So that the Goldstone Report Does not Get Buried at the Security Council
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

A third mistake lies in wait for the Palestinian Authority if it does not pay heed to the dynamics of the interests shared by the five permanent members of the Security Council, represented by their unwillingness to allow the Goldstone Report to reach the council hall at this juncture.

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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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Bashing Human Rights Watch
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Scott MacLeod - (Opinion) October 30, 2009 - 12:00am

As a founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert L. Bernstein is a distinguished moral voice. So he stunned the human rights community last week when he leveled a devastating attack on the work of the organization he also chaired for two decades. He accused Human Rights Watch's Middle East division of giving Israel the "brunt" of its criticism while it "ignored" other countries in the region. The powerful denunciation in a New York Times Op-Ed article was swiftly endorsed by other eminent figures, including Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel.

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Jerusalem must be capital of both Israel and Palestine, UN chief says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Jerusalem must be the capital of two States -- Israel and Palestine -- living side-by-side in peace and security, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all, if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Wednesday.

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Rattling the Cage: Some victims we are
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

The kill ratio was 100-to-1 in our favor. The destruction ratio was much, much greater than that. To this day, thousands of Gazans are living in tents because we won't let them import cement to rebuild the homes we destroyed. We turned the Gaza Strip into a disaster area, a humanitarian case, and we're keeping it that way with our blockade. Meanwhile, here on the Israeli side of the border, it's hard to remember when life was so safe and secure. So let's decide: Who was the victim of Operation Cast Lead, them or us?

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UN chief calls on Israel to back Gaza reconstruction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Israel News
October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel Wednesday to back the reconstruction of Gaza, deploring conditions there nearly a year after a devastating Israeli military offensive. “Ten months after hostilities ended in Gaza, we see no progress on reconstruction or the re-opening of borders,” he said at a news conference. Ban said 4.5 billion dollars in reconstruction aid had been pledged at a donors conference in Egypt in March but “little if any of that money has been delivered.”

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To solve the problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Tension flared up again recently in Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in the Holy City of Jerusalem, when Israeli security forces clashed with Palestinian worshippers, injuring some and forcing scores of others to take refuge in the mosque. News that some ultra-orthodox Jewish groups plan to worship in the Noble Sanctuary that houses one of Islam’s holiest places, in a bid to lay claim to the Islamic holy sites, no doubt angers the Palestinians.

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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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