What would happen if Palestinians unilaterally declared statehood?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad recently announced that his government intends to declare an independent Palestinian state in the summer of 2011, even if no agreement is reached with Israel. This statement obviously generated unease in Israel, and not only among supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu's government - especially as it was accompanied by hints that European countries, and even the European Union itself, would recognize such a unilateral declaration of independence.

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‘U.S. Can Stop Israeli Settlements’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Ziad Abu Zayyad, Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - (Interview) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Ziad Abuzayyad was Palestinian cabinet minister responsible for Jerusalem affairs and a member of the Palestinian Legislature. During previous rounds of peace talks with Israel he was a leading member of the Palestinian negotiating team Currently, Abuzayyad is co-editor of the ‘Palestine-Israel Journal’ which seeks to create a platform for exploring tangible ways to advance a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

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The False Religion of Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am

On October 18, 1991, against long odds and in front of an incredulous press corps, U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Soviet Foreign Minister Boris Pankin announced that Arabs and Israelis were being invited to attend a peace conference in Madrid.

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Middle East Peace: So Why Have We Failed?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Yossi Beilin, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Saeb Erakat, Gamal Helal, Daniel Kurtzer, Robert Malley, Michael B. Oren, Dov Weissglas, James Wolfensohn, Anthony Zinni - (Interview) April 19, 2010 - 12:00am

More than 60 years after Israel's stunning victory in the 1948 war that birthed the Jewish state, an end to the world's most exasperating conflict seems more distant than ever. U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to drag both sides kicking and screaming to the negotiating table after nearly a decade of no progress. But is there still any reason for hope?

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An open letter to Netanyahu: Act before it's too late
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) April 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, It isn't every day a journalist writes an open letter to the prime minister. But today is no ordinary day. Nor is this an ordinary hour. This is the hour when the clock is about to strike midnight. A rare confluence of circumstances has created a situation in which on Israel's 62nd Independence Day, the state of the Jews is facing a challenge the likes of which it has not known since May 14, 1948. The year between this Independence Day and the next will be a crucial one.

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King Abdullah II of Jordan with Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Chicago Tribune
April 16, 2010 - 12:00am

King Abdullah II of Jordan visited the Tribune's editorial board Thursday to discuss challenges in the Middle East and the peace process. Excerpts: Tribune: What should the United States be doing to advance the Middle East peace process?

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Hussein Ibish Debates As'ad Ghanem on the One-State Agenda at U. of Maryland
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 16, 2010 - 12:00am

ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish debated Prof. As'ad Ghanem of Haifa University on the two-state versus one-state agenda at the University of Maryland on April 14, 2010.


Clinton: Israel must do more for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel must do more to pursue peace with the Palestinians and to strengthen their institutions or risk empowering militant groups such as Hamas, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. US President Barack Obama's efforts to revive peace talks have been stymied by a disagreement over Jewish settlement construction that has strained ties between Washington and its close ally Israel and by divisions among the Palestinians.

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'No need to remove any settlements'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - April 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel should not have to remove any settlements in a peace agreement with the Palestinians, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon has told The Jerusalem Post, adding that just as Arabs live in Israel, so, too, should Jews be able to live in a future Palestinian entity. “If we are talking about coexistence and peace, why the [Palestinian] insistence that the territory they receive be ethnically cleansed of Jews?” Ya’alon asked during a wide-ranging interview that will appear in the Post’s Yom Ha’atzmaut supplement on Monday.

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Obama to Sarkozy: I'll keep up pressure on Israel, Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 15, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama has told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he is determined to keep the pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to renew peace talks and implement confidence-building measures. Obama made his comments despite potential political damage at home ahead of the mid-term congressional elections in November.

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