Israel considers prisoner release, ceding territories to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel and the Palestinians have yet to reach a compromise on settlement construction, but Jerusalem is nonetheless considering a number of gestures, including releasing prisoners and transferring areas in the West Bank to Palestinian control, western officials familiar with peace talks told Ynet Tuesday night. The second round of direct negotiations began in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Tuesday and will continue Wednesday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet in Jerusalem. American Pressure

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A new type of talk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Calev Ben-Dor - (Opinion) September 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Much ink has been spilled on the direct talks between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority and their chances of success. Ironically, agreement between the sides regarding re-starting direct negotiations for the first time in 18 months seems to have been followed by disagreement over almost everything else, including over which subjects the sides will negotiate. While the Palestinians reportedly want to begin by discussing permanent borders, Israel insists on focusing on security arrangements and its recognition as a Jewish state.

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Sha'ath: Key issues on Sharm agenda
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The second round of negotiations in Egypt will focus on land, borders and security, said member of the Palestinian negotiations team Nabil Sha'ath on Tuesday, as officials and leaders arrive in the coastal resort town ahead of talks. Sha'ath said reports that the talks in Sharm Ash-Sheikh will focus on Israel security matters solely were false, adding in a statement that "there is no security without the land and the borders and they know this very well."

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PM, Clinton and Abbas discuss freeze in Sharm e-Sheikh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon<br /> - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday sat down with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm e-Sheikh, Egypt to tackle the most immediate dispute between the two sides: a soon-to-expire curb on new construction for Israeli settlements in the West Bank. No press conference was held prior to the beginning of the meeting. A determination to make the peace talks work was expressed by Israeli officials accompanying Netanyahu on Tuesday to the second round of direct peace talks with Abbas.

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Encountering Peace: Two rights don’t make a wrong
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin<br /> - (Opinion) September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Yes, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is right – why should Israel continue the settlement freeze; after all, everyone knows Gilo will never be Palestinian. Ramot Eshkol will not be part of the Palestinian capital of al-Kuds, nor will Pisgat Ze’ev? Palestinians should understand that there are certain facts that will not be undone. The Jewish Quarter of the Old City and the Western Wall will remain under Israeli sovereignty in any peace agreement; without this, there can be no peace and certainly the Palestinians should realize this by now.

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Risky business of making peace in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Osama Al-Sharif<br /> - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The risky business of forging peace between Israel and the Palestinians through a negotiated settlement has resumed after almost three years of forced interruption. But few on either side are hopeful. The one-year process of direct negotiations under United States auspices aimed at concluding a final status agreement and the birth of a Palestinian state has its critics, and sceptics, on both sides of the divide and beyond. In fact few believe that this latest round of talks will lead to an historic deal. The chasm is simply too wide.

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Hillary Clinton headed to Mideast for talks
Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launches an intense week of Middle East diplomacy in Egypt Tuesday, joining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for their next round of face-to-face peace talks. She begins in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, then plans to move on to Jerusalem on Wednesday and the West Bank and Jordan on Thursday.

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Israeli-Palestinian talks in Egypt address key issues of conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Meeting in Egypt for their second peace summit in two weeks, Israeli and Palestinian leaders began discussing for the first time Tuesday some of the issues at the heart of a possible treaty, even as a dispute over settlement expansion clouds the future of the talks. Both Israeli and US officials sounded upbeat about the atmosphere at the talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. US peace envoy George Mitchell, who accompanied Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the summit, said the discussions of those core issues were "serious, detailed, and extensive."

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Israel and Palestinian Leaders Extend Egypt Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler<br /> - September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority held nearly two hours of face-to-face talks in this Red Sea resort on Tuesday in a second round of negotiations that delved into the core issues dividing them but did not yet break an impasse over Jewish settlements. President Obama’s special representative to the Middle East, George J. Mitchell, said he was encouraged by the overall direction of the talks but declined to say whether the two sides made any progress on a dispute over Israel’s moratorium on settlement construction, due to expire on Sept. 26.

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Netanyahu's embrace of peace talks keeps Israelis guessing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders <br /> - September 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Israelis have seen it before. A hawkish leader expected to be tough on the Palestinian issue instead embarks on a game-changing path to end the conflict. Menachem Begin did it. So did Yitzhak Rabin. Ariel Sharon split apart his right-wing Likud Party by withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

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