Erekat: Conditions must be fulfilled before talks proceed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Reaffirming the PA stance on conditions ahead of direct talks, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that Israel must realize a halt to settlement construction. "Israel must fulfill the terms of the peace process," Erekat said, hours after media reports announced the construction of 32 new settlement homes in East Jerusalem.

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Erekat: No unilateral declaration of Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 13, 2010 - 12:00am

A unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state is "not on the agenda," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Turkish state television channel TRT on Tuesday. "We declared our independence in 1988," Erekat said. "Now it's up to the international community to declare recognition of our independence." "Our option is a two-state solution. We have recognized the state of Israel and its right to exist on the 1967 borders. Now it's up to the international community to stand firm and recognize Palestine on the 1967 lines with Jerusalem as its capital."

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PA not ruling out direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah on Monday did not rule out the possibility that the PA would agree to begin direct negotiations with Israel, in what appears to be a departure from its previous position. According to the officials, the PA was now inclined to agree to hold direct negotiations, especially following assurances from US President Barack Obama to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. “We don’t rule out direct talks,” said one official. “But before we move to these talks, we want to have a clear agenda and timetable.”

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'Palestinian-Israeli situation could lead to a holy war if not resolved soon'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Barbara Ferguson - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama assured Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Friday of his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The call followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday, in which the two leaders discussed a number of issues including Israel's stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. Dr. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said it is important to keep focused on the efforts the president is making in outreach to both Palestinians and Israelis.

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Pressure for direct Israeli-Palestinian builds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Pressure intensified for a resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Sunday, but Palestinian leaders continued to insist that Israel first freeze settlement construction in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would travel to Cairo this week to solicit help from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in persuading the Palestinian Authority to resume direct talks. Get dispatches from Times correspondents around the globe delivered to your inbox with our daily World newsletter. Sign up »

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ISRAEL: Don't restart negotiations from scratch, former peace-table adversaries agree
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Two years ago Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qurei had a standing rendezvous at Jerusalem's King David Hotel, at least twice a week, to hash over hotly disputed issues such as borders, refugees and the future of Jerusalem. Back then meetings between the then-Israeli foreign minister and the former Palestinian Authority prime minister hardly drew notice. No reporters, no cameras and no fanfare. But their return engagement on the same stage Sunday caused a mini stir since direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since 2008 and they hadn't seen each other since.

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Abbas: No direct talks until progress on borders, security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Direct talks will not be resumed with Israel until progress is made during US-brokered proximity talks on the issues of borders and security, President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday evening. “We hope to make progress that will enable us to launch serious negotiations leading to a two-state solution before it is too late,” Abbas said during a celebration at the the Cultural Palace in Ramallah, marking the Prophet Mohammad’s Night Journey.

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U.S. asks Syria to support Palestinian-Israeli direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

The U.S. administration demanded Syria not to hinder the Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) tendency towards direct negotiations with Israel, local news website Syria Now reported on Monday. A well-informed source confirmed that Washington asks Damascus, through U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, not to hinder the PNA tendency towards direct negotiation at a time when the Palestinian side showed hesitation over the results of the indirect talks and Arab League chief Amr Moussa declared that those talks have failed.

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Most Palestinians believe proximity talks to fail: poll
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Most Palestinians believe the U.S. -led indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) would fail, a poll showed on Monday. The survey, conducted by the West Bank-based Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), said 53 percent of the surveyed expected the negotiations that started in May would fail, 37 percent said the proximity talks would be successful and 10 percent refused to answer the question.

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The US Shift in Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am

It would be appropriate to resume direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government within “a few weeks” as long as President Barack Obama has a clear vision of what the role of the US should be in the negotiations, from the strategic perspective as well as from the perspective of the structure of opinions and how to implement them.

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