MI: Abbas laying the groundwork for failure of proximity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Military Intelligence research division chief Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz on Tuesday presented a bleak forecast for the opening of a negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "[PA President Mahmoud] Abbas' goal is to expose Israel's true face and show that we do not want peace," Baidatz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, adding that "Abbas is interested in an agreement with Israel, but his leeway on the core issues is limited."

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If Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume, Israel plans to highlight incitement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

With some expecting US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume this month, Israel is complaining of Palestinian government-sponsored "incitement'' against the Jewish state. Israel is planning to highlight claims of demonization of Israel and glorification of terrorism by Palestinian leaders after months of being on the defensive over settlement expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem, analysts said. Government spokesman Mark Regev said that progress on incitement would be a "crucial'' issue in peace negotiations.

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Israelis and Palestinians stand to gain from talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Both Israelis and Palestinians stand to gain by renewing U.S.- mediated contacts this week — the Obama administration's first sustained, on-the-ground attempt to bridge vast differences over what a Palestinian state should look like.

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Mitchell to give peace train a fresh push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

But perhaps the big question today is: Are there still believers in the US-sponsored peace process? We've seen this before in the past. The US special envoy to the Middle East heads to the region amid signs that peace talks, bogged down for what seems like an eternity, are about to resume. The peace process, an American coinage that dates back to the 1970s, is going into its penultimate thrusts. It has become an institution, a diplomatic edifice that thrives and withers depending on geopolitical agendas and regional crises.

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Netanyahu wants secret talks; PLO demands parameters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators began to rally their negotiations teams Sunday, with US-mediated peace talks set to begin Monday via "discrete channels," Israeli press reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his advisers that he intends to open the talks in person, and according to news reports asked to be briefed on an “eight point” plan set out by the administration of former Israeli Minister Ehud Olmert, particularly around final-status issues.

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Abbas: Mideast proximity peace talks to address final-status issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said indirect peace talks scheduled to begin this week with Israel will address final-status issues, including borders, Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem, Army Radio reported. "There is a historic opportunity before Israel, if it withdraws from all Palestinian and Arab lands," said Abbas adding that in exchange, under the Arab peace initiative, Israel would be officially recognized by Arab states.

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Abbas: 'Many obstacles' for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he has already demanded sole control over large sections of the West Bank, including those under total Israeli sovereignty. Abbas said that he demand the Jordan Valley, even though Israelis have made clear that they will not agree to preconditions from the Palestinians.

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Once more into the Mideast breach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Here we go again. Welcome back to the Middle East peace process, a tortured charade that long ago turned into pure process and thereby set a sure course for the rocks. With indirect talks between the Israelis and Palestinians now likely to resume, is there any reason to think much has changed? Israel is ruled by its most right-wing government, under Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinians, weak and divided, are unwilling to enter negotiations unless Israel stops building settlements on their land, which Mr Netanyahu refuses to do. But something does look to have changed – in the US.

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Framework Set in Mideast for Indirect Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday with Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheik, and the Obama administration’s envoy arrived in the region amid final preparations for the start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The talks, expected in days, will be the first in more than a year. But the atmosphere in the region was hardly enthusiastic, with Israeli officials expressing skepticism about the prospects of a breakthrough and Palestinian officials warning Israel against taking any steps that could torpedo the talks.

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Peace talks require good faith
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

Last week, the Israeli press reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting, following his talks with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, that Israel and the United States want to "begin a peace process immediately", and without any preconditions. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians were to begin indirect peace talks this week, with the expectation that these proximity talks would lead to direct negotiations in due course.

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