November 12th

Six Years After His Death, Divided Palestinians Laud Arafat as Unifying Figure Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Media Line - November 12, 2010 - 1:00am Six years after he died in a Paris hospital, leaving behind a failed peace process and a Palestinian government plagued by inefficiency and corruption, Yasser Arafat remains the object of veneration by Palestinians, even as they are divided between nationalist and Islamic factions. Construction on a museum dedicated to his life and containing many of his personal effects – including the black-and-white keffiyeh he turned into a symbol of Palestinian nationhood – has begun in the Muqata compound in Ramallah, where Arafat spent his last years besieged by Israeli troops. » Read more

November 4th

News Analysis: New US Congress affects Obama's Middle East policy Media Mention of ATFP In Xinhua - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am Early results of the U.S. midterm elections indicate President Barack Obama's Democrats have lost control of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party has increased its presence in the Senate, which may affect Obama's role as a peace broker in the Middle East. When Obama convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year to impose a ten-month freeze on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank so that the peace process could be resumed, hopes were high that it could lead to a breakthrough. » Read more