A Palestinian state within the 1967 borders: settlements vs. sovereignty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Philip C. Wilcox - (Opinion) January 26, 2011 - 1:00am

Today, few disagree that without massive withdrawals from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where over 500,000 settlers now live, there is no hope for a two-state peace. A majority of Israelis also agree that an end to the conflict, preservation of a democratic, Jewish Israel, and freedom and statehood for Palestinians, are impossible without a radical reversal of Israel's misbegotten settlement adventure.

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The Palestine papers help Abbas in the diplomatic jiujitsu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Aluf Benn - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestine papers reveal that Israel has – or had – a partner for a negotiated two-state solution. They reveal that our previous government, led by Ehud Olmert as prime minister and Tzipi Livni as foreign minister, discussed a detailed partition plan involving serious give and take with its Palestinian interlocutors. Alas, the Palestine papers also reveal the lack of political will to conclude the deal, shown by the wide gaps over substantive positions, and both sides' leaning towards fruitless debating, rather than seeking a compromise.

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Abbas: Concessions in Palestine papers came from Israel, not us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday denied offering secret concessions to Israel and said that reporting of purportedly leaked documents had presented Israeli positions as those of his own negotiators. "What is intended is a mix-up. I saw them present things yesterday as Palestinian, but they were Israeli ... This is therefore intentional," Abbas told reporters in Cairo after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "We say things very clearly, we do not have secrets." Abbas stressed.

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Word of Palestinian Concession in 2008 Roils Mideast Debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - January 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Despite longstanding protests against the construction of Jewish developments in contested areas, Palestinian negotiators agreed to cede large tracts of Jerusalem to Israel during peace negotiations in recent years, according to a set of documents Al Jazeera says it has obtained. The materials suggest that the chief Palestinian negotiator at the time, Ahmed Qurei, “proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem,” except for the Jewish district known as Har Homa.

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Palestinian leaders deny offering major concessions to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - January 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian leaders Sunday rejected a report by Al Jazeera television network that they had agreed in 2008 to cede most of disputed East Jerusalem and to make other major concessions in an unsuccessful bid to win statehood. Citing documents that it called the "Palestine Papers," the Arab television outlet quoted minutes from a Jan. 15, 2008, meeting involving then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei.

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Could This Be the Map to Mideast Peace?
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In American Online - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am

It's a cliche among foreign policy circles that everyone knows what an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will look like. Now a Washington think tank with close connections to officials in both Israel and the United States has sketched out realistic borders for a new Palestinian state.

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Israel concerned about possible fallout from Lebanon government split
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

The Lebanese political crisis, triggered by Hezbollah's departure from government last week, has Israel worried that the situation could become violent and spill over the Israel-Lebanon border. Regional efforts to mediate between Prime Minister Saad Hariri's bloc and the Hezbollah-led opposition failed today, with Turkey and Qatar giving up a day after Saudi Arabia pulled out.

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Israel's 'disobedient women' questioned over illegal trips for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

In a small village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, I joined a remarkable group of women and children for lunch last weekend, a noisy and cheerful crowd enjoying plates of chicken, fish, rice and salad. All of them were breaking the law. The party consisted of around 20 mostly middle-aged Israeli women, slightly fewer and younger Palestinian women and a handful of the latter's children.

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Israeli firms on Palestinian building project sign anti-settlement clause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - January 13, 2011 - 1:00am

A dozen Israeli companies working on a Palestinian construction project have signed contracts stipulating they must not use Israeli products originating in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. The move has sparked calls from Jewish settler groups and their supporters for a counter-boycott. The lucrative contracts are conditional on the firms agreeing to eschew "products of the territories" in line with the Palestinian Authority's boycott of goods and services from settlements.

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Israeli navy arrests three fishermen off Gaza coast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli navy arrested three Palestinian fishermen off Gaza's shore on Tuesday, Palestinians sources said. An Israeli navy ship intercepted and sank a small fishing boat, forcing the three people onboard to climb to the gunboat, a source from the Hamas' interior ministry told Xinhua. Nizar Ayesh, head of the Palestinian Fishermen Union, said the Palestinians were working within the area that Israel allows fishermen to work in.

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