Netanyahu's weakness for Jewish heritage costs lives
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - February 23, 2010 - 1:00am

In an interview with Ari Shavit published Monday in Haaretz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported there are signs negotiations with the Palestinians would start in the foreseeable future. According to Jordanian sources, the talks between Israel and the Palestinians, mediated by the United States, are scheduled to open on March 12 and continue for three months. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) announced on Sunday in Tripoli that he received answers to the 10 questions of clarification he presented to the Americans regarding the talks.

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Dubai hit can't distract from need for Palestinian talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 23, 2010 - 1:00am

Okay, it was a successful operation. Maybe here and there a bit clumsy. Amos Biderman's cartoon in Haaretz in which "our fine young men" were all wearing the same glasses because there was a sale at Opticana reflects our preoccupation with the killing of one Arab, dangerous and wicked as he may be. But it doesn't solve any of the really serious problems facing the country.

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Abbas to renew talks with Israel next week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 19, 2010 - 1:00am

Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are to be renewed next week, a senior government official in Jerusalem said on Thurdsay. Israeli government officials were told by Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger that the Palestinians were ready to resume indirect talks, the senior government official said. Spindelegger, who visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last week, said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would consent to the United States' request to renew talks with Israel.

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Palestinian leader meets US envoy on peace effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi, Alastair MacDonald - February 18, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met a senior aide to U.S. envoy George Mitchell on Thursday, part of Washington's effort to relaunch peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat confirmed the scheduled meeting with David Hale had taken place in Ramallah. But like the Americans he offered no comment on what was discussed. U.S. officials had announced the meeting after Erekat met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Qatar on Sunday. Mitchell and his team maintain a strict silence about their discussions.

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PA minister urges Italy to boycott settlement goods
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 18, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority Economy Minister Dr Hassan Abu Libda on Wednesday brainstormed ways to educate the Italian public about Israeli settlement products and strategies to boycott them in the country. A delegation, visiting the Ramallah Ministry of the National Economy headquarters, was lead by a deputy from the Italian foreign minister's office, a statement said Wednesday. The group met with an agenda to strengthen Italian-Palestinian relations, and directly addressed the issue of a boycott of settlement goods, a statement said.

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Palestinian FM hints at indirect talks with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of holding indirect negotiation with Israel, but said it won't be an alternative to the face-to-face talks. Al-Maliki said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is still waiting clarifications from the United States which has proposed the indirect negotiations in a bid to revive the Israeli- Palestinian peace process, stalled since December 2008. "If the U.S. response was positive, then the indirect talks would not be a final alternative to the direct talks," al-Maliki told reporters in Ramallah.

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Abbas: No U.S. clarification over peace talks' resumption until now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday said the United States has not yet presented the demanded clarification related to the resumption of the indirect peace talks with Israel. The Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa quoted Abbas as saying at the weekly meeting of the Palestinian cabinet in Ramallah on Monday that the Palestinian side has not yet received any clarifications from the United States over the resumption of the peace negotiations with Israel.

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Blair to 'intensify' work on Mideast peace-Clinton
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Sue Pleming, Andrew Quinn - February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Middle East envoy Tony Blair will "intensify" his work with U.S. negotiator George Mitchell to broker peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. The former British prime minister represents the "quartet" of Middle East negotiators made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. "Tony Blair, as the Quartet representative, will intensify his partnership with Senator Mitchell in support of the political negotiations," Clinton said in a statement after speaking with Blair.

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Fatah urges Hamas to sign reconciliation file before AL summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

A high-ranking official of Palestinian Fatah movement Thursday in Egypt urged Hamas to sign the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation file before the yearly Arab summit next month. Nabil Shaath, a member of the Fatah central committee, made the remarks in a statement carried by the state-run MENA news agency. "The movement (Fatah) will not hold any discussions with Hamas unless Hamas accepts an Egyptian-sponsored paper on inter- Palestinian reconciliation," Shaath said in the statement.

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It's time to get tough with Israel's leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) February 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Inch by inch, the Palestinian president appears to be once again succumbing to American pressure. He is about to allow his junior officials to start so-called "proximity talks" with their Israeli counterparts to pave the way for the resumption of peace negotiations, which broke down after Israel's invasion of Gaza in December 2008.

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