Many American Jews support President Obama's proposed settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Seattle Times
by Richard Silverstein - (Editorial) September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Over the past few months, the Obama administration has urged Israel to accept a settlement freeze as a means of showing good faith toward its Palestinian neighbors in negotiating peace. The freeze is important because 300,000 Israeli settlers live beyond the Green Line and they have poisoned the political atmosphere and prevented the parties from negotiating in earnest.

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U.S. Mideast efforts impaired amid Palestinian, Israeli infighting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Power struggles and partisan frictions within Israel and among the Palestinians have become a hindrance to the peace efforts in the region, including an on-going Mideast tour by U.S. envoy George Mitchell. Mitchell, who arrived in Israel on Saturday, expected to strike a deal during his visit on an Israeli settlement freeze and revival of the stalled peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.

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Israel: Won't accept 'complete freeze' on settlement building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that there will not be a complete freeze on settlement building and that building in Jerusalem will proceed as usual. "The Palestinians expect a complete halt to building; it is now clear that this will not happen," Netanyahu said, "Jerusalem is not a settlement and the building [there] will continue as normal." While speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset, Netanyahu spoke about progress made in regards to the peace process as well as the U.S. demand to freeze building beyond Israel's Green Line.

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PM aide: 3-way summit important
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

The success of US special envoy George Mitchell's visit to Israel will be measured by whether or not it leads to the scheduling of a three-way summit between US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the UN General Assembly in New York next week. As of yet, it remains unclear whether such a meeting will take place, and both parties are still in talks with Mitchell on a construction freeze in West Bank settlements, and goodwill gestures on the part of the Palestinians and the Arab world.

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US envoy has hopes for settlement deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

George Mitchell, the top US envoy to the Middle East, said yesterday that he hoped to conclude an agreement with Israel on a possible freeze of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank this week to help spur the renewal of peace talks. Mr Mitchell, who arrived in Israel on Saturday, said after a meeting with Shimon Peres, the Israeli president: “While we have not yet reached agreement on many outstanding issues, we are working hard to do so, and indeed the purpose of my visit here this week is an attempt to do so.”

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Normalisation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Nermeen Murad - (Opinion) September 14, 2009 - 12:00am

I don’t know exactly when and how the word “normalisation” came to signify visiting occupied Palestinian land or dealing with Palestinians. Ever since I can remember I have heard or read statements from professional associations lambasting one party or another for “normalising”. Of course I have yet to hear these professional associations lead a campaign on anything that has to do with their mandate as unions representing the rights of professionals, but that is another story for another day.

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Israel PM, Egypt president to talk peace in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Patrick Moser - September 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's hawkish premier heads to Cairo on Sunday for talks focused on a US-led push to revive the Middle East peace process amid charges that his settlement policies are harming the efforts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will "discuss the peace process and issues of mutual concern," a spokesman for the premier said. Netanyahu "is looking forward to a good meeting with the Egyptian president," the spokesman said without giving further details.

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A Peace Process Momentum Plan to Move Quickly to Actual Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Samuel Lewis, Edward Walker - (Analysis) September 11, 2009 - 12:00am

After his major speeches in Turkey and Egypt, President Obama established his ownership of the Arab-Israeli issue. With countries in the region testing whether he has the wherewithal to deliver the goods, his challenge is to keep the momentum going forward on an almost daily basis with practical steps and leadership. The President needs to create a "peace process momentum plan" leading to negotiations by mid-fall, which recent reports suggest he is trying to do through his Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, who is traveling to Israel again at the end of the week.

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US Envoy to hold three days of talks with Palestinian, Israeli leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 11, 2009 - 12:00am

US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell is set to start three days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders Sunday in an effort to prepare the region for potential peace talks, the US State Department said.

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Obama's impossible ambition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Benny Morris - (Opinion) September 11, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's efforts to revive the Middle East peace process are bound to fail because of the unbridgeable divide separating Israel's and Palestine's political goals. The minor problems are Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's unwillingness to partition Jerusalem and enable the Palestinians to constitute the eastern half of the city as their capital, and his reluctance to freeze the settlement enterprise in the West Bank.

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