Netanyahu to CNN: I'm prepared to discuss future of settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he was prepared to discuss "right away" the future of Jewish settlements if Palestinians entered direct peace talks with Israel. Asked on CNN's "Larry King Live" if he would extend beyond September a 10-month moratorium on housing starts in settlements in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu said it was time for the "Let's just get into the talks and one of the things we'll discuss right away is this issue of settlements and that's what I propose doing," he said.

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Palestine stands up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Although the crisis over Israel’s naval interventions to defend its blockade of Gaza is gaining all the headlines around the world, something of far more historic importance is taking place in the Middle East. The Palestinian Authority is preparing to issue a unilateral declaration of independence, and it is taking concrete steps on the ground to make any such declaration viable.

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Obama Says Direct Israeli-Palestinian Talks May Be Imminent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Jonathan Ferziger, Roger Runningen - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama said direct Israel-Palestinian talks may get started within less than three months, praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a leader prepared to take “risks for peace.” Obama and Netanyahu, speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday after an 80-minute meeting, both said they wanted to dispel concerns that the U.S. commitment to Israel has been weakened by disputes over construction in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem. The two leaders ate lunch together with advisers.

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Obama Says Direct Israeli-Palestinian Talks May Be Imminent
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama said direct Israel-Palestinian talks may get started within less than three months, praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a leader prepared to take “risks for peace.” Obama and Netanyahu, speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday after an 80-minute meeting, both said they wanted to dispel concerns that the U.S. commitment to Israel has been weakened by disputes over construction in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem. The two leaders ate lunch together with advisers.

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President Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu try to mend fences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Carol E. Lee, Laura Rozen - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to exude a new sense of warmth in their rocky relationship Tuesday as both expressed confidence that the Israeli leader will soon hold direct peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,” said Obama, seated in the Oval Office alongside Netanyahu following their meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes. “We’ve seen over the last year how our relationship has broadened,” Obama added. “In fact, our relationship is continuing to improve.”

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U.S. and Israel Shift Attention to Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler, Sheryl Gay Stolberg - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama said Tuesday that he expected direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to begin “well before” a moratorium on settlement construction expired at the end of September, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pledged to take “concrete steps” in the coming weeks to get the talks moving.

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Mr. Netanyahu at the White House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel satisfied their short-term political goals with an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday. It is less clear that they achieved much of substance.

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Beyond the Occuption: Palestine and the Two-State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from In These Times
by Ralph Seliger - (Interview) July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

In the wake of the Israel Defense Force’s violent interdiction of the Free Gaza movement’s “peace flotilla” on May 30, and Israel’s decision to ease the blockade of Gaza as a result, we present a pro-Palestinian viewpoint that favors peaceful co-existence with the Jewish State.

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Settlements are a blockade to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seth Freedman - (Opinion) July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

There are plenty of thorns in the side of the peace process, but none as sharp and intractable as Israel's settlement programme. For decades, successive Israeli governments have persisted in their obstinate policies in the West Bank to the detriment of civilians on both sides, despite knowing full well that no lasting peace deal can ever be reached without an end to the settlement enterprise.

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Israel Details Easing of Its Gaza Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel on Monday announced details of the easing of its blockade of Gaza, and the Israeli defense minister held a rare face-to-face meeting here with the Palestinian prime minister in a flurry of activity apparently intended to show diplomatic momentum ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s meeting with President Obama, scheduled for Tuesday in Washington.

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