Arabs Need to Talk to the Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am

We need fresh thinking if the Arab Peace Initiative is to have the impact it deserves on the crisis that needlessly impoverishes Palestinians and endangers Israel's security. This crisis is not a zero-sum game. For one side to win, the other does not have to lose. The peace dividend for the entire Middle East is potentially immense. So why have we not gotten anywhere?

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Don't worry Netanyahu, Obama peace plan is still far off
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am

The following joke is making the rounds in the Prime Minister's Bureau these days: What do Americans do when something breaks down in their home - when the sink is blocked up, the toilet overflows, a fuse burns out? Simple: They ask Barack Obama to give a speech and the problem is solved.

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Obama to set binding timetable for Israel-PA talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce a diplomatic plan soon for renewal of the Middle East peace process. A central feature of the plan, which will be presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, will be a binding timetable for negotiations on the core issues involved in a final resolution of the conflict. It may also be precluded by an easing of pressure for a building freeze in the settlements on the part of the Unites States.

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Ex-U.S. Diplomat Talks With Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler, Howard Schneider - July 16, 2009 - 12:00am

To Hamas officials Bassem Naim and Mahmoud al-Zahar, a recent meeting in Switzerland with a former senior U.S. diplomat represented an opening in relations with the Obama administration, and a path to easing the Islamist group's isolation. "I hope it will be the beginning of addressing some of the mistakes of the last three years," Naim said of his talks with Thomas R. Pickering, a former undersecretary of state and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "This was a first meeting to investigate the positions in general terms of both parties without any commitment on any side."

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Evading the real issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

There is a disturbing feeling that we could be heading toward a form of an abrupt closure in the Palestine question in the coming few months. Like a silent and deadly perfect storm the elements are lining up and no one really knows when and how the tempest will strike. We appear to be suspended in a state of political inertia, but on the ground the undercurrents are picking up speed.

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Welcome to the Middle East, 2030
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Paul Eedle - (Opinion) July 15, 2009 - 12:00am

What if Barack Obama can make peace between the Arabs and Israel? It's easy to see how he might fail. But what if he succeeds and really does create a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims"? Here is a first draft of history for the next 20 years. The events are fantasy, of course, but the logic is based on four big trends:

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Blair praises Israeli gestures to PA
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
July 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Recent steps taken by Israel to improve the quality of life for Palestinians are not getting enough credit, Mideast envoy Tony Blair said. Blair made the statements at a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Silvan Shalom, minister of Regional Development in Jerusalem, Monday evening, Maariv said Tuesday. Blair praised the recent removal of West Bank checkpoints and roadblocks by Israel and recent steps taken to boost the Palestinian economy, the paper said.

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Arabs must aid US efforts in peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) July 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel, and some American Jews, have been crying foul. Both are claiming that the United States has been leaning too hard on Israel in the peace process, while giving the Palestinians a free pass on their obligations. To counter perceptions of a bias towards the Palestinians, Barack Obama met privately on Monday with 15 American-Jewish leaders at the White House. While he reassured the attendees of the US’s continued support for Israel, the meeting included a pointed message.

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Abbas says he won't meet Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Sunday his refusal to resume peace talks with Israel unless Binyamin Netanyahu's government accepted the two-state solution and agreed to freeze all construction in the settlements in the West Bank. Abbas's remarks came in response to an appeal from Netanyahu made during the Sunday cabinet meeting in which the Israeli prime minister called for the two leaders to revive the stalled peace process. Abbas was speaking to reporters in Ramallah after meeting with visiting Romanian President Traian Basescu.

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Israel must keep much of Golan: Netanyahu aide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel is ready to withdraw from areas of the Golan Heights, but it will not give up large parts of the occupied territory in any peace deal with Syria, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. National Security Adviser Uzi Arad also said in an interview with Haaretz newspaper published on Friday that as part of a statehood deal that settles the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel should be granted NATO membership.

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