Israeli Foreign Minister Distances Himself From Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Neil MacFarquhar - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Sharp differences within the Israeli government over peace negotiations played out in the unusual setting of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman using the podium to say that peace with the Palestinians required an intermediate agreement lasting “decades” and that the issue of Iranian belligerence should be addressed first.

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A One-to-Two-State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Robert Wright - (Blog) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

This week’s bad news from the West Bank — the resumption of settlement construction after a 10-month moratorium, just as a new round of peace talks had gotten underway — didn’t much dampen optimism among seasoned Middle East watchers. That’s because there wasn’t much optimism to dampen. For the past few years, more and more people who follow these things have been saying that the perennial goal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks — a two-state solution — will never be reached in any event. These experts fall into two camps.

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Netanyahu says Mideast peace talks must go on
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday agreed to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a summit in Paris next month, a joint effort to overcome the threat of their peace talks collapsing. A statement from Netanyahu's office said the prime minister had held phone conversations with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and told them he hoped "positive negotiations" with Abbas would continue.

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Israel minister's UN speech disowned by Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Patrick Worsnip - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday a peace deal with the Palestinians could take decades and pressed his own plan which seeks to get rid of as many Israeli Arab citizens as possible in a land swap. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York that was quickly disowned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman again exposed the serious differences between Netanyahu and him over peace prospects.

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“Pleasant Surprise” From Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

When Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend the settlement freeze in the West Bank, he was not doing anything surprising. Indeed, he was not expected to respond to the calls of the sponsor of the direct negotiations, President Barack Obama, or to the positions of the European Union which urged Israel to provide the necessary climate for the success of the negotiations.

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Construction in West Bank settlements resumes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

KARMEI TZUR, WEST BANK - The rumble of a bulldozer preparing the ground for new homes started early Monday morning at this Jewish settlement in the southern West Bank, and residents said it was music to their ears after a 10-month building freeze. "We're very happy," said Erez Naim, who lives near the building site. "For 10 months we were asleep. Now suddenly things are coming back to life."

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Abbas: Talks waste of time if settlements continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

PARIS (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas told members of France's Jewish community on Sunday that peace talks would be futile if Israel's settlement activity continued in the West Bank. Abbas met with 20 well-known members of the Jewish community at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris, reiterating that "if Israel does not continue the freeze on settlement process, the peace process will be a waste of time."

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Asharq Al-Awsat Talks to Israeli Deputy PM Dan Meridor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Nazar Majli - (Interview) September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Tel Aviv, Asharq Al-Awsat- Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence Dan Meridor has appealled to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazin) not to withdraw from the direct negotiations because of the issue of settlement construction activity. In An exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat Meridor said that the negotiations are over something that is more important than the settlement activities; they are over the establishment of a Palestinian State that will provide the Palestinian people with stability and put an end to their suffering.

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PM Fayyad has Broad-Ranging Conversation with ATFP Board of Directors
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met and had a two-hour long conversation with the Board of Directors of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) in Washington, DC on Friday, Sept. 24. PM Fayyad addressed 25 ATFP Board and staff members. The Prime Minister spoke for about a half hour, and then took questions and comments for an additional hour and a half from the Board members in a broad-ranging and frank conversation about numerous issues.


Abbas vows to continue with talks
Media Mention of ATFP In Al-Jazeera English - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has said Palestinians would not immediately walk away from peace talks with Israel even if it does not extend a 10-month limited settlement moratorium due to expire on Sunday at midnight. Abbas's comments on Sunday came as diplomatic efforts intensified to try to get Israel to extend the partial freeze on construction by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

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