Israel arrests staff from British consulate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli authorities have arrested two locally hired workers at the British consulate general in Jerusalem who were reportedly linked to a plot to attack a stadium, the Foreign Office in London said. "I can confirm that two members of the local staff at the consulate general in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "We understand from reports that they have been charged with the illegal sale of weapons and we are seeking confirmation of these charges. It is an ongoing legal process."

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Abed Rabbo: Peace process may die if doesn't get boost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
December 20, 2010 - 1:00am

The peace process is frozen but it might die if it does not get a real boost, top PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo said during an interview aired Monday on Army Radio. Abed Rabbo added that US Mideast envoy George Mitchell "did not bring us any new proposal" during his last visit to the region, following a deadlock in negotiations. "We submitted a complete portfolio to the Americans about our perceptions on the issue of borders and security, and we expect the Israelis to do the same," the Palestinian negotiator said.

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US focus on framework agreement in peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - December 16, 2010 - 1:00am

George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, said yesterday that he hoped to make "real progress" in peace talks, even as media reports suggested that the Palestinians may be disappointed with Washington's efforts so far. Mr Mitchell met in Cairo with Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, on the third day of his visit to the region. "In the days ahead our discussions with both sides will be substantive, two-way conversations with an eye towards making real progress in the next few months on the key questions of an eventual framework agreement," he said.

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Israel Doesn’t Need the West Bank To Be Secure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Martin van Creveld - (Opinion) December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

When everything is said and done, how important is the West Bank to Israel’s defense?

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Obstructing a Middle East Rescue Effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Daniel Levy - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Special Middle East envoy George Mitchell is back in the region conducting his shuttle diplomacy, settlement construction continues apace and the much-anticipated speech of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to avoid hard choices. It’s business as usual, so presumably we can all relax — Israel has dodged another peace bullet. No so fast. I would suggest that recent events should have sent the gevalt-o-meter into the red zone for anyone concerned about Israel’s future or shared American-Israeli interests.

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The Palestinians must not repeat their mistake of 1947
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

For the time being, the United States has mercifully stopped the embarrassing haggling about the settlement freeze. While Obama’s administration officially says that it will continue to look for ways of reviving the peace process, it is probably realizing what has been fairly clear since Benjamin Netanyahu chose to form a coalition with his "natural" partners, Avigdor Lieberman and Shas: this government is unable and unwilling to deliver an agreement with the Palestinians.

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Barak: Without peace deal, Israel will deteriorate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - December 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday morning said that without a peace deal with the Palestinians, Israel's situation will deteriorate and the delegitimization campaigns in the third world will increase, Israel Radio reported. Barak called this a danger no less than Hizbullah, in an interview with Tom Brokaw, according to the report. “We will have serious discussions in the coming month on security, borders, Jerusalem, refugees,” the defense minister told reporters in Washington Monday. “The mechanisms will be resolved in the coming weeks.”

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An end to the occupation first
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 13, 2010 - 1:00am

Like every year-end, once again they're promising that the next 12 months will be "a decisive year." Fact: Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that in August 2011, when Prime Minister Salam Fayyad finishes building institutions in the West Bank, the United Nations will recognize the Palestinian state.

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'Our lives became something we'd never dreamt': The former Israeli soldiers who have testified against army abuses
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Book Review) December 12, 2010 - 1:00am

For anyone who has covered Israel, the West Bank and Gaza over the past few years, reading "Occupation of the Territories," the new book from the Israeli ex-soldiers organisation Breaking the Silence, can be an eerily evocative experience.

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Israel faces tougher line from EU after former heads call for Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Chris McGreal, Harriet Sherwood - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Twenty-six European grandees have urged the EU to adopt a tougher stance towards Israel including taking "concrete measures" and exacting "consequences" over continued settlement building on occupied land, which they say is illegal under international law.

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