Chronicles of peace or epitaphs of failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The Arab League rescued Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama from being boxed into a corner. The one month extension granted to the peace process during which they have to find a way back to negotiations provides a little room to breathe and avoids having Obama take the direct fallout from a foreign policy failure prior to the crucial midterm elections on November 2.

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A new Israeli settlement freeze? What's behind Netanyahu's offer.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revived a previous offer Monday, saying he would support a new settlement freeze if Palestinians would recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The offer is consistent with a demand Mr. Netanyahu made when he first endorsed a Palestinian state a year ago. But Israeli analysts and former diplomats disagree as to what the prime minister, who acknowledged that the offer had already been turned down in private negotiations with Palestinians, sought to achieve by raising the issue in parliament's opening day of winter session Monday.

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US nudges Palestinians to answer Israeli proposal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States nudged the Palestinian Authority to make a counter-offer to Israel's proposal for a new freeze on building in Jewish settlements if the Palestinians recognized Israel as a Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said if the Palestinian leadership recognized Israel "as the homeland of the Jewish people," he was ready to ask his government to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building. The Palestinians immediately rejected the proposal, which they have long opposed.

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U.S.: We want clear path, not two-month delay of peace process deadlock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States doesn't want a two-month delay on peace process but rather achieve a clear path that allows Israel and the Palestinians to continue negotiations, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to extend the settlement freeze in return for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. "We don't just want to push the can down the road two months," U.S. State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley said.

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Cheap gimmickry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Analysis) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

ISRAEL was defined as the "Jewish state" in 1947 by the UN resolution that brought it into being. But now Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants the Palestinians to confirm it: both the Palestinian leaders who are supposed to be negotiating with him over a state of their own, and individual Palestinians (and other non-Jews) who apply for Israeli citizenship.

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Palestinian President Presents Four Alternatives to Arab Follow-Up Committee
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Sawsan Abu-Husain - (Opinion) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas presented four alternatives, which he described as "historic," concerning the prospects of the direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This took place at the recent meetings of the Arab initiative committee in the Libyan city of Sirte on the sidelines of the extraordinary Arab summit. The alternatives are as follows: First: If Israel decides to halt the settlement activities, the direct negotiations will continue, and its pace will be accelerated.

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France 'can't rule out' UN creation of Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday that the option of the UN Security Council creating a Palestinian state cannot be ruled out. Kouchner told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam that France preferred a two-state solution to be negotiated with Israel, but said appealing to the Security Council to resolve the conflict remained a possibility. "We want to be able to soon welcome the state of Palestine to the UN. This is the hope and the desire of the international community, and the sooner that can happen the better," he said.

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Abbas has to make tough decisions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Several days ago the leader of the Israeli opposition Tzipi Livni said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "must choose the real long-term interests of Israel rather than his own personal political interests." She was commenting on Netanyahu's refusal to extend the colony freeze moratorium which prompted the Palestinians to carry out their threat to walk away from direct talks barely a month after they were ceremoniously resumed in Washington.

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ATFP Advocacy Director Speaks at J Street Event
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

On October 6th, ATFP Advocacy Director participated in a forum organized by J-Street and held at Temple Sinai entitled "Who are the Partners for Peace? Palestinian Perspectives: A Discussion with the American Jewish Community". In addition to Mr. Al-Omari, the panel included Dr. Amal Jadou, Deputy Chief of Mission of the General Delegation of the PLO to the U.S. and Amjad Atallah, Co-Director of the Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation, and was moderated by Amb. Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.


ATFP Advocacy Director Speaks at J Street Event
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

On October 6th, ATFP Advocacy Director participated in a forum organized by J-Street and held at Temple Sinai entitled "Who are the Partners for Peace? Palestinian Perspectives: A Discussion with the American Jewish Community". In addition to Mr. Al-Omari, the panel included Dr. Amal Jadou, Deputy Chief of Mission of the General Delegation of the PLO to the U.S. and Amjad Atallah, Co-Director of the Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation, and was moderated by Amb. Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.



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