The end for the Palestinian Authority?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by George Giacaman - February 13, 2009 - 1:00am

As usual, the future Israeli government will be a coalition, either a right-wing one composed of Kadima, Likud, and Labor, or an extreme right-wing one, including Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, and others. Either way, this does not bode well for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is entering the third stage of its turbulent life, and perhaps its last. The first stage began with the Gaza-Jericho agreement of 1994, followed in late 1995 with expansion of the PA's authority over parts of the West Bank. This stage ended with Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004.

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Yesha Council revels in Lieberman's success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Yesha Council revels in Lieberman's success 'Elections proved consensus regarding two-state solution nothing more than corrupt spin,' settler leader says, adding Yisrael Beiteinu chairman 'will be one of the strongest supporters of the settlement enterprise' Efrat Weiss Despite the inconclusive results of Tuesday's general elections, it is clear that the political Right will have a majority in the 18th Knesset, leading Yesha Council head Danny Dayan to say that Israeli voters made "an obvious and unequivocal ideological decision."

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Middle East peace process in need of serious Israeli partner - Abul-Gheit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul-Gheit said on Thursday that the peace process is in need of a serious Israeli partner. Abul-Gheit added in statements to the press, in his first comments on the Israeli elections' results, that the current situation in the region requires awareness that peace and stability will not be achieved unless all international resolutions are implemented and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

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All the more reason for Barack Obama to march towards the sound of gunfire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

FOR reasons of his own, Barack Obama chose to disregard the advice he got from many quarters that he should spell out his views on Palestinian statehood before Israel’s voters went to the polls on February 10th. That is a pity. Israelis disagree about many things, but most understand the value of having a prime minister who is liked and welcomed in the White House.

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Stalemate all around
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

FOR reasons of his own, Barack Obama chose to disregard the advice he got from many quarters that he should spell out his views on Palestinian statehood before Israel’s voters went to the polls on February 10th. That is a pity. Israelis disagree about many things, but most understand the value of having a prime minister who is liked and welcomed in the White House.

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One on One: 'I was the resident skeptic'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Ruthie Blum Leibowitz - (Interview) February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

The one thing Elliott Abrams and I do not discuss during our hour-long interview in Jerusalem this week is his imminent career move. More specifically, how someone who has spent the better part of the last three decades vilified by those who consider "neoconservatism" a four-letter word will fare as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a key part of the liberal establishment.

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Arabs fear rise of hard-right in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Arabs on Wednesday saw little hope for peace from whatever government emerges from Israel's inconclusive elections, and they expressed fears over the rising power of Israel's far right. With the prospect of a hard-line Israeli government, some in the region said any progress in Arab-Israeli negotiations will now rely even more on pressure from President Barack Obama, who has said his administration will take an active role in pursuing a Mideast peace.

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Palestinians gloomy as Israel moves right
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Andrew Hammond, Ali Sawafta - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinians reacted gloomily to Israeli election results on Wednesday, as the likelihood rose of a more right-wing government opposed to returning land for a Palestinian state. But the self-rule Palestinian Authority (PA) said the next Israeli cabinet would be obliged to continue peace talks and meet international obligations. "The ascent of the Israeli right does not worry us," President Mahmoud Abbas told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper. "In whatever form, the government, once in power, will ultimately end up with responsibility, pragmatism prevailing."

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Israel must meet international obligations: Fayyad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority said Wednesday the next Israeli government should meet international obligations to continue with peace talks. "Regardless of the form of government that will emerge ... we have the same expectations," Prime Minister of the self-rule Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad told reporters. "We imagine that the expectations of the international community (toward Israel) will be the same as ours." Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and Tzipi Livni's centrist Kadima party both claimed victory late on Tuesday night after a tight election result.

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After Israel elections, not much is clarified
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's voters threw the country into political uncertainty Tuesday, apparently giving Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's centrist party the largest share of seats in parliament but shifting the majority to a collection of right-wing parties hostile to her goal of a peace accord with the Palestinians.

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