Israel: Hamas commander killed in Dubai was key arms smuggler
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - January 31, 2010 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Israel declined official comment on Sunday following news of the assassination in Dubai of a key Hamas operative. But analysts and defense officials here say that Mahmoud Mabhouh, who was found dead in his room in a luxury hotel on Jan. 20, was the point man for transferring weapons from Iran to Gaza, and has long been wanted by Israel following his involvement in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers more than 20 years ago.

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Barak, Mubarak talks to focus on coaxing Abbas to negotiating table
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel, Barak Ravid - January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak will leave for Sharm el-Sheik Wednesday morning, to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The visit is expected to be dedicated mainly to efforts to renew talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, negotiations for the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit and security cooperation between Israel and Egypt.

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Mitchell to engage in 'shuttle diplomacy'?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has offered to shuttle between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger did in the 1970s while mediating in the peace talks between Israel and Egypt, a the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper reported Wednesday, quoting a senior Palestinian official. According to the Palestinian source, Mitchell suggested to the parties that his trips would also include Syria and Lebanon and that he would hold discussions on a possible regional peace agreement.

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Fayyad to Paris: EU has opportunity to strengthen chance for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told his French counterpart he was concerned about the impending failure of peace talks, during an official visit on Tuesday. Speaking with French Prime Minister France François Fillon, Fayyad stressed his efforts to build the institutions of a Palestinian state, and asked that Fillon help by urging the international community to demand Israel stick to its international obligations.

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Aide: Abbas has 2 conditions for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas laid out two preconditions for the resumption of negotiations with Israel, during his meeting with US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell on Friday, a senior aide said on Tuesday. The aide, Nimer Hammad, told Ma'an that Abbas asked that Israel commit to a real settlement freeze even for a limited period of time. His second request was that negotiations be based on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and a full withdrawal to those armistice lines. According to Nimer, the following are some excerpts from the meeting:

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Barak: Peace process failures greater threat than Iran nukes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday said that Israel's failure to strike a peace deal with the Palestinians was a greater threat to the country than a nuclear Iran, Army Radio reported. "The lack of a solution to the problem of border demarcation within the historic Land of Israel - and not an Iranian bomb - is the most serious threat to Israel's future," Barak told a Tel Aviv conference.

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Abbas offended by Egypt, turns to Saudia Arabia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is under firm Egyptian pressure aimed at forcing him to agree to the resumption of peace negotiations with Israel. According to the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, Abbas refused to restart the talks based on an American proposal that he must waive his demand for a complete freeze in the construction of settlements.

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US diplomat against Israeli security guards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Itamar Eichner - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

A senior American diplomat recently told representatives of the Israeli Defense and Foreign ministries, "I don't want your security officers to check our cars. What if there are settlers among them? I will not have my people end up like (slain Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin." The remark was made by Tim Laas, the regional security officer at the American Consulate in Jerusalem, during a discussion in the office of Deputy Inspector General Meir Ben-Yishai, head of security at the Israel Police.

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Middle East needs bridges, not walls
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Middle East peace has rarely seemed as remote as it does now. Instead of coming up with solutions, those involved are hurling accusations, erecting fences or throwing up their hands in despair. The longer this dangerous impasse continues the more the cauldron of violence threatens to boil over. None of the parties are immune from criticism, although some are more to blame than others.

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Mitchell’s futile diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

The long-awaited tour of American envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell consisted of much fanfare but yielded no tangible results to speak of. Both parties to the conflict refused to budge: the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, refuses to join the peace process until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to freeze settlement activity, and the Israeli government refuses to meet this Palestinian demand, considering it an unacceptable precondition.

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