Palestinian leaders foresee bleak future
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

It must be assumed that the discussion at the somewhat reluctantly and hastily arranged meeting in Washington last night between Barack Obama, the US president, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, would have focused almost exclusively on the future of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

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Prospects for peace against the wall
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

It was moving to see a group of Palestinians tear down a section of the separation wall on Monday. They were sending a message to the Israelis: the Palestinians will not disappear just because you can no longer see them. Unfortunately, Israel doesn’t appear to be in the listening mood.

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Obama-Netanyahu talks see no result
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The latest attempt by the US president to salvage the Middle East peace talks appears to have come to nothing after his meeting with Israel's prime minister ended with only a brief statement from the White House. Binyamin Netanyahu left the White House on Monday after spending an hour and forty minutes inside with Barack Obama, without making the customary public appearance with his host. A brief White House statement said that the two leaders discussed a number of bilateral issues, including Iran and "how to move forward on Middle East peace".

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Abbas isn't finished just yet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Sami Moubayed - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The last thing Mahmoud Abbas needed was a pat on the back from his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres, shortly after announcing that he would not seek another term as president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

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Succeeding Abbas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The latest visit of Mohammed Dahlan in Amman has triggered much speculation among pundits and politicians over what he is up to. Indeed, he is not an ordinary senior Palestinian official but a very controversial politician, one that many Jordanians and Palestinians accuse of taking a leading role in cracking down on Hamas.

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We should give credit where it's due on Abbas' firm stance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

With all the talk about Palestinian polls, President Mahmoud Abbas refusing to run and a possible unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, one thing remains constant – the undeterred growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it is these settlements that will render all of the above completely irrelevant if they are not stopped and dismantled in line with what they are: illegal.

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Mr. President, take Mideast heat or get out of the kitchen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

When Barack Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize next month in Oslo, Norway, one thing seems clear: It won't be in recognition of his skill in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace. For much of the past year, the administration has wandered around the not-so-Holy Land without clear direction, an accurate understanding of Israelis and Palestinians, or an effective strategy. But all is not lost. The past 10 months could be, to use the president's words, a teachable moment, and with the right lessons learned, maybe, just maybe, the president could get back on track. The lessons:

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Palestinian Authority’s Future Is in Question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am

The collapse of the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s negotiating partner, was raised as a possibility on Monday, as several aides to its president, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow. If the Palestinian leader steps down, does this mean the peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians are over?

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As Netanyahu meets Obama, Israel ex-general offers Hamas talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am

Shaul Mofaz, a leading opposition politician in Israel whose former posts include both army chief of staff and defense minister, said Sunday he has a plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace – and he's willing to talk to Hamas to secure it. "I will also speak with the devil, if it will bring peace to the state of Israel," Mofaz reiterated Monday during a visit to Sderot, which has often been the target of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. "And if Hamas is chosen in elections to head the Palestinian Authority ... I am ready to speak with them."

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From settlement freeze to baby steps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am

The Obama administration tried to jump start the Israel-Arab peace process and inject new energy into additional areas of US activity in the Middle East by instituting a settlement freeze in the West Bank. Regardless of the words Obama's people have chosen to soften the impact, this initiative has failed. The immediate fallout is the apparent resignation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and an inability to get final status negotiations moving again.

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