Moment of truth has arrived
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

If ever there was a statement that reflected the true position of Palestinian negotiators and Arab leaders, it was the one made by the Qatari prime minister, Hamad Ben Jasem Al Thani. The statement, made after the Arab follow-up committee gave the PLO the green light to resume indirect negotiations, reflects a pessimistic outlook of peace. "We don’t trust Israel, but we find positive indications on the part of the US mediator," said the Qatari premier, who is also his country's foreign minister.

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Turning the other cheek
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

By choice or coincidence, US President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas find themselves this week in the same boat, thanks to the mischief of Benjamin Netanyahu.The two leaders have turned the other cheek helplessly, seemingly adopting the choice offered in the Christian doctrine, which favours a non-violent response to an aggressor. One explanation of this doctrine, among many, is that to turn the other cheek is not humiliating, but rather aresponse of strength that says “I will not seek revenge because I am stronger than that”.

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Israelis and Palestinians are ready to begin talking -- sort of
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

INDIRECT TALKS between Israelis and Palestinians appear finally set to begin, after a two-month delay that showed the Obama administration's diplomacy at its worst. The trouble started with an errant announcement by Israel of new housing construction in East Jerusalem; President Obama chose to escalate what could have been a blip into a public quarrel, in the apparent hope of extracting a series of concessions from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

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MI: Abbas laying the groundwork for failure of proximity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Military Intelligence research division chief Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz on Tuesday presented a bleak forecast for the opening of a negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "[PA President Mahmoud] Abbas' goal is to expose Israel's true face and show that we do not want peace," Baidatz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, adding that "Abbas is interested in an agreement with Israel, but his leeway on the core issues is limited."

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Israelis and Palestinians stand to gain from talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Both Israelis and Palestinians stand to gain by renewing U.S.- mediated contacts this week — the Obama administration's first sustained, on-the-ground attempt to bridge vast differences over what a Palestinian state should look like.

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Mearsheimer's unhelpful, unrealistic and disempowering message to the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

For the past couple of years Professor John J. Mearsheimer has spoken at many Arab and Muslim American events, and in most of them he sensibly urged Arab and Muslim Americans to seek a working coalition with Jewish Americans in favor of a two-state solution. In fact, he has been a strong advocate of a two-state solution. Until yesterday, that is. Speaking at the Palestine Center in Washington, Mearsheimer suddenly reversed himself with astounding claims of prescience bordering on clairvoyance. He flatly declared:

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Framework Set in Mideast for Indirect Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday with Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheik, and the Obama administration’s envoy arrived in the region amid final preparations for the start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The talks, expected in days, will be the first in more than a year. But the atmosphere in the region was hardly enthusiastic, with Israeli officials expressing skepticism about the prospects of a breakthrough and Palestinian officials warning Israel against taking any steps that could torpedo the talks.

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Normalizing Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Conservative
by Scott McConnell - May 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama has probably studied the first President Bush’s standoff with Israel. Then as now, the issue of contention was Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. George H.W. Bush was hopeful about moving toward a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

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J'lem fears PA may seek UN recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, David Horovitz - April 30, 2010 - 12:00am

While Israel and the Palestinian Authority are finally expected to begin US-mediated indirect “proximity” talks in the very near future, concern is growing among some in the Israeli government that the PA is planning to marginalize the diplomatic process and instead unilaterally seek UN recognition for a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines.

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'U.S. told Palestinians it would consider allowing UN censure of Israel'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama administration would consider allowing the United Nations Security Council to censure Israel over its activity in West Bank settlements in order to encourage the Palestinians to participate in peace talks, a Palestinian source told The Guardian on Friday. According to the source, U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell's deputy, David Hale, told Abbas that the Obama administration views Israeli construction in East Jerusalem as "provocative."

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