U.S.-Brokered Mideast Shuttle Talks Begin Again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 9, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama administration announced Sunday that indirect, American-brokered talks had resumed between Israel and the Palestinians, capping a year of efforts by Washington to revive the peace process. The American special envoy to the region, George J. Mitchell, is expected to shuttle between the two sides over the next four months as mediator of the so-called proximity talks. They are aimed at forging a joint vision of the outlines of a solution based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

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Put conditions on Israel's OECD entry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Avi Shlaim - (Opinion) May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

In the absence of any last-minute objections, Israel will be welcomed as a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at its annual ministerial council in Paris on 26-28 May. A successful outcome to the long-standing Israeli campaign to be admitted to the OECD would be hailed by Israeli government ministers as a major diplomatic triumph at a time when they have come under growing global criticism for the policy of building settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

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The friend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The settlers of Pisgat Ze'ev, the intruders of Sheikh Jarrah, the people who covet Silwan, the infiltrators into the Muslim Quarter and you, the mayor of the nationalist city, Nir Barkat, can stop worrying: (All of ) Jerusalem is yours, forever. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel met at the White House with his friend, Barack Obama, on a mission from his other friend, Benjamin Netanyahu, and when he came out he said he had the impression that Obama respected his advice to postpone discussions on Jerusalem.

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Government backs settlement goods ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Following Israeli complaints about the Palestinian Authority ban on settlement goods in the West Bank, the Government Media Center issued a statement confirming that the "campaign is implementing the rule of law." In the statement, PA officials reiterated their commitment to "all economic agreements with Israel," but said authorities would not back down from efforts to replace the "illegal products of Israel’s settlement [with] legal Palestinian and other imported products."

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New Mossad rep not welcome in London
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Itamar Eichner - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

month-and-a-half after the United Kingdom expelled the Mossad representative in London over Israel's alleged forging of UK passports used in the assassination of Hamas man Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, Britain refuses to allow a new representative to enter the country, Yedioth Ahronoth has learned. The paper reported on Tuesday that London's refusal to accept a new Mossad rep comes despite prior understandings between the two countries, according to which the UK would allow a new representative to take the place of the one that was expelled.

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Framework Set in Mideast for Indirect Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday with Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheik, and the Obama administration’s envoy arrived in the region amid final preparations for the start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The talks, expected in days, will be the first in more than a year. But the atmosphere in the region was hardly enthusiastic, with Israeli officials expressing skepticism about the prospects of a breakthrough and Palestinian officials warning Israel against taking any steps that could torpedo the talks.

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Normalizing Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Conservative
by Scott McConnell - May 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama has probably studied the first President Bush’s standoff with Israel. Then as now, the issue of contention was Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. George H.W. Bush was hopeful about moving toward a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

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Israeli officials: Obama to call world summit if Mideast peace talks fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 30, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama has told several European leaders that if Israeli-Palestinian talks remain stalemated into September or October, he will convene an international summit on achieving Mideast peace, senior Israeli officials told Haaretz on Thursday.

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Former settler cosmetic company departs West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Gush Shalom Settlement Boycott Team decided to remove the name of the cosmetics company Intercosma from its list of settlement products, following confirmation that the company finally left the Atarot Industrial Zone on the West Bank.

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Interview: U.S. pledges to stop Israeli provocations: Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Zhao Yue - (Interview) April 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas revealed that he has got a U.S. pledge to stop "any provocative activities" by Israel as part of Washington's efforts to resume Middle East peace talks. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Amman on Wednesday, Abbas, 74, said Washington made the pledge during a recent visit of U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell to the region. Once "the credibility of the U.S. pledges are demonstrated," the negotiations, stalled since December 2008, "would restart immediately," he said.

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