'Recent change of atmosphere may mean time is ripe for talks'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) January 4, 2010 - 1:00am

Peace talks with the Palestinians must resume without preconditions, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday. Speaking at the opening of the Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu said, "My impression is that in recent weeks, there has been a change of atmosphere. I hope that the time is now ripe to move the peace process forward."

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Israeli PM hints at possible improvement in stalemated peace process with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
(Editorial) January 4, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday referred to a "change in the air" over the stalled peace process with the Palestinians, adding to speculation that the two neighbors might resume peace talks soon. "In recent weeks, I have felt that there is a certain change in the air, and I hope that this will mature, allowing the start of the diplomatic process," local daily Ha'aretz quoted Netanyahu as telling lawmakers from his Likud party at an internal meeting.

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Almost irreversible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - January 4, 2010 - 1:00am

The first decade of the twenty-first century, which ended a few days ago, witnessed the undoing of all the positive milestones and achievements that had occurred in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process in the last decade of the twentieth century. That decade started with the first international peace conference in Madrid. This was followed by the first Arab-Israel multilateral and bilateral negotiations, which ended with the signing of the first Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, the Oslo Accords.

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Jerusalem should be at the center of peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Daoud Kuttab - January 4, 2010 - 1:00am

The first decade of the twenty-first century has been a disastrous one for Palestinians. Negotiations efforts were dealt a dramatic blow, historic leaders and potential leaders were killed, assassinated or imprisoned and, worst of all, the scourge of internal strife returned to Palestinians in the form of the destructive Hamas-Fateh division.

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Interview With Tzipi Livni
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Charles Levinson, Joshua Mitnick - (Interview) January 3, 2010 - 1:00am

Late last month, Tzipi Livni was back in the news. Despite finishing first early last year in parliamentary elections, Ms. Livni declined to join a right-wing dominated coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu and instead went into the opposition. Then, just before Christmas, Mr. Netanyahu courted her, inviting her into his government. She ultimately refused. The Wall Street Journal's Joshua Mitnick and Charles Levinson caught up with Ms. Livni days before Mr. Netanyahu's offer. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.

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Fayyad envisions 'state free of settlements'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - (Analysis) January 3, 2010 - 1:00am

As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas embarks on his round of talks in Egypt in hopes of finding a basis for the renewal of peace negotiations with Israel, his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Sunday that the future Palestinian state will be "free of fences and of settlements." In a conference held near Ramallah, Fayyad urged the international community to intervene in order to "force Israel to stop ignoring international law and the Palestinians' rights."

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Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman tells envoys not to grovel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
(Editorial) January 3, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's hardline Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has told Israeli ambassadors to stop "grovelling" and defend their national honour. He told a shocked audience of some 150 envoys in Jerusalem to "stop turning the other cheek" whenever Israel was insulted, Israeli media report. The envoys were reportedly given no right of reply at the conference. "We received a monologue without being able to hold a discussion," one unnamed ambassador told Haaretz newspaper. 'A response to everything'

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Q&A: ''Israeli Settlements Killing Two-Nation Solution''
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - (Interview) January 1, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec 30 (IPS) - In the absence of any progress towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians, leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are adopting a reasonable approach as a way of building up international pressure on Israel to get it back to the negotiating table.

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Palestinians: Dramatic development in peace process possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - January 1, 2010 - 1:00am

A dramatic development in the peace process is expected in the coming weeks, Palestinian sources told Ynet Thursday. The sources said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit Egypt early next week to discuss jumpstarting the regional peace talks with his counterpart Hosni Mubarak. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Mubarak in Cairo earlier this week. According to the Prime Minister's Office, "The two leaders discussed ways to jumpstart the peace process with the Palestinians, as well as the efforts to release kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit."

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Construction in West Bank settlements booming despite declared freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - January 1, 2010 - 1:00am

Despite the construction freeze, dozens of settlements in the West Bank are experiencing a building boom, even on the eve of another visit to the region by U.S. envoy George Mitchell to try to restart talks for a final settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Construction is being carried out mostly to the east of the separation fence; it began shortly after warrants were issued on November 26 freezing construction.

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