January 25th

U.S. to Grant Three-Year Extension of Loan Guarantees to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - January 24, 2012 - 1:00am The U.S. government has informed Israel that it will recommend that Congress approve a three-year extension of loan guarantees to Israel, worth $3.8 billion. The announcement came after several months of worry in Israel that the loan guarantees would not be extended, despite Israel's request. » Read more

Elections Office Opens in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 25, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Gaza headquarters of the Central Elections Commission reopened Tuesday and will start work Wednesday, officials said. CEC director Jamil Khalidi received keys for the Gaza City office a day after the commission's chairman Hanna Nasir lamented its closure. Nasir said Monday that the Hamas-led government had failed to reopen the elections offices despite pledging to do so two weeks earlier. » Read more

Hollywood's Jews need to see Israel's "Footnote," Oscar or no ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Analysis) January 25, 2012 - 1:00am In an age of films imagining all, baring all, demolishing all, in this decade of cinematic Holocaust and Jewish-Arab confrontation and IDF agonistes, in this season of obsession with Iran, why should Hollywood's Jews go to see a picture about an abrasively dysfunctional relationship between professors of Talmud strait-jacketed in thick sweaters and inhibition? Because they need to. » Read more

Israeli, Palestinian Negotiators Clash at Jordan Meeting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury, Barak Ravid - January 25, 2012 - 1:00am A bitter confrontation broke out between the head of the Israeli negotiating team Yitzhak Molcho and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat during their meeting In Jordan on Saturday, after Erekat refused to let a senior Israeli officer present the Israeli position on security arrangements. » Read more

Palestinians To Declare End of Exploratory Talks With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 25, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians will declare the end of exploratory discussions with Israel after their sixth meeting in the Jordanian capital of Amman ends Wednesday, sources said. On Tuesday night, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators held their fifth meeting in Amman, but failed to make any progress in reviving stalled peace talks between the two sides, an official at the negotiation affairs department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. » Read more

No compromise on Migron outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) January 25, 2012 - 1:00am Strong, choking nausea wells up in face of the "compromise proposal" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered the trespassers in Migron. It is hard to identify exactly what is causing this. Is it the fact that the prime minister has once again surrendered to the settlers? Is it the realization of the weakness of the Israel Defense Forces - the army that apparently can attack Iran but can't manage to impose its sovereignty over a handful of settlers? Or could it be that the nausea is a symptom of a fatal disease that has been going on for decades and has been treated only with aspirin? » Read more

Abbas Wants Jordan Meeting to be Last ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 25, 2012 - 1:00am AMMAN, Jordan (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority officials asserted Wednesday that President Mahmoud Abbas "refused and will continue to refuse” holding more meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Jordan. Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are scheduled to hold a fifth meeting in Amman on Wednesday in an attempt to resume face-to-face peace negotiations and sort out unresolved issues. » Read more

Barghouti: Conflict Ends After Israeli Withdrawal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 25, 2012 - 1:00am BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will come to an end only when the occupation comes to an end and Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said Wednesday. Barghouti, former secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank, on Wednesday testified in court in Jerusalem in a case filed by Israeli Kleinman family against the Palestinian Authority. Asked by reporters whether he intends to run for a parliamentary seat in the upcoming elections, Barghouti said: "The PA has yet to set a date ... Once they do, we'll see what happens." » Read more

Palestinian Leader Says Low-Level Talks With Israel Have Ended, But Doesn’t Rule Out Extension ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 25, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian president says exploratory talks with Israel on resuming full-fledged peace negotiations have run their course. Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he’ll consult with the Arab League next week on whether to extend them. He spoke in Jordan after meeting King Abdullah II. The Palestinians face mounting international pressure not to walk away. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is talking to Abbas and Israel’s prime minister about this in the next two days. » Read more

January 24th

Giving peace a chance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Peter Millett - (Opinion) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am As has been widely reported, His Majesty King Abdullah has succeeded in bringing Israeli and Palestinian negotiators together for the first time in 16 months. They have held three meetings in Amman, choreographed by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Comments in the international press have seen a wide range of optimism, pessimism and cynicism. It is easy to be pessimistic and say that nothing will come of it. I prefer realism: no one should pretend that reaching a deal is easy. It has eluded negotiators for years. But as the King himself has said, it is better to talk than not to. » Read more