Settlements obstacle to peace, says Kingdom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

RIYADH: The Council of Ministers on Monday denounced the Israeli move to construct more Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying it would obstruct efforts to restart the Middle East peace process. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, commended the European stand, which rejects Israel’s illegitimate settlement policy.

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Abbas calls for settlement freeze 'for a fixed period'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday said for the first time that he might restart peace negotiations with Israel if it froze settlement expansion for a "fixed period." "We will not accept the relaunching of negotiations without a complete halt to settlements, including in Jerusalem, for a fixed period," Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. It was the first time Abbas appeared to accept some kind of temporary settlement freeze, after months in which he insisted on a total halt to settlement growth pending a final agreement on borders.

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Palestinian PM accuses Israel of trying to isolate PNA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from China View
January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad accused Israel on Tuesday of trying to isolate the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) through a campaign against President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad's government. "The Israeli campaign can be explained only as part of a planned effort that openly aims at isolating us internationally," Fayyad told reporters in Ramallah. Once the PNA is boycotted, "Israel can evade the peace process' requirements," he added.

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Fatah leaders review peace prospects
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Editorial) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah’s Central Committee began discussions with party leader and President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday concerning the latest developments on the resumption of negotiations with Israel. The meetings, according to sources within the committee, are due to end Monday evening, before discussing the Egyptian and Jordanian delegations’ visit to Washington, calling for further efforts on the Middle East peace process.

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Netanyahu: Israel will never share Jerusalem with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Analysis) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of united Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 borders, according to a bureau statement. The statement came after Egypt's foreign minister said in Cairo last week that Netanyahu was ready to discuss making "Arab Jerusalem" the capital of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority could abandon its demand for a freeze on construction in East Jerusalem in exchange for an easing of the siege on Gaza and a halt to Israeli assassinations in the West Bank.

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U.S. ambition alone won't forge Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Give George Mitchell points for perseverance, at least. Last year the attempt by President Obama's Middle East envoy to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, with an ambitious two-year deadline, was an embarrassing flop. Neither Israelis nor Palestinians showed much interest in new negotiations. As the world watched, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forced the administration to retreat from its demand for a complete freeze on settlement building, while Saudi King Abdullah directly rebuffed Obama after he traveled to Riyadh to ask for a gesture to Israel.

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Israel shrugs off Mitchell's loan threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Jerusalem — Israeli officials on Sunday tried to downplay tensions looming with the United States after George Mitchell, the Obama administration's Middle East envoy, suggested in a PBS interview that the US could consider withholding support for loan guarantees for Israel.

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What makes sense
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians are right to refuse a return to negotiations with Israel unless there is a total halt to settlement construction in the occupied territories. To continue negotiations as Israel continues devouring Palestinian lands to build and expand settlements means having less and less land to negotiate over.

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Editorial: Another US Initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Is it any wonder that the Palestinians are insisting on a full settlement freeze before renewing peace efforts?

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Obama Security Aide to Join Mideast Peace Push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Matt Spetalnick - (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser will visit the Middle East for high-level talks next week, joining a renewed U.S. effort to coax Israel and the Palestinians to resume long-stalled peace talks. The trip by Jim Jones, a top foreign policy aide, will include a stop in Saudi Arabia and coincides with travels by George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, to Europe this week and then to the region later in the month.

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