Palestinians warn Israel peace talks could be quickly derailed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

For more than a year, the Palestinians insisted on an Israeli settlement freeze as a precondition to entering direct talks with Israel. But recently they dropped their demand, paving the way for the first direct peace talks with the Israelis since early 2009. Or did they?

»

Direct talks, yes, but with state-building too
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in early September offers significant opportunities and pitfalls for all parties. For the Obama administration, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the talks represents the culmination of almost a year of intensive diplomacy. Whether or not the United States has a backup plan if talks founder is entirely unclear. The administration’s assumption appears to be that direct talks will generate their own dynamics; but if they don’t, it’s not evident what the next American step will be.

»

Mideast peace talks to look forward to?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Makovsky - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The announcement Friday that Middle East peace talks would be launched Sept. 2 was not exactly met with an outpouring of enthusiasm. Yet progress on security and other issues suggests there is reason to believe peace talks can produce results.

»

US 'mindful' of Palestinian stance on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The US said it remained "mindful" of the Palestinian position on an end to settlement construction, a State Department spokesman said Monday. US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters that Israel's temporary moratorium, which expires three weeks after talks launch, would be up for discussion when leaders meet on 2 September. "We’re very mindful of the importance the issue is within the negotiation. That’s why we want to get in the negotiation. None of these issues can be resolved outside of this negotiation," Crowley said.

»

Mideast peace talks: Are Israel, Palestine just going through the motions?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Matthew Rusling - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Friday's announcement of a new round of Middle East peace talks has stirred skepticism over whether the negotiations will amount to any meaningful progress. Moreover, some experts said both the Israelis and Palestinians are simply going through the motions in a bid to placate Washington. "In effect you have both sides just doing this to please the United States," said Michele Dunne, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Neither side believes that a negotiated solution can result from the talks, nor are they prepared to make major concessions, she said.

»

When America Forsakes its Palestinian Ally
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Bilal Hassen - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

US planning, European pressure, Arab complacency, and fragility of the Palestinian negotiator; these are the four factors that have made the racist right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, seem as if it is the victorious power that can impose everything it wants in the farce of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

»

Talks ‘Doable,’ Says Palestinian Official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday that he believed reaching an agreement with Israel within a year was “doable,” echoing remarks by the Israeli prime minister a day earlier that a peace agreement would be difficult but “possible.” But the otherwise sharply differing declarations presented as the basis for going into the direct talks, scheduled to start in Washington on Sept. 2, reflect the complexity of the effort required to get the two sides to this point, and the daunting challenges that lie ahead.

»

In response to vague talks, Jewish groups deliver vague message
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Two weeks before their launch, the promised renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has already engendered a first: a joint statement of welcome by mainstream U.S. Jewish and Palestinian groups. "We congratulate the Obama administration on succeeding in getting direct negotiations back on track," said a statement issued jointly on Friday by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Task Force on Palestine. "Both parties must now show courage, flexibility and persistence in order to move towards a negotiated end of conflict agreement."

»

End of settlement freeze could derail Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Eli Lake - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are set to begin next week in Washington may be scuttled before they even get going. Israel has yet to commit to extending a freeze on construction of settlements that the Palestinian side says it needs to continue negotiations. That settlement freeze is set to expire Sept. 26. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated in a letter to President Obama that he would not participate in the direct talks if Israel continued construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

»

WEST BANK: Big obstacles in road to direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Even before direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations kick off in Washington on Sept. 2, the road there is littered with political landmines. The Palestinians stated when they agreed on Friday, under U.S. and international pressure, to resume direct negotiations that if Israel resumed settlement construction in the West Bank, the talks would stop.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017