MESS Report / Israel threatens PA: 'fight violence or we will'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel has conveyed messages to the Palestinian Authority over the past few days that it must contain the popular protests that have recently erupted in the West Bank, stop PA officials from participating in them and keep them from turning violent, Palestinian sources told Haaretz. They said Israel also told the PA it must reduce incitement regarding the Temple Mount and Jerusalem and curtail its campaign against the use of Israeli products.

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Time for the international community to show its hand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

With the PLO deciding to accept the American invitation to proximity talks, helped in no small measure by the Arab League's backing, the stage is set for another round of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians under US auspices. The question remains, however, about the extent to which the Israeli government headed by Binyamin Netanyahu is ready and serious regarding this new phase and to what extent Israel's stated keenness to hold negotiations without conditions is merely a public relations exercise.

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Netanyahu: No peace deal until Palestinians accept Israel as Jewish
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanuahu on Monday welcomed the Palestinians' approval of indirect peace negotiations mediated by the U.S., but reiterated that any permanent settlement would require recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and a long-term guarantee of Israel's security. The United States announced earlier Monday that Israel and the Palestinians have formally agreed to indirect peace negotiations brokered by its special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

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New talks may be Mitchell's moment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

For much of the past year as he has shuttled dozens of times to the Middle East and Europe quietly trying to persuade Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace table, U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell has borne the brunt of criticism of both those offended by the Obama administration’s early pressure on Israel to halt new settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and others disappointed that Obama failed to follow through when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to stop the new construction as a precondition for negotiations.

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If Netanyahu wants peace, he knows what to do
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

British statesman Leopold Amery's plea to prime minister Neville Chamberlain - "For God's sake, go" - has undergone many incarnations, and I'm surprised at my colleague Nahum Barnea, who made do with a simple "Go" in reference to Avigdor Lieberman. The suspicion that Lieberman received documents relating to the investigation against him from our ambassador in Belarus is now being checked by the police. It doesn't smell good - not to mention that the stench of the foreign minister's behavior justifies speeding up the distribution of gas masks.

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Report: Biden to open indirect talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Days before a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed optimism about the situation in the Middle East and said that "peace negotiations with the Palestinians will begin very soon." A Palestinian source told the al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper that indirect negotiations mediate by the United States may be launched next week upon Biden's arrival. According to the minister, he and his fellow Labor Party members "are making sure that the prime minister begins peace negotiations, day and night."

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Dahlan against talks: Israel just wants to gain time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Despite support from the Arab League for renewing indirect talks with Israel, more and more Palestinian voices are being heard opposing the move. On Thursday evening, Fatah Central Committee spokesman Mohammad Dahlan added his voice to the chorus. "In light of Israel's acts," he said, "in particular the continued settlement and aggression against holy sites, there is no point to direct or indirect negotiations with the Israeli government."

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Armistice Now: An Interim Agreement for Israel and Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Affairs
by Ehud Yaari - (Opinion) March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

More than 16 years after the euphoria of the Oslo accords, the Israelis and the Palestinians have still not reached a final-status peace agreement. Indeed, the last decade has been dominated by setbacks -- the second intifada, which started in September 2000; Hamas' victory in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections; and then its military takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 -- all of which have aggravated the conflict.

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Hamas: Return to talks a betrayal of the nation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

Gaza's deputy Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) speaker Ahmad Bahar called a return to negotiations with Israel a "waste of the Palestinian cause," saying the outcomes of any talks would "not meet any standards of legitemacy." The statement on Thursday followed rumors that indirect talks with a US envoy shuttling between Israel and the PLO could start as early as Sunday, after the Arab League gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for talks within a four-month timeframe.

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Validity of Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks in doubt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by David Harris - March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

In the coming days the Middle East will host important visits by key international players as the United States hopes to get Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track. The star-studded lineup includes U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Before they cross the Mediterranean, U.S. special envoy George Mitchell will make the journey this weekend. While the others will be in town to give their backing to renewed peace negotiations, it is up to Mitchell to enable that process to begin.

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