Eminently possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

George Mitchell, the US envoy to the region with a special brief to kick-start meaningful talks between Palestinians and Israelis, has his work cut out for him.

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US envoy meets Israeli officials
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The US special envoy to the Middle East is meeting senior Israeli officials in an attempt to kickstart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. George Mitchell met Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, on Thursday and will meet Benyamin Netanyahu, the country's prime minister, later in the day. Mitchell is also expected to discuss progress on peace negotiations with Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition Kadima party. Shortly after arriving in the country on Wednesday evening, Mitchell met Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister. Commitment urged

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What is Left of Egypt's Mediation between the Palestinians?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Analysis) April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

If there was any hope for negotiations between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo to reach an agreement that would end the state of division between the Palestinians, such a hope has become less likely today as a result of the repercussions of the exchange of smear campaigns between the Egyptian government and Hezbollah, on the background of the cell arrested by the Egyptians, who claim that it had been planning activities that pose a threat to Egypt's security.

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Mitchell urges two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The US president Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy today told Israel’s ultranationalist foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, that Washington wants to see the creation of a Palestinian state. With Mr Libeerman at his side, George Mitchell told reporters: “I reiterated to the foreign minister that US policy favours, with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a two-state solution which will have a Palestinian state living in peace alongside the Jewish state of Israel. “We look forward also to efforts to achieving comprehensive peace throughout the region.”

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Obama envoy holds talks in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

George Mitchell reiterated Washington's support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in talks with the Israeli president and foreign minister. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the diplomatic process was at a "dead end" and a new approach was needed. Mr Mitchell is due to have dinner with Mr Netanyahu later on Thursday. He will then travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leaders on Friday. The US envoy has arrived in Israel to a changed political landscape, says the BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem.

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Lieberman to Mitchell: Past Mideast peace efforts failed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar, Amos Harel - April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday told special U.S. envoy George Mitchell that a different approach was needed to solve the Middle East conflict, because that of past Israeli governments had failed. "New ideas" must be found, because the path taken by previous governments did not lead to "good places, to say the least," Lieberman told Mitchell, who arrived in Israel Wednesday night. This was Mitchell's third round of talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah since his appointment, and the first during the tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Advertisement

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Obama envoy Mitchell to ask PM to clarify position on peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar, Amos Harel - April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell arrived last night in Israel for the third round of talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah since his appointment, and the first during the tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mitchell is expected to ask the prime minister during their meeting today to clarify Israel's position regarding the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians and Syria.

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Beyond a two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Statesman
by Edward Platt - (Opinion) April 16, 2009 - 12:00am

When Binyamin Netanyahu finally announced the make-up of his coalition government on 30 March, two of the most important posts went to figures from opposing ends of the political spectrum – the Labour leader Ehud Barak retained his job as minister of defence, and the leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu (“Israeli Home”) party, Avigdor Lieberman, became foreign minister. Such a broad coalition, born of Israel’s system of proportional representation, will generate a stalemate in the domestic arena, and it is hard to see it making much progress in foreign affairs.

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Mitchell due to arrive in Israel on second leg of Mideast trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - April 15, 2009 - 12:00am

The United States envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell was due to arrive in Israel Wednesday on the second leg of his Middle East trip. Mitchell has already met with a number of Arab leaders during the trip in an effort to revive stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. After meeting with Morocco's foreign minister, Taieb Fassi Fihri, Mitchell reiterated his country's commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict, something that Israel's new government has so far refrained from explicitly backing.

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Bibi’s ‘Economic Peace’ Faces Key Test at Quarries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Jeffay - April 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Complaints over Israel’s conduct on Palestinian land are well-known. Less commonly heard, however, is the accusation that Israel is actually removing the land. “How is it that they are taking our land to Israel?” asked Ibrahim Abder, a Palestinian man standing at a stone quarry near his home a few miles south of Bethlehem during an interview with the Forward.

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