A dismal and serious view from Mr Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) February 1, 2010 - 1:00am

It would be easy to dismiss the recent warning by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, that the peace agenda he advocates risks irrelevance if the relentless Israeli colonisation of Palestinian land does not cease. After all, Mr Abbas has repeatedly raised alarm bells and threatened to leave his position over the stalemated peace process with Israel, only to stay in place. But as the beleaguered leader of an occupied people and a man who has rejected armed struggle in favour of negotiation, Mr Abbas deserves a hearing.

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Hamas: PA must return to unity talks before Israel peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Hamas warned of "dangerous consequences" if Palestinian Authority officials return to peace talks with Israel, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told reporters Friday. President Mahmoud Abbas was the explicit target of the warning, and was told of the danger of returning to peace talks with Israel before Palestinian unity is achieved, as US pressure to return to negotiations mounts. Hamas distributed the statement to journalists on Friday, saying the party considered negotiations with Israel as a dangerous confiscation of Palestinian rights and a denial of justice for the people.

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Netanyahu to U.S.: I'll free Fatah prisoners to boost Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - January 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to the release of hundreds of Fatah prisoners as part of efforts backed by the United States and Egypt to jump-start the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu expressed a willingness to release prisoners as a goodwill gesture in talks with the special U.S. Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. Under the plan, Israel would also embark on low-level negotiations with U.S. mediation.

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Arab League chief presses for Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Wednesday that if a Palestinian state is not established soon there will be a single state for Israelis and Palestinians. "We cannot just continue to raise the flag of two states living next to each other in peace," he told a panel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

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Where the problem lies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is right to warn Europeans that the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, such as it is, is headed for failure. He is also absolutely right in his prescription. Israel is not serious about finding an equitable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; until such time, talks are pointless. Moreover, while building the institutions of state is an important task and one that Europeans have been particularly keen on supporting, it is not an alternative to ending the occupation. This is a message that Europeans would do well to heed.

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At the centre of peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

As negotiators and politicians wonder who needs to do what before moving, it is clear that all good minds and good people should focus on one issue: how to resolve the conflict over Jerusalem. If the 1980s and 1990s witnessed a relatively nonviolent first Palestinian uprising and a breakthrough mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel, the first 10 years of the third millennium were violent and destructive. The decades-long hard work and sacrifice of Palestinians, Israelis and international supporters of peace evaporated almost overnight.

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Palestinians working with Mitchell toward talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says conditions aren't yet right to return to peace talks with Israel but that the Palestinians are working with U.S. envoy George Mitchell on ways to break the deadlock. Fayyad, in an interview with The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum, said Mitchell and the Palestinians "are working on trying to get talks restarted."

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Gaza's Agony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Eyad El-Sarraj - (Opinion) January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

On the night Barack Obama won the U.S. presidency, he announced: "To all those ... who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world ... a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you.... The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope." Obama's words made the world shiver with anticipation.

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Abbas: Palestinians will accept only Jerusalem as our capital
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Thursday that Palestinians would not accept any alternative to Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, despite other proposals. Abbas told Russian television that Jerusalem should not be divided and that there should be free passage for people of various faiths. The Palestinian leader added it must be made clear what belongs to the Palestinians and what belongs to Israel.

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It's only human to rage at Israeli crimes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) January 27, 2010 - 1:00am

The upcoming trip by an Israeli-Arab member of the Knesset to Auschwitz is the latest chapter in the saga of seeing accusations of anti-Semitism used to smear the Arab and Muslim world. Mohammad Barakeh of the influential party Hadash will make the trek as part of an Israeli parliamentary delegation, which has predictably angered hardline Zionists who reject the idea of an Arab being allowed to participate in an official ceremony at a place with such symbolic meaning for Jews.

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