Abbas: Resuming negotiations remains first option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Resuming direct peace negotiations will remain the first option of the Palestinian leadership, Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday. "We are ready to go back to the negotiations as soon as Israel stops settlement activities," Abbas told a news conference in Ramallah after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Abbas said he has "seven options" to respond to Israel's expansion of Jewish settlement in the West Bank which caused the U. S.-brokered negotiations to halt after nearly three weeks since it restarted.

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No breakthrough in Mid-East peace talks - Egypt envoy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
October 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Ahmed Aboul Gheit reiterated Arab support for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's demand that Israeli settlement building be frozen ahead of new talks. Israel has refused to renew the freeze despite pressure from Washington. Mr Abbas said he was still mulling an appeal to the UN, but said his first choice would be to return to talks. "We have discussed our options... but our first option is to return to direct negotiations if Israel halts all settlement activity," Mr Abbas said.

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Senior Egyptian officials to visit West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Senior Egyptian officials will visit the West Bank on Thursday to discuss stalled peace negotiations, a Palestinian official said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman would be leading the Egyptian delegation, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian negotiator. The Egyptian officials will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as the peace talks reached "total impasse," Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine Radio.

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Israeli think tank supports Arab Peace Initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Michal Toiba - October 27, 2010 - 12:00am

A think tank at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya has given its support to the Arab Peace Initiative, Professor Galia Golan-Gild of the Lauder School confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. According to a report released by the IDC's Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Israel's security, economy, and international standing would improve if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government accepted the Arab peace plan.

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UN rep. backs declaration of Palestinian state in next year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

United Nations Special Middle East Peace Negotiator Robert H. Serry told Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Tuesday that the UN will a support the declaration of an independent Palestinian state. Serry spoke to Fayyad while the two picked olives together near the West Bank village of Turmus'ayyeh, close to the Israeli settlement of Shiloh.

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MK Dichter cancels Spain trip for fear of arrest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yuval Karni - October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

MK Avi Dichter (Kadima) was planning on taking part in an international peace summit in Spain over the weekend, but was forced to cancel over fears he would be arrested, and possibly imprisoned, by Madrid authorities, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. According to report several days ago, a Spanish organization called The Madrid Coalition, invited Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part in a summit focusing on the peace process and the Saudi initiative. Senior officials from the Palestinian Authority, including Mohammed Dahlan had RSVP'd to the event.

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Palestinian gambit for statehood puts Israel against wall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - (Analysis) October 26, 2010 - 12:00am

With talks at a stalemate and no agreement from the Israelis to reinstate a settlement freeze, the Palestinians are playing a new card: an end game to statehood through an appeal to the international community. The card hasn’t actually been played, but the mere threat that the Palestinians would push for international recognition of a state from the United Nations has been enough to push the Israeli government to reconsider options to return to the negotiating table.

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Vatican rejects “chosen people” claim, calls on Israel to end “occupation”
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Russia TV
October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

A high-ranking Israeli official on Sunday slammed a statement from Catholic bishops, who called for international organizations to lead the cause of Palestinian statehood. Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Bustros sparked an interreligious firestorm when he suggested that Israel was “using Scripture” to continue its occupation of Palestinian territory.

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Talking Peace and the Diaspora, do Jews outside of Israel have a role?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Dina Kraft - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Cloistered away in a snug meeting room with stone-faced walls and arched doorways across from Jerusalem's Old City, some of the most important Jewish communal leaders in the world came together recently to wrestle with a question: Is there a role for the Diaspora in Israel's decision making on peace? The answer: Yes and no.

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Palestinians renew threat to seek UN recognit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK — The Palestinian president said Monday that Israel has been taking unilateral steps for decades by building settlements, so the Palestinians might take one of their own — asking the United Nations to recognize their independent state. President Mahmoud Abbas was replying to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the only path to peace is negotiations. The threat of unilateral action indicates the depth of the crisis over peace talks restarted just last month by President Barack Obama.

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