Now it is Palestine's turn to create facts on the ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Simon Tisdall - (Opinion) January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

As unfulfilled hopes of peace in the Middle East in 2010 fade from memory, the spectre of war in 2011 looms large. The collapse of Barack Obama's attempt to broker direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians has created a dangerous vacuum. Men of violence vie to fill it.

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Honesty and Hypocrisy in Facing Terrorism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Ziad Asali, Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

The murderous bomb attacks against Christian communities in Egypt and Iraq have been roundly condemned by most political and religious leaders, commentators and public opinion in the Arab world. They have also been met with an outpouring of passionate condemnation by ordinary people who have taken to the streets to express anger and demand justice. People have sensed the danger to their whole society inherent in such atrocities.

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Abbas backs UN attack on Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - January 1, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has voiced his personal backing for the first time for a draft UN resolution condemning Israeli West Bank settlements, which he said had been worded in an effort to attract US support. The Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership is promoting the UN resolution as part of a diplomatic effort to secure international declarations of support in the absence of progress towards direct negotiations with Israel.

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The Lieberman Question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) December 29, 2010 - 1:00am

What are Diaspora Jews to make of Avigdor Lieberman? In his latest outburst before 170 of Israel’s senior diplomats, the pugnacious, rebellious foreign minister called the Palestinian Authority illegitimate, the Turkish prime minister a liar, and ridiculed the central policy of his own government.

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Brazil: a new face in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Nimrod Novik - December 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Despite the worldwide economic downturn, Brazil's economic performance is the strongest in recent memory. Inflation is under target and international reserves stand at around $240bn (£155bn). This, in turn, has created a space for Brazilian diplomatic activity that reaches far wider than in the past. Partnerships with South Africa and India through the IBSA dialogue forum, a rising presence in Africa and the Middle East, and the strategic partnerships with China and the EU are all examples of Brazil's emergence on the international stage.

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Palestinians gain ground in PR, diplomatic war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Uriel Heilman - December 22, 2010 - 1:00am

In the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict, score some recent victories for the Palestinians. It’s not that Israel has given an inch in the territorial dispute over the West Bank, or that the Palestinians in Gaza have achieved new military victories against the Israelis, despite increased rocket and mortar fire from the coastal strip in recent weeks. Rather, the Palestinians have scored a series of diplomatic and public-relations successes against a Jewish state weakened by fraying relationships and a declining reputation internationally.

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Palestinians one-up Israeli PR machine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - (Analysis) December 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's public relations machine has long been one of the country's most formidable weapons in the Middle East conflict, but Palestinians have managed to one-up the Israelis recently, earning some noteworthy diplomatic support for their statehood ambitions. Ever since direct negotiations were suspended earlier this year, Palestinian diplomats have criss-crossed the world, visiting capitals in Europe and the Americas to gain support.

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HRW: Israeli settlements 'displace' Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 20, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank lack basic amenities and are effectively being forcibly displaced by discriminatory Israeli policies, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Sunday. The New York-based rights group called on the United States to penalize Israel by withholding from its massive annual aid a sum equal to the amount the state gives in subsidies to West Bank settlements.

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Erdogan: Israel is to blame for failed peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 20, 2010 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that while there were recently high level talks between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Israel in Geneva, there were no changes in Turkish demands regarding the "Israeli aggression against the humanitarian aid ships in Gaza" and the "murder" of nine Turkish citizens, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

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Ecuador Next to Recognize Palestinian State – Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali al-Saleh - (Opinion) December 18, 2010 - 1:00am

Bolivia is the latest country to recognize the State of Palestine after it officially announced yesterday that it recognized a sovereign Palestinian State along its 1967 borders. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday welcomed Bolivia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and praised the bilateral relations between the two countries..

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