Netanyahu to tell Mitchell: Israel won't accept limits on Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson, Barak Ravid - August 24, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to tell the special U.S. Mideast envoy on Monday that Israel will not accept any limitations on its sovereignty over Jerusalem, and will allow settlers to continue to live in the West Bank. Netanyahu traveled to London on Monday, where he will meet with the U.S. envoy, George Mitchell, in order to continue the discussion on the Obama administration's demands for confidence-building measures between Israel and the Arab world.

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Israel, Palestinians trade blame for peace deadlock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel and the Palestinians on Friday traded blame for failure to resume stalled peace talks after US President Barack Obama renewed his call on both sides to resume negotiations as soon as possible. A senior Israeli official said the Palestinians had rejected repeated calls by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume talks that have been frozen for eight months.

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Taking the Mideast peace plunge
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) August 19, 2009 - 12:00am

One of many problems in making Middle East peace is that no one wants to go first. Decades of injustice, violence, and false promises have sown such distrust that the players look for proof of sincerity from others before considering a move themselves. As a consequence, they all stand frozen, waiting – as if on the shore of a cold lake – for the other one to jump in.

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Obama says Mideast peace process is in a 'rut'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Greg Miller - August 19, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama said Tuesday that the Middle East peace process was in a "rut," and prodded Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to help break an Arab-Israeli standoff that has frustrated the administration's effort to restart talks. "If all sides are willing to move off of the rut that we're in currently, then I think there is an extraordinary opportunity to make real progress," Obama said in an appearance with Mubarak at the White House. "But we're not there yet."

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Obama Sees ‘Positive Steps’ in Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner, David Stout - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama said Tuesday that he saw “movement in the right direction” on the thorny issue of Israeli settlement construction in Palestinian areas, and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a visitor to the White House, said prospects for restarting Middle East peace talks were good.

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Drawing borders is the first step
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 17, 2009 - 12:00am

We still have no real idea of when or what President Obama will present as an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. In the meantime, the Prime Minister's special emissary, Yitzhak Molcho, is off to Washington to try and reach some understandings with the US administration prior to the next meeting between Senator Mitchell and Netanyahu. The rumors floating around suggest that Obama's plan will aim to focus first on setting borders between the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine, now that Netanyahu has accepted the two-state solution.

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US delegates blame Palestinians for no peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The head of a delegation of US Democratic members of Congress blamed the Palestinians on Thursday for failing to hold talks with Israel, calling it the "largest thing" impeding the peace process. "I think the largest thing impeding the negotiations at this point is simply the unwillingness of (Palestinian president Mahmud) Abbas to sit down (with the Israelis)," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem.

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Two opposing trends, the same failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) August 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Two opposing trends were visible in Israel and Palestine on Monday, and one of them must disappear. The Fatah congress in Bethlehem reaffirmed the strategic decision among a majority of Palestinians to seek a negotiated peace with Israel, while a string of senior Israeli officials said that they would continue expanding settlements in East Jerusalem and would not repeat the “mistake” of withdrawing from Gaza.

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Barak Hopeful for talks with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - August 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday he believed negotiations with the Palestinians could progress within weeks. Barak also rejected remarks by Ministers Eli Yishai and Avigdor Lieberman, who spoke in favor of construction in settlements. The defense minister said in closed talks that "there is a good chance to further the peace process" and that "the dialogue with Washington will produce an American plan for an inclusive settlement within weeks".

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Dahlan: No peace talks without deadline
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
August 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Former Palestinian security commander Mohammed Dahlan, who was apparently elected Tuesday to Fatah's Central Committee, said that he would allow no one to negotiate with Israel unless a deadline for peace talks is announced in advance, according to Israel Radio. Fatah elected a group of younger leaders to its top council, according to preliminary voting results. "This election is setting a new future for the movement, a new democratic era," added the 47-year-old Dahlan.

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