Obama admin. considers giving letters to Middle East parties on peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

As it ramps up efforts to get Israel-Palestinian peace talks restarted, the Obama administration is considering sending letters to the Middle East parties, diplomatic sources tell POLITICO. The letters the Obama administration is considering giving to the Middle East parties outline what the U.S. expects from Israel-Palestinian peace talks, a diplomat source said. The letters, signed by President Obama, describe terms of reference that serve as the basis for negotiations moving forward, another source who declined to be identified said.

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Critical Currents: Disproving skepticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Naomi Chazan - (Opinion) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Yet another process is brewing. George Mitchell's visit to the region is designed to iron out the provisions for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian discussions on all outstanding issues - starting with borders - within a two-year time frame. Should an understanding be reached on the terms of reference, and this is still a big question mark, then this will be the last chance for a two-state solution by agreement.

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Clinton urges Israel, Palestinians to plunge into talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - (Analysis) January 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday urged Palestinians and Israelis to plunge into negotiations over the most difficult issues dividing them as a way of breaking an impasse in peace talks. Clinton said negotiations on major issues, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state or the status of Jerusalem, would help defuse the dispute over the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank that has obstructed progress toward peace. "Resolving borders resolves settlements," Clinton said at the State Department. "Resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements."

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ATFP Original Translation: “Not through a narrow prism!”
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hassan Al-Battal - (Opinion) January 9, 2010 - 1:00am

One can excuse the Palestinians for viewing the problems of Middle East and terrorism through their own narrow prism. This is precisely the same prism they are using to view the recent events of Rafah and Al-Arish.

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Clinton urges Israel, Palestinians to plunge into talks
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Los Angeles Times - January 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Reporting from Washington-- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday urged Palestinians and Israelis to plunge into negotiations over the most difficult issues dividing them as a way of breaking an impasse in peace talks. Clinton said negotiations on major issues, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state or the status of Jerusalem, would help defuse the dispute over the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank that has obstructed progress toward peace.

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U.S. Seeks a New Path to Peace in Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Jay Solomon - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is taking new steps to restart Arab-Israeli peace talks that broke down last year, and U.S. officials said they hope formal negotiations could resume by February or March. U.S. diplomats said they are talking with Israel and Arab governments about more clearly defining terms for negotiations, which hit an impasse when Israel refused to accept a total freeze on settlements in disputed territories. Arab governments, meanwhile, balked at U.S. calls for them to begin normalizing diplomatic ties with Israel.

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Dahlan: Talks to resume in coming weeks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Fatah Central Committee member and former security commander Muhammad Dahlan is optimistic that peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel will resume in the coming weeks, according to an interview with Al-Hayat published on Friday. Dahlan revealed that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have been holding intense contacts with the Quartet (representing the US, the UN Secretariat, the EU and Russia) in efforts to formulate a unified position regarding the resumption of peace talks.

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J'lem rejects 2-year peace deadline
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Hilary Leila Krieger - (Analysis) January 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel doesn't want to see deadlines imposed on the negotiating process with the Palestinians, even as the US is endorsing the idea of a two-year time frame. "In the past, attempts to impose time frameworks have not proved either realizable or helpful," Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post. Oren talked to the Post hours before US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said Wednesday night that "we think that the negotiation should last no more than two years. Once begun we think it can be done within that period of time."

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Mitchell: Peace talks can end in 2 years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

US Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume negotiations, in comments made to a US television station Wednesday night. Speaking on the "Charlie Rose" television program on PBS, Mitchell said he believed negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians could be concluded within two years from the moment they begin.

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Sobering up on Arab-Israeli Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Big decisions should never be made after a night of hard drinking or on the basis of wishful thinking. Almost a year into his presidency, Barack Obama has begun to sober up. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the administration's policy on the Arab-Israeli issue, where a series of tactical mistakes (none fatal) have left the president and his team battered but wiser when it comes to what's possible and what's not.

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