Direct talks will fail – is that what the US is planning on?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

There is more chance of Saddam Hussein’s elusive weapons of mass destruction suddenly turning up in Iraq than there is of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas agreeing on the terms for a two-state solution in Washington this week. That does not mean the direct talks being orchestrated by President Barack Obama are pointless. On the contrary, they represent a moment of truth, not for the Israelis or the Palestinians, but for Mr Obama, who is creating a crisis by forcing irreconcilable differences between the two sides onto the table.

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The pragmatic solution may become practically impossible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The idea of the one-state solution keeps popping up, particularly when the two-state solution is undergoing difficulties. Maybe this is because people in the region are unable to imagine anything other than one- or two-state solutions. Recently, and in view of the serious difficulties facing the peace process as well as the evident drift toward radicalization and the political right in both Israel and Palestine, we have again begun hearing the idea of a one-state solution.

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Actors’ Protest and Rabbi’s Sermon Stoke Tensions in Israel Ahead of Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel was in an uproar on Sunday over a refusal by Israeli theater artists to perform in West Bank Jewish settlements, and Palestinians were outraged by a virulently anti-Palestinian sermon by a Jerusalem rabbi, further fueling the atmosphere days before the expected resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington.

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Decoding the Mideast peace rhetoric
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - (Opinion) August 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week announced a new round of peace talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (known as Abu Mazen) accepted her invitation to Washington for the talks beginning September 2.

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Abbas' position isn't as weak as it may first appear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinians will begin heading home a year from now to reclaim property in their homeland, which they have not seen for 62 years since the state of Israel was established there. They will be welcomed at the border by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and thousands of cheering Israelis.

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For Once, Hope in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Martin Indyk - (Opinion) August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

NOW that President Obama has finally succeeded in bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, the commentariat is already dismissing his chances of reaching a peace agreement. But there are four factors that distinguish the direct talks that will get under way on Sept. 2 in Washington from previous attempts — factors that offer some reason for optimism.

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In the Mideast, the peace process is only a mirage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by George F. Will - August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Immersion in this region's politics can convince those immersed that history is cyclical rather than linear -- that it is not one thing after another but the same thing over and over. This passes for good news because things that do change, such as weapons, often make matters worse.

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Palestinians to U.S.: Israeli settlement freeze must include East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority has told the U.S. administration that an Israeli commitment to continuing the freeze on settlement construction must include East Jerusalem. During preparatory talks ahead of the summit due in Washington next week, the Palestinians made it clear they refuse to accept any softer formula on the building freeze. They expect that even after the September 26 deadline, when the 10-month moratorium ends, the United States will support their demand to continue the ban on all construction outside the Green Line, including in the settlement blocs.

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Gaza will be the ghost at Mideast talks banquet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

It's the proverbial elephant in the room, the ghost at the banquet, the spectre no one wants to acknowledge. Even if Israel and the Palestinians can scale a mountain of scepticism and reach a peace treaty in the next 12 months, 40 percent of Palestinians would be part of it in name only, because they live in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers say they will never give Israel what it most wants from a Middle East deal, which is recognition of the Jewish state and a legitimate place in the Middle East.

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Israeli and Palestinian extremists are attempting to sabotage negotiations before they begin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

I suppose it was to be expected, but the brazenness with which extremists on both sides are trying to sabotage upcoming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is simply breathtaking. The far more serious effort is on the Israeli side, in which activists, and even members of the government, to the right of PM Netanyahu are trying to destroy the key to the talks, which was a private understanding between Netanyahu and Pres.

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