Palestinians study US idea for Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas is studying a US proposal for talks between the Palestinians and Israel at a level below full-scale negotiations between their leaders, a Palestinian official said on Monday. The proposal is the latest idea by US Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell to bring about a resumption of peace talks that have been frozen for 13 months. Palestinian sources familiar with Mitchell's weekend round of diplomacy said he had proposed confidence-building measures that would improve conditions in the Palestinian territories.

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Remarks to Americans for Peace Now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Committee on Foreign Affairs
by Howard Berman - January 24, 2010 - 1:00am

Thank you, Luis (Lainer), for that introduction, and thanks as well to Americans for Peace Now for this invitation to speak with you. I am very gratified that you have awarded the Yitzhak Rabin Peace Prize to my friend of nearly 50 years, Irwin Levin. Everyone here knows how much he deserves it. We’ve had a warm and productive relationship for many years now. I admire and share your firm commitment to peace, even on those occasions when we disagree about how best to achieve it.

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US envoy meets Abbas amid pessimism over peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Nasser Abu Bakr - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — US envoy George Mitchell met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday to push Middle East peace efforts despite President Barack Obama's admission that his drive for a deal may have been overambitious. Mitchell's talks in Ramallah, the political capital of the occupied West Bank, came a day after meetings with the Israeli government and talks in Syria and Lebanon, two countries the envoy said should play a key role in achieving a comprehensive Middle East peace deal.

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Erekat: Israel imposing 1-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday blasted statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would never withdraw from eastern areas of the occupied West Bank. Erekat termed the statements a direct challenge to the international community, casting Israel’s readiness for peace further into doubt, by imposing further conditions on negotiations and announcing Israel's intention to continue its occupation irrespective of the outcome.

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UN Chief: Mideast conflict worsening amid stalled talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations, declaring that failure to do so could destroy any chances of progress. "In the absence of talks, confidence between the parties has diminished," the UN chief said at a meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in New York.

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Clinton: Peace up to Israel, Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON - "With respect to the Middle East, I think that you know we're absolutely committed. It doesn't matter whether it's round two or round 20," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in reference to the stalled peace process. During a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Clinton said, "We believe that this is a situation that deserves constant, persistent attention; that the absence of such attention perhaps created some of the difficulties that we are now encountering.

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Mitchell in Israel Thursday, Palestine Friday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Middle East Envoy for the United States George Mitchell announced his arrival in the region Thursday, where he will meet with Israeli officials and resume efforts to kickstart peace talks between Israel and Palestinians. Mitchell will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, alongside members of the Palestinian leadership. In Israel Mitchell will meet the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shemon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni.

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Peres to Abbas: Resume talks or face new intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

President Shimon Peres recently warned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that continuing the deadlock in negotiations with Israel could lead to a third intifada and that in delaying, Abbas was "playing with fire." On Wednesday, U.S. special envoy George Mitchell came to the region in another attempt to jump-start talks between Israel and the Palestinians. At a meeting at the President's Residence on Sunday, Peres told Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store about his discussions with Abbas.

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Barak, Mitchell discuss peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning, to discuss security and diplomatic matters. A statement from the Defense Ministry said that the two-hour meeting focused on steps needed to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mitchell was scheduled to hold separate talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas later Thursday and on Friday.

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US could tip its hand on peace plan during West Bank visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, is scheduled to arrive today for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a long-awaited visit that should give some indication of the next step for US peacemaking efforts between the two sides.

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