Leak: Peres said Oslo based on false economic premise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

President Shimon Peres admitted to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the Oslo peace process he helped initiate was based on a mistaken premise, according to an April 2007 cable of a conversation Netanyahu had with US Congressman Gary Ackerman, the Wikileaks website revealed Monday. Netanyahu was opposition leader at the time and Peres was vice premier.

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Abbas warns of settlement 'time bomb'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned Monday that Israel's settlement enterprise has become "a time bomb" that could destroy peace hopes at any moment. Abbas made the statement on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which is marked each year since 1977 on November 29. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a message to mark an international day for Palestinians that there was little sign of optimism by Palestinians or Israelis that a peace accord could be achieved soon.

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We don't need WikiLeaks to know Netanyahu is unreliable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

So Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is elegant and charming but doesn't keep promises. That Netanyahu is elegant and charming is a matter of personal taste. As for the prime minister not keeping his promises, it's possible to ask: "What else is new, WikiLeaks?" Now if Mubarak had said Netanyahu did tend to keep his promises, that would have deserved a front-page headline - though more because of the doubt it would arouse about the Egyptian president's judgment than by virtue of its contents.

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Livni: Wikileaks proves "common interest" in ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli opposition leader Tsipi Livni said Monday that it is "obvious now that there is a common interest in ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," in reference to dozens of U.S. State Department cables dealing with assessments of diplomatic maneuvers in the areas released by WikiLeaks overnight. The documents are part of what is being described as the largest leak of official documents in history.

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Editorial: A nail in the coffin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

By requiring a two-thirds Knesset majority to cede land in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians and the Golan Heights to Syria, a new Israeli law raises the bar for passage. Putting any such withdrawals to a national referendum will subject international law to the whims of Israeli public opinion. The bill which Israel’s Parliament has passed will complicate peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria by making it very difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.

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Likud MKs: PM doing what he fancies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

As talks between Israel and the United States on a new settlement construction freeze continue, the Likud party's hawkish camp clarified Monday that it was not going to make life easy for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some 200 Central Committee members and heads of the party's offices across the country took part in the conference at the Knesset, calling on the prime minister not to resume the building freeze.

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Regional leaders accuse Netanyahu of 'rejecting peace'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - November 27, 2010 - 1:00am

TEL AVIV // Leaders from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon accused the Israeli premier yesterday of rejecting peace efforts in what appeared to be a bid to pressure Israel to accept a US plan that could lead to renewed talks with the Palestinians. Their charges came just hours after the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, lashed out at his successor for not heeding Washington's demand to halt new settlement projects in the occupied West Bank for three months to help restart negotiations.

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Washington bends for Israel once again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - November 27, 2010 - 1:00am

The revelation in the United States Wednesday that Washington was offering Israel new security-related guarantees in return for a two-month extension of the partial moratorium on new Jewish colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories is neither surprising nor encouraging. It may reflect a continuation of the tradition in Washington that emphasizes a fawning and almost servile attitude to Israeli “security” concerns as the primary substantive issue in Arab-Israeli negotiations, which the Israelis astutely use as leverage in tactical negotiations to press their side of the negotiations.

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The demise of peace camp
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) November 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Not one Israeli premier ever thought of moving the peace process forward without taking into account the internal political scene. The history of the Arab-Israeli peace process is full of examples of missed opportunities thanks to the political complications within Israel. The Israeli premier places greatest priority on political survival.

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IDF flights over West Bank to continue ahead of freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - November 23, 2010 - 1:00am

The Civil Administration is continuing to conduct reconnaissance flights over Jewish settlements in the West Bank ahead of the possible implementation of a new freeze on construction in the coming weeks, senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. The flights over settlements were conducted during the previous 10-month moratorium that went into effect last year and expired in late September. RELATED: Poll: 51% of Israelis favor building moratorium Settlers to Netanyahu: Yes, you can say no to Obama

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