Senators to Obama: Lean on Arabs to normalize Israel ties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - August 11, 2009 - 12:00am

A bipartisan group comprising 71 U.S. senators is urging President Barack Obama to lean on Arab states to normalize relations with Israel. In a letter addressed to Obama on Monday, the senators praised Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for lobbying the Arab states to take steps toward supporting the Palestinian Authority, though more was needed to advance peace.

»

Palestinian negotiator: Washington plans binding steps for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The U.S. administration is preparing obligations that Middle East parties should observe to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Palestinian negotiator said on Saturday. Saeb Erekat said Israel is mainly required to freeze its settlement activities in the West Bank under the new obligations, adding that the Palestinians have more obligations as well without giving further details.

»

The push for Mideast peace hinges on Benjamin Netanyahu 2.0
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Daily News
by David Makovsky - (Opinion) August 10, 2009 - 12:00am

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently passed his first 100 days in office, there are early signs that the Israeli leader has evolved since he held the post a decade ago. This could mean - on the Israeli side at least - a real commitment to a durable peace.

»

Barak: New U.S. peace plan in the works
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Reyham Abdel Kareem - August 5, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama will soon unveil a new Middle East peace initiative, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. Speaking Tuesday at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Barak said the initiative's details were still in the works.

»

Obama begins pressuring Arab leaders on deal with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nathan Guttman - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Freezing the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank was once seen as a unilateral Israeli obligation. But the Obama administration is now treating this as part of a package that will require concessions from Arab states as well. An intensified and more public focus on this idea appears to be one of the byproducts of U.S. President Barack Obama's July 13 pledge to American Jewish communal representatives to address perceptions that he is pressuring only Israel.

»

'Occupation will destroy Third Temple'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

"The occupation will lead to the destruction of the Third Temple"– a Peace Now poster to be hung all over Jerusalem on Wednesday, the eve of Tisha B'Av, reads. "The goal is to stress that continued construction in settlements and the occupation of the (West Bank) will lead to the destruction of Zionism and, for us, the destruction of the Third Temple," said Peace Now Secretary General, Yariv Oppenheimer.

»

J'lem expects Arab gestures soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell left his Israeli interlocutors with the impression Tuesday that he would be able to extract some normalization gestures towards Israel from the Arab world within a month. Mitchell, currently on a regional tour that has so far taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, met one-on-one for two-and-a half hours Tuesday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

»

US steps up peace process efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

The Obama administration appeared to step up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East this week, as a series of high-profile US officials descended on the region in what commentators described as a concerted bid by the US president to find a far-reaching solution for Arab-Israeli peace. “The new thing in the Obama approach is that it is comprehensive,” said Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian cabinet minister who currently co-edits bitterlemons.org, an Israeli-Palestinian online opinion journal. He added: “Obama is trying to talk to everybody.

»

'Obama unlikely to present peace plan'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Recent talks with US envoy George Mitchell have left Israeli officials with the impression that - contrary to expectations in some circles - President Barack Obama is not going to unfurl his own regional peace plan. Rather, according to these officials, the administration is aiming to create a positive dynamic that will lead to the relaunching of a Palestinian-Israeli diplomatic process, but this time with more regional players on board.

»

US Middle East envoy calls on Arab world for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Josef Federman - July 27, 2009 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy called on the Arab world yesterday to take steps towards normalising relations with Israel, while Israel's prime minister said he hoped his country's disputes with the US over West Bank settlement construction would soon be resolved.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017