November 12th, 2010

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

September 28th

In blame game, arrow tilts to Abbas Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am Israelis and Palestinians have yet to achieve any substantive progress in the nascent peace talks that resulted from President Barack Obama’s high-profile push for negotiations, but a subtle shift in the political balance between the two antagonists seems clear: Israel is now winning the blame game. The blame game always proceeds on a parallel, subterranean track to actual negotiations, the cynical mirror of the process’s insistent optimism. Some prominent figures on both sides barely disguise their assumption that peace talks will fail, as they almost always do. » Read more

September 27th

Abbas vows to continue with talks Media Mention of ATFP In Al-Jazeera English - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has said Palestinians would not immediately walk away from peace talks with Israel even if it does not extend a 10-month limited settlement moratorium due to expire on Sunday at midnight. Abbas's comments on Sunday came as diplomatic efforts intensified to try to get Israel to extend the partial freeze on construction by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. » Read more

Amid settlements impasse, signs peace talks may continue Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am Despite intense American negotiations going on into the night, a partial Israeli West Bank settlement freeze expired Sunday with no apparent deal reached. Yet there were signs Monday that the U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks might continue in spite of the current settlements impasse. » Read more

September 24th

Survey: Palestinians Believe Peace Talks Are Best Strategy Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Voice of America - September 24, 2010 - 12:00am A new survey shows a majority of Palestinians believe peace negotiations are the best way to achieve their goals. The survey released Thursday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed 53 percent of those polled said peace talks were the best strategy.  That compares with 26 percent who said violent resistance is the best method, and 16 percent who supported non-violent resistance. » Read more

September 22nd

Barely months into talks, will the freeze freeze a peace deal? Media Mention of ATFP In Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am When the fat lady sings on Sept. 26, it may only be an intermission. That’s the word from an array of Mideast experts across the political spectrum. They are predicting that the seeming intractability between Israel and the Palestinians over whether Israel extends a settlement moratorium beyond its end date will not scuttle the peace talks. Instead, the observers say, the sides are likely employing the brinksmanship that has come to characterize Middle East peacemaking. » Read more

September 16th

Finding an optimist in the Middle East peace process Media Mention of ATFP In PBS - September 15, 2010 - 12:00am U.S.-mediated talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials moved to Jerusalem on Wednesday, a symbolic gesture designed to lend credibility to the budding peace process. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t seem to have worked. Islamic militants are still lobbing mortars, and Israeli jets are still bombing tunnels. An expiration date on a settlement moratorium looms, and there seems to be little hope for a breakthrough. » Read more

September 14th

Hillary Clinton headed to Mideast for talks Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launches an intense week of Middle East diplomacy in Egypt Tuesday, joining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for their next round of face-to-face peace talks. She begins in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, then plans to move on to Jerusalem on Wednesday and the West Bank and Jordan on Thursday. » Read more

September 3rd

Israel, Palestinians agree to more peace talks Media Mention of ATFP In - September 3, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to a series of direct talks Thursday, seeking to forge the framework for a U.S.-backed peace deal within a year and end a conflict that has boiled for six decades. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who hosted the first session of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expressed confidence that this effort could succeed where so many others have failed. » Read more