Barak: Settlements are part of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Tal Rabinovsky - December 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with four West Bank council heads in his office on Wednesday, and stressed to them that "the settlement blocs are an inseparable part of Israel in all future negotiations with the Palestinians. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea are regions that are dear to my heart." Present at the meeting were Alfei Menashe Council head Hasdai Eliezer, Megilot Council head Mutzi Dahman, head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council David David Elhayani, and Oranit Council head Shumi Langer.

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Breakthrough or more of the same?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) December 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Ever since the announcement by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he will not run in the next Palestinian presidential elections, political circles in Palestine have been witnessing a sort of paralysis. Gone are the daily meetings in Ramallah’s muqatta with foreign leaders, and gone are the almost daily statements by US, Israeli and Palestinian officials. Naturally, with the presidency in deep freeze, the Palestinian issue has been dropped from the headlines. Except for a brief moment when a prisoner exchange appeared to be happening, Palestine has become a nonstory.

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UN expresses solidarity with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Members of the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People discussed the status of Palestinians and the ongoing Israeli occupation on Monday as the UN observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concerns over the failure to resume peace talks based on a two state solution for over a year and further called on Israel and Palestinian authorities to conduct immediate investigations into allegations of grave human rights violations committed in Gaza during Israel’s Operation Cast Led last year.

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Magazine names Fayyad one of 100 top global thinkers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was ranked 61 on the American magazine Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers list published this week. Fayyad earned his spot, the report said, "for showing how to govern effectively in the middle of a conflict." Summing up his contribution to global leadership, the magazine wrote:

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Israel decries proposed E.U. stance on East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel on Tuesday criticized a proposed statement by the European Union recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state -- part of the country's growing resistance to efforts to pressure it into reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians in the absence of direct, U.S.-sponsored talks. The draft statement, which the Israeli daily Haaretz published Tuesday, is to be considered by E.U. foreign ministers next week. Its first point calls for establishment of a Palestinian state "with East Jerusalem as its capital."

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We have the building blocks for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Akiva Tor - (Opinion) December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel and the Palestinian Authority need to renew negotiations immediately to achieve permanent peace between our peoples. Considering the fundamental points of agreement between us, it is frustrating that for the better part of a year we have not managed to sit down and move forward toward peace: -- We both believe that Israel and a Palestinian state should live alongside each other in peace, security and economic well-being. -- We both understand that the best future for our children requires that we make painful concessions to accommodate each other's essential national aims.

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Spoilers: The End of the Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from World Affairs Journal
by Elliott Abrams, Michael Singh - December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Typically, explanations for the lack of progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians revolve around disagreements over the “core issues,” insufficient diplomatic activism and pressure on Israel from the United States, and Israeli intransigence. Such views share one premise: that Israeli bargaining power overwhelms that of the Palestinians and must be compensated for by action on the part of the international community.

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Jewish Nationalists Clash With Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Jewish nationalists and Palestinians clashed in an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday after the Israelis took over a house by court order in a predominantly Arab area. The confrontation further strained tensions in this contested city, where competing Israeli and Palestinian claims have become a sticking point in the Obama administration’s efforts to restart peace talks.

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Israel rejects European Union plan to divide Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - December 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's foreign ministry said Tuesday that a Swedish-led push for the European Union to call for the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state would trip up Europe's own efforts to play a role in Middle East peacemaking.

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Israel settlers obstruct building curbs inspectors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
December 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Groups of settlers, who have vowed to ignore the curbs, gathered at the entrance to one settlement and said they had forced inspectors to leave. A government official said there had been some "low level friction". The Palestinians say Israel's 10-month building pause is not enough and are refusing to restart peace talks. The building restrictions do not apply to East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want to locate the capital of their future state. 'Without violence'

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