Focus Is on Obama as Tensions Soar Across Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Helene Cooper - May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Few game-changing proposals are emerging to defuse tensions in the Middle East as a busy week of diplomacy unfolds with President Obama’s address to the region and his meeting with Israel’s prime minister. Against the backdrop of Middle East uprisings that have intensified animus toward Israel and growing momentum for global recognition of a Palestinian state, American and Israeli officials are struggling to balance national security interests against the need to adapt to a transformative movement in the Arab world.

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Obama's draft speech to urge '67 borders, negate PA's state bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama is set to give his next political speech at 6pm Thursday, just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves for Washington and according to a draft of the speech, obtained by Yedioth Ahronoth, the American president's Middle East policy, though unwavering, may not be as discordant as some have feared. Obama is expected to urge Israel to return to the 1967 lines while negating the Palestinian Authority's planned unilateral bid for statehood in September.

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Obama says Mideast peace bid needed more than ever
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Matt Spetalnick - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the political upheaval sweeping the Arab world made it "more vital than ever" to revive long-stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah at the start of a week of intense Middle East diplomacy, Obama pledged to keep pressing for a two-state solution to the conflict, despite his failed efforts so far and dim prospects for a renewed peace drive.

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Mideast peace is bigger than a lone mediator
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) May 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Five years after the Arab League chief Amr Moussa announced that the Middle East peace process was "dead", another blow has befallen the long-vexing struggle between Israel and the Palestinians. George Mitchell, the skilled US diplomat and veteran negotiator, tendered his resignation on Friday, becoming the latest victim in this intractable conflict.

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Obama plans address on Middle East after Arab spring, death of bin Laden
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yahoo News
by Laura Rozen - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama plans to give a major speech on the dramatic shifts underway in the Middle East and North Africa, White House officials said today.

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Less of America, now, for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

Much of the American-Israeli reaction to the reconciliation agreement that the leading Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas signed last week has focused on what this means for the peace process with Israel. Not surprisingly, much of this same American-Israeli reaction to Palestinian issues once again misses the point.

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Pro & Con: Should the U.S. support the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Atlanta Journal Constitution
by Jimmy Carter - (Opinion) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

This is a decisive moment. Palestine’s two major political movements — Fatah and Hamas — have signed a reconciliation agreement that will permit both to contest elections for the presidency and legislature within a year. If the U.S. and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that can make a secure peace with Israel. If they remain aloof or undermine the agreement, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory may deteriorate with new violence against Israel.

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U.S.: Israel's decision to withhold PA funds 'premature'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - May 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States slammed Monday Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian Authority funds saying "any decision following the Hamas-Fatah agreement is premature.” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner admitted that the Israelis “have their concerns,” but stressed that that the U.S. government's position is that “we believe that we need to wait and see. We believe it's premature to make any decisions. What's important now is that the Palestinians ensure implementation in a way that advances the prospects of peace."

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Abbas meets J Street reps in Ramallah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - May 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with a J Street delegation in Ramallah on Sunday and addressed various political issues. Abbas said that the two-state solution can not be achieved without first securing Palestinian national unity. The Palestinian president stressed that the Palestinian Authority is willing to immediately resume peace talks with Israel as long as Israel freezes settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

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Clinton Leaves Door Open After Palestinian Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Alan Cowell - May 5, 2011 - 12:00am

A day after the main Palestinian factions signed a unity agreement in Cairo, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton strikingly refused on Thursday to rule out further negotiations with a Palestinian side that includes Hamas, the militant Islamic group that runs Gaza and is defined by many in the West as a terrorist organization. But she reiterated the Obama administration’s call for Hamas to accept basic conditions that included renouncing violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

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