'PM agrees to 9-month W. Bank freeze'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - September 18, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to a West Bank settlement freeze of nine months, and not the previously agreed six, Army Radio quoted Jerusalem sources as saying Friday. The reported deal came in a meeting with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, during which the possibility was also raised of Israel making additional moves to ease Palestinians' lives in order to try and convince Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet Netanyahu and resume the peace process.

»

US envoy faces stalemate over settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - September 18, 2009 - 12:00am

A burst of shuttle diplomacy by President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy today did not produce immediate results, with Palestinian and Israeli leaders still at odds over terms for resuming direct talks. An Israeli official said after envoy George Mitchell met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem that Israel might freeze settlements in the West Bank for longer than the six months it previously suggested, but not for as long as a year.

»

Time running out on US deal to suspend Jewish settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

The clock is ticking for George Mitchell. The top US envoy to the Middle East yesterday again failed to reach agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on a suspension of Jewish settlement construction in occupied territory that Palestinians want for their future state.

»

Time ripe to take on the lobby
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel’s halcyon days of impunity are coming to a close. At long last the world’s movers and shakers have come to realise that Israel is an instigator of violence and an obstacle to peace in this region.

»

US to extend settlement talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

He has held an extra unscheduled meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with another due on Friday. The US is seeking a moratorium on settlement building that would be acceptable to the Palestinian side. It hopes to re-launch peace talks with a Israeli-Palestinian-US summit at the UN General Assembly later this month. Bilateral talks have been suspended since December and Mr Mitchell has spoken of his "sense of urgency" to get them resume them. 'Positive conclusion'

»

Parties bargain ahead of peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Like its predecessors in trying to solve the vexing riddle of Middle East peace, the Obama administration has sought to manage expectations for progress. But despite the best efforts of Washington, parties on all sides of the conflict now anticipate an early moment of truth for the young administration: the possibility that President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce an agreement next week, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting, to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

»

No Deal, but Middle East Envoy Sets Further Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Obama administration’s special representative to the Middle East, George J. Mitchell, was set to leave Israel on Wednesday without agreement on a settlement freeze. But he was expected to return Friday to press his efforts to pave the way for resumed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Over the past two days, Mr. Mitchell has held two private meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as talks with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. Officials here indicated that he had not persuaded the two sides to restart the stalled talks.

»

While Ramallah prospers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ilana Hammerman - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

There is new life in the West Bank, according to reports in the press. Freedom of movement, successful commerce, nightlife. Many Israelis certainly feel pride, especially the humanists among them.

»

Peace in the Middle East is possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Benny Morris is one of today's most serious and disturbing pessimists about peace in the Middle East, because he used to be a card-carrying leftist and has been instrumental in uncovering Israel's role in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem in 1948. He reaffirms his pessimism in a recent article in the Guardian, and says Barack Obama is taking on mission impossible; that his attempt at renewing the peace process is doomed to failure.

»

Israeli peace groups target US fundraising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - September 15, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli peace activists are planning to ratchet up their campaign against groups in the United States that raise money for settlers by highlighting how tax exemptions are helping to fund the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Gush Shalom, a small peace group that advocates Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, is preparing to send details to the US tax authorities questioning the charitable status of several organisations.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017