Clinton: Peace up to Israel, Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON - "With respect to the Middle East, I think that you know we're absolutely committed. It doesn't matter whether it's round two or round 20," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in reference to the stalled peace process. During a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Clinton said, "We believe that this is a situation that deserves constant, persistent attention; that the absence of such attention perhaps created some of the difficulties that we are now encountering.

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The Inevitable Bi-national Regime
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Meron Benvenisti - (Opinion) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Translated by Zalman Amit and Daphna Levitt. The occupation of the territories in 1967 resulted from military action, but the military element quickly became secondary, while the “civilian” component,-settlements,-became the dominant factor, subjugating the military to its needs and turning the security forces into a militia in the service of the Jewish ethnic group. Eventually, settlements themselves were no longer as meaningful as they once had been.

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Netanyahu demands Israeli presence in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel must have a presence in the West Bank even after a peace agreement is achieved, the first time he has spelled out such a demand. He said the experience of rocket attacks from the Lebanese and Gaza borders means Israel must be able to prevent such weapons from being brought into a Palestinian entity in the West Bank. "We cannot afford to have that across from the center of our country," he told foreign reporters Wednesday in Jerusalem.

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Barak, Mitchell discuss peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning, to discuss security and diplomatic matters. A statement from the Defense Ministry said that the two-hour meeting focused on steps needed to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mitchell was scheduled to hold separate talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas later Thursday and on Friday.

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In Israel, Mitchell presses on with patience honed in N. Ireland
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived here Thursday for a new round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, amid President Obama’s admission that he had been too optimistic about the prospects for peace. Mr. Mitchell, here for the first time since last November, met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv and was scheduled to hold talks later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Elliott Abrams on The West Bank Resurgence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
(Interview) January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

In my continuing mission to understand the Obama Administration's understanding of the Middle East peace process (such as it is), I turn now to Elliott Abrams, the key Middle East policymaker on President Bush's National Security Council. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked by bigger questions than those that concern George Mitchell's travel schedule.

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Mitchell in Israel Thursday, Palestine Friday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Middle East Envoy for the United States George Mitchell announced his arrival in the region Thursday, where he will meet with Israeli officials and resume efforts to kickstart peace talks between Israel and Palestinians. Mitchell will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, alongside members of the Palestinian leadership. In Israel Mitchell will meet the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shemon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni.

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Erekat: Netanyahu is sabotaging two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to end the possibility of a two-state solution by insisting on a continued Israeli presence along a future Palestinian state's borders, chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel Radio on Thursday. Erekat was responding to Netanyahu's Wednesday statement, according to which Israel would demand a continued military presence along the future Palestinian state's border with Jordan.

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Barak legitimizes the evils of Israeli occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

The settlers and their allies should be thanking their God for their good fortune. Ehud Barak, of all people, was appointed defense minister and is doing their dirty work. Anyone else - Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, or even Avigdor Lieberman wouldn't have been able to pull it off. They wouldn't have dared.

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Vatican: Israeli occupation foments Mideast conflicts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

A Vatican document released Tuesday blamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the "occupying" of lands for fomenting most of the conflicts in the Middle East, driving Christians out and making life difficult for those who remain. The document is a guide for discussions for an Oct. 10-24 meeting of Mideast bishops convened by Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the plight of the Christian minority in the overwhelmingly Muslim region. The exodus of Christians from the region and religious discrimination faced by those who remain are main issues on the table.

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