Netanyahu's Syrian distraction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Chris Phillips - November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

A glimmer of hope in the moribund Middle East peace process surfaced in Paris recently when Nicolas Sarkozy separately hosted both the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Reports suggested that Netanyahu passed on a message to his Syrian counterpart about reopening peace negotiations. Though both leaders were quick to play down any talk of detente, recent announcements in both Tel Aviv and Damascus suggest that talks "without preconditions" may not be far off.

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Netanyahu Says Swap of Prisoners Is Uncertain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Isabel Kershner - November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought Tuesday to temper expectations about a deal to exchange a captured Israeli soldier for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, saying “There is still no deal, and I do not know if there will be one.” Addressing the fears of some Israelis that a swap would boost the standing of Hamas, Mr. Netanyahu said the authorities would “not be sparing with a public discussion. We will not do it as a fait accompli,” news reports said.

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Gilad Shalit release: Hamas, Israel prisoner swap said to be imminent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Israel and Hamas appear to be moving closer to a prisoner swap in which Israel would release up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

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Who wins and who loses in Shalit deal?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

1. Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried hard Monday to lower public and media expectations of an imminent deal for Gilad Shalit, via a statement issued by his bureau and remarks to the Likud Knesset faction. This is being conducted under a thick veil of secrecy, replete with psychological warfare and false media reports. It's hard to guess exactly how long it will take, but reports that Hamas officials will fly to Damascus after their meetings in Cairo mean it probably won't happen by this Friday.

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Report: Next 2 days crucial for deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

After Ynet reported on Monday that aides close to Tanzim official Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Ahmed Saadat received in formation that they will be released as part of a prisoner exchange deal for the released of Gilad Shalit, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom was quick to deny the reports. But on Tuesday, London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat published a similar report, and quoted Palestinian sources as saying that unprecedented progress has been made in talks, and that Israel has agreed to release both Saadat and Barghouti.

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Israel’s Gamble in a Prisoner Swap
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Blog) November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group in control of Gaza, appeared to be nearing a deal on Monday to exchange an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Gilad Shalit, seized three years ago for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with potentially significant implications for the stalled peace talks. The deal could include Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader, officials said.

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A thorn in the world’s side
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Sever Plocker - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

I’ve been invited to deliver a lecture about Israel’s economy and society at Oxford University. As it is a short lecture, and a respectable forum, I gladly accepted the offer. The invitation was extended about six months ago. Yet now, as my trip approaches, I feel concern. I’m hesitating. My acquaintances are warning me: Don’t go. Hostile elements will cause disturbances, protest, shout and interfere. The atmosphere at British universities is anti-Israel to an extent unseen in the past. Israel is perceived as a thorn in the civilized world’s side.

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For the Palestinians, all roads now lead to the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

It is hard to take seriously the threat by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to declare a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and demand recognition by the UN Security Council. The cool response from the US and the European Union made clear that no such recognition would be forthcoming; and, as Hamas asked, what is the point of unilaterally declaring a state while those territories remain ultimately under Israeli control? Yasser Arafat already did that, in 1988.

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Hamas at a Loss
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian President [Mahmoud Abbas] announced that Hamas secretly negotiated with Israel on the establishment of a provisional Palestinian State, until Mahmoud al-Zahar, a [senior] member of the Hamas Political Bureau denied this with a vehemence that we have become all too familiar with.

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Israel & Palestine: Can They Start Over?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books
by Hussein Agha, Robert Malley - (Analysis) November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

1. The idea of Israeli–Palestinian partition, of a two-state solution, has a singular pedigree. It has been proposed for at least eight decades. Jews first accepted it as Palestinians recoiled; by the time Palestinians warmed to the notion in the late 1980s, Israelis had turned their backs. Still, its proponents manage to portray it as fresh, new, and capable of leading to peace. International consensus on a two-state agreement is, today, stronger than ever. Meanwhile, interest among the two parties most directly concerned wanes and prospects for achieving it diminish.

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