In Israel, Mitchell presses on with patience honed in N. Ireland
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived here Thursday for a new round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, amid President Obama’s admission that he had been too optimistic about the prospects for peace. Mr. Mitchell, here for the first time since last November, met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv and was scheduled to hold talks later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Palestinians stressed over Mitchell visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is on his way to the region, and the Palestinians are feeling the pressure. Palestinian sources on Wednesday said that recent talks with American and international sources have shown that the international community does not want the Palestinians to condition the renewal of peace talks on a settlement construction freeze as has been the case so far.

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Peace Stalled on All Fronts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Randa Takieddine - (Opinion) January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

Several consecutive visits to and from the Middle East have been taking place these days: the special US envoy George Mitchell is in Beirut, and he was preceded by James Jones, the US National Security Council advisor, in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the region. Today, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is in France for an official visit, as if it is a state visit. Hariri has also been to Turkey and the UAE, after a historic visit to Damascus. What do all of these visits to the region mean, and are we seeing developments on all of the fronts of the Arab-Israeli conflict?

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US envoy due in Lebanon at start of Mideast tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 19, 2010 - 1:00am

BEIRUT — US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was due in Beirut on Tuesday at the beginning of a new regional tour aimed at restarting Middle East peace talks, a Lebanese foreign ministry official said. The tour will also take Mitchell to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Syria. The peace envoy was set to meet with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Foreign Minister Ali Shami and a number of other officials before leaving Beirut on Wednesday.

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U.S. must now start twisting Israeli and Palestinian arms
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) January 19, 2010 - 1:00am

Every time disaster strikes anywhere in the world, I am filled anew with admiration at how ready and willing we are to assist, and how speedy, effective, organized and wholehearted that assistance is.

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The PA will have to yield to pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Sami Abdel-shafi - (Analysis) January 18, 2010 - 1:00am

It seems ever more evident that while the US-led international community is urging a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Palestinians increasingly feel the exercise is fruitless. More and more Palestinians are questioning the use of what has become a perpetual on-again off-again process.

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Abbas urges US 'endgame' unless Israel halts settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 17, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Washington on Sunday to declare an "endgame" to resolve the decades-old Middle East conflict if Israel does not agree to halt settlement growth. Abbas, in a statement carried by the official Wafa wire service, said Arab states and the Palestinians would present a unified position to the United States offering two options.

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J'lem open to 'proximity talks'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - January 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel is not rejecting the idea of "proximity talks," whereby a US envoy would shuttle and mediate between Israeli and Palestinian delegations, as a way to relaunch face-to-face negotiations, The Jerusalem Post has learned. One senior source, who confirmed that this idea was "out there," said it was clear that when the time came for the two sides to talk about substantive issues, they would need to do so directly. But, he added, in order to move the process forward, or to "launch" the negotiations, something different - like this "proximity" formula - might be necessary.

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‘Israel scuttling peace efforts’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Ghazanfar Ali Khan - January 14, 2010 - 1:00am

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and China called on Israel on Wednesday to comply with UN resolutions and create a conducive atmosphere to restart peace talks. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, addressing a joint news conference with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, said Israel was trying to prevent a settlement of the Middle East conflict and warned Tel Aviv against “swallowing Palestinian lands.”

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US security envoy meets Israeli, Palestinian leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 14, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — US President Barack Obama's national security adviser James Jones held talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders on Thursday aimed at furthering US-led peace efforts. "Jones confirmed Obama's determination to arrive at a comprehensive peace in the Middle East despite the difficulties, and said the key to peace in the region is to resolve the Palestinian issue," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP after Jones met president Mahmud Abbas.

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