Analysts look ahead to a peace process without Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is on another mission to persuade Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate peace. But she may have to continue in the future without Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, who twice last week reportedly said he was considering not running for a second term if and when new Palestinian elections are held. With Washington apparently softening its position on an Israeli settlement construction freeze as a precondition for talks, Mr Abbas may feel he has been backed into a corner and can ill afford to back down.

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Clinton's Middle East message seems to misfire
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's message on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks this weekend was not notably different from what President Barack Obama himself said in New York in September at a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But the prevailing perception and coverage in the wake of Clinton's meetings in Israel and Abu Dhabi Saturday are that the U.S.

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Clinton Denies Easing Pressure on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Struggling to stem protests from the Arab world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday reiterated that the Obama administration still wanted Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements, even if it regarded Israel’s compromise offer as “unprecedented.” Arab officials expressed alarm that the United States seemed to be easing pressure on Israel after Mrs. Clinton said in Jerusalem on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal of restrained settlement building was better than anything previous Israeli governments had offered.

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Palestinian PM criticizes Clinton for letting Israel set peace agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Following US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit here this weekend, Palestinians are reacting with frustration over what appeared to be a shift in the Obama administration's policy toward Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank. Although Secretary Clinton had previously insisted that the US wanted a total freeze on West Bank settlement expansion, she said during her meetings here this weekend that Palestinians should return to negotiations without preconditions – and lauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's steps toward limiting settlement growth as "unprecedented."

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Israel is unlikely to yield
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Top aides of the Obama administration have this month been quietly stoking the peace process fire, raising expectations that the American president, whose popularity remains relatively high, may now be willing to go beyond gentle rapping Israeli knuckles. The ball started rolling when Barack Obama's National Security Advisor General James L. Jones addressed the Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine on October 15.

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Hillary Clinton to embark upon uphill Mideast mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by David Harris - October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank this weekend. This will be her second visit to the region since Barack Obama entered office as U.S. president some 10 months ago. Coming at a time when relations between Israel and the Palestinians show no outward sign of improvement, analysts see Hillary's visit to be a tough mission and do not expect it to achieve much. A NEGATIVE BACKDROP

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U.S. leaning toward indirect Mideast peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in Israel on Saturday night for her first official visit since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was sworn in. Clinton's visit underscores the goal of reaching a compromise that could see the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. In light of the ever-wide gaps between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, voices are growing within the Obama administration to shift strategy and suffice with indirect - rather than direct - negotiations.

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Avi Issacharoff / Obama demands may leave Abbas feeling betrayed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive on Sunday for a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority during which she will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas. George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy, will be in Israel Thursday to lay the groundwork for the secretary of state's visit. Clinton and Mitchell will attempt to persuade Abbas to reopen negotiations with Israel on a final peace agreement.

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Arabs to Abbas: Renew talks with Israel without freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

As Israel and the Palestinians exchange blame for the failure to get peace talks off the ground, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reportedly under pressure from the Arab camp to renew negotiations. Palestinian sources told Ynet that Arab officials have passed on messages to Abbas prodding him to agree to renewed peace talks without conditioning them on a total freeze of building in West Bank settlements.

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The Palestinian Authority's state-first mistake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Samih Khalidi - (Opinion) October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

As President Obama seeks to jumpstart the Middle East peace process with increasingly disappointing results, a new approach has begun to emerge from within the upper circles of the Palestinian Authority. In essence, this approach puts "statehood first" – without waiting for negotiations to resume, or for a full final status agreement with Israel. From this point of view, and in a kind of Zionism in reverse, unilateral actions on the ground can lay the foundations for an independent Palestinian state, irrespective of Israel's demands or strategy.

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