides, it didn’t work. Rather than regroup and suggest another series of steps – because that’s how progress in the Middle East tends to move, incrementally – the administration is now looking to take a giant leap forward. » Read more

US security envoy meets Israeli, Palestinian leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — US President Barack Obama's national security adviser James Jones held talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders on Thursday aimed at furthering US-led peace efforts. "Jones confirmed Obama's determination to arrive at a comprehensive peace in the Middle East despite the difficulties, and said the key to peace in the region is to resolve the Palestinian issue," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP after Jones met president Mahmud Abbas. » Read more

January 14th

Inter-Palestinian Fighting Spreads to Lebanon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Report by Rachelle Kliger - January 14, 2010 - 1:00am A row between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a clan affiliated with Fatah has turned violent as both sides claim control over a mosque in a Beirut suburb. The Furqan Mosque, located in the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, has become a new battleground for the intra-Palestinian struggle. Two people were lightly wounded in a brawl between the parties on Tuesday, according to Lebanese news reports. » Read more

‘Israel scuttling peace efforts’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Ghazanfar Ali Khan - January 14, 2010 - 1:00am RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and China called on Israel on Wednesday to comply with UN resolutions and create a conducive atmosphere to restart peace talks. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, addressing a joint news conference with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, said Israel was trying to prevent a settlement of the Middle East conflict and warned Tel Aviv against “swallowing Palestinian lands.” » Read more

‘Karameh’ for Palestinians at a time of indignity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Although the Arabic word karameh simply means dignity, it has become an expression that has many more usages and meanings. » Read more

To get nearer to peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a slippery sort. One day he goes to Cairo and impresses officials there with his willingness to talk about all issues, issues he would apparently never have talked about before. This causes the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, to go out and say that Israel is ready for serious negotiations, which obviously include the future of Jerusalem, the eastern part of which is illegally occupied territory. » Read more

Obama must put pressure on Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am Barack Obama does not want to resort to using the stick, although this approach has been effective in the past, especially in settling Arab-Israeli disputes. This was pointed out by his special Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, when he recalled that recent US presidents have done so with notable success. Obama may yet be forced to change his mind. One reason for this is the arrogance of the right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declared on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of Occupied Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 armistice lines. » Read more