Obama to press Netanyahu on peace process, settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get a warm reception from U.S. President Barack Obama on his trip to Washington next week, official sources said. But Obama is expected to question Netanyahu closely on where the peace process is heading, around three months before the freeze on West Bank construction expires. The Americans are concerned about the implications that resuming the construction might have on the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the sources said.

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Obama to press Netanyahu on peace process, settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get a warm reception from U.S. President Barack Obama on his trip to Washington next week, official sources said. But Obama is expected to question Netanyahu closely on where the peace process is heading, around three months before the freeze on West Bank construction expires. The Americans are concerned about the implications that resuming the construction might have on the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the sources said.

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Obama to press Netanyahu on peace process, settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get a warm reception from U.S. President Barack Obama on his trip to Washington next week, official sources said. But Obama is expected to question Netanyahu closely on where the peace process is heading, around three months before the freeze on West Bank construction expires. The Americans are concerned about the implications that resuming the construction might have on the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the sources said.

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A quiet diplomacy on the Mideast peace path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Martin Indyk - (Opinion) July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The current sturm und drang in U.S.-Israel relations cloaks a surprising development: President Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are beginning to develop a constructive working relationship sensitive to the legitimate concerns of the other.

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PA vows to increase public outreach in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas met six journalists from Israel's top news outlets in his Ramallah office Wednesday. Two of the reporter,s Aluf Benn and Akiva Eldar, billed the meeting as part of a campaign by Abbas to enlist Israeli public support for a peace settlement based on 1967 borders. The writers noted in the newspaper that the move came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington this week.

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Abbas: direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations subject to indirect talks' progress
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday told the U.S. mediator that the direct Palestinian- Israeli negotiation is subject to the progress that could be made by the ongoing indirect talks. "We hope that this position is clear to the international community and the U.S. administration" which sponsors the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians, said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, following a meeting here between Abbas and the U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

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Palestinian PM: Direct Mideast peace talks are a long way off
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by RIZEK ABDEL JAWAD - July 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have not yet made enough progress to justify the start of face-to-face negotiations, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Thursday during a visit to France. The U.S.-mediated discussions kicked off in May and are due to last four months, with American diplomats seeking to find common ground to bring the two sides to the same table. "We have yet to see the kind of progress that would be able to justify the consideration of ... direct talks," Fayyad said following a meeting with senior European officials over aid.

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Direct talks if PM clarifies stand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in an apparent charm offensive aimed at the Israeli public, has told reporters from the Hebrew media he is willing to enter direct negotiations with the Netanyahu government, as soon as he hears from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu regarding Israel’s position on borders and security issues. Abbas, in the briefing with Israeli journalists Tuesday in Ramallah, said that originally he wanted to hear from Netanyahu whether he was willing to accept the understandings agreed upon by his predecessor, Ehud Olmert.

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Lessons from Camp David
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ben White - July 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Ten years ago this month, Israelis and Palestinians gathered at Camp David, under the guidance of President Bill Clinton, for negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement. The talks ended in failure, and by the end of September, the second intifada had begun.

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Palestinian leader gives interview to Israel media
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Matti Friedman - July 1, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian president has given a rare interview to Israeli media in an apparent effort to counter the claims in some circles that Israel has no partner for peace talks. Mahmoud Abbas spent three hours with Israeli reporters, discussing subjects from peacemaking efforts to the World Cup and his smoking habit. Abbas' top negotiator, Saeb Erekat, says the president is trying to "reach out" to the Israeli public and seek a partner for peace. The interview took place in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday and was reported in Israeli newspapers on Thursday.

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