Gaza militants vow wave of attacks against Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian militant groups have joined forces to step up attacks against Israel, possibly including suicide bombings, the Hamas Islamist faction said on Thursday, after Palestinian and Israeli leaders launched direct peace negotiations in Washington. A spokesman for Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said some 13 militant groups had joined forces to launch "more effective attacks" against Israel. Asked if this included suicide bombings, he said: "All options are open."


Palestinians authorities: We've arrested 2 suspects in deadly West Bank shooting attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority security forces detained two men on Thursday suspected of involvement in a deadly shooting attack in which four Israelis were killed on Tuesday. The four victims were residents of the Beit Hagai settlement in the West Bank. They were traveling in a car on route 60 late Tuesday when assailants opened fire at them, killing all four. Following the incident, Palestinian security forces in the West Bank carried out one of the largest arrest sweeps in history, bringing in over 300 suspects in efforts to locate the culprits.

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Palestinian forces arrest dozens of Hamas activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian security forces in the West Bank detained dozens of Hamas activists on Wednesday in response to a lethal attack on Jewish settlers in the occupied territory, a senior security source said. The Hamas armed wing claimed responsibility for the killing of four Jewish settlers near Hebron on Tuesday on the eve of a new round of U.S.-backed peace talks. "Dozens of Hamas members have been arrested, mainly in Hebron area and across the West Bank," the source said. "We are investigating if they have any links to the shooting attack. There will be more arrests."

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Terror attack achieved its goal - embarrassing the PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

The shooting attack in the Hebron Hills on Tuesday could not have been a surprise. Palestinian opposition groups, especially Hamas, were highly motivated to embarrass the Palestinian Authority on the eve of the start of direct talks in Washington. A short conversation with the members of the Palestinian delegation to Washington Tuesday night shows that the mission was indeed accomplished.

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Middle East talks: no real desire for change spells little hope of success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

No previous round of Middle East peace negotiations has begun with such rock-bottom expectations as the one being launched in Washington tonight. Neither side expects to be able to reach an agreement unless the US tries to impose one. And few believe that if Barack Obama does attempt that, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will be able to live with it – the Israeli premier because of his fractious rightwing coalition and the Palestinian president because of Hamas opposition and wider despair over years of peace "process" without change.

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Obama Aims for Middle East Agreement to Counter Iran by Stabilizing Region
Media Mention of ATFP In Bloomberg - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama leads Israel and the Palestinian Authority into direct talks starting tomorrow aiming for a big prize: a peace deal that will help stabilize the region and thwart Iran’s bid to expand its influence. Obama is bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together in Washington to seek agreement on security and territorial issues that lie at the heart of their dispute and have defied solution over two decades of negotiation.

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Barack Obama seeks peace within a year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Carrie Budoff Brown, Laura Rozen - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama opened the first round of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Wednesday in nearly two years by challenging Mideast leaders to put aside decades of antagonism and reach a peace accord within the next year. "Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?" Obama asked, standing alongside leaders of Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinians in the East Room of the White House.

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Extremists on both sides have nothing to offer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

The stage has been set: only time will tell whether what transpires in Washington this week was meant for show or to produce something of substance. The talks between Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu that begin today are the first direct negotiations in two years. There remain, however, legitimate concerns over the timing of the talks.

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Obama Aims for Middle East Agreement to Counter Iran by Stabilizing Region
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Gwen Ackerman, Nicole Gaouette - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama leads Israel and the Palestinian Authority into direct talks starting tomorrow aiming for a big prize: a peace deal that will help stabilize the region and thwart Iran’s bid to expand its influence. Obama is bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together in Washington to seek agreement on security and territorial issues that lie at the heart of their dispute and have defied solution over two decades of negotiation.

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Israel seals off Hebron following shootings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli forces on Wednesday sealed off parts of the southern West Bank district of Hebron in the wake of an attack against Israeli settlers in the area which killed four. Deputy mayor of Bani Na'im Raja Ziadat, a village close to the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement, where the attack occurred, said a curfew was imposed at dawn after troops withdrew. He added that Israeli forces were deployed heavily throughout the district. Israeli forces are denying residents access to the village and barring vehicular travel on the Route 60 bypass road, the mayor said.

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