How to Break the Mideast Deadlock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab-Israeli peace process is frozen solid. A breakthrough would require something far bolder and more imaginative than the president articulating another set of sterile American policy positions. But a bolder proposal — outlined below — has a high risk of failure and may be well beyond the will or capacity of the United States to achieve. Given the current turbulence in the Arab world, the smart money on such a risky venture — or on any peace initiative — would be to wait at least until after U.S. elections in November 2012.

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In Obama’s push for Mideast peace, whose side is he on?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) March 27, 2011 - 12:00am

So far what some are calling the Arab Spring has brought Israel the first terrorist bombing in Jerusalem in seven years and the first significant missile attacks from the Gaza Strip in two years. And that, for the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, is likely to be the easy part. The hard part will be managing Barack Obama.

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US Senators urge EU to keep Hamas on terror list
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - March 17, 2011 - 12:00am

US Senators sent a letter to the EU Thursday urging that Hamas not be taken off its terror list following The Jerusalem Post’s report that the PA was lobbying for such a change. “We urge you to encourage the Palestinian Authority to put more pressure on Hamas to renounce violence, recognize the Jewish State of Israel and accept all prior agreements, rather than pursuing diplomatic schemes that undermine the peace process,” stated the letter. It was co-authored by Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida), and signed by 14 other colleagues from both sides of the aisle.

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The Myth of the Arab Street
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bookforum.com
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) March 11, 2011 - 1:00am

With the recent wave of popular uprisings in the Middle East, Western observers have had the chance to face up to an important realization: that the oldest of clichés about Middle Eastern politics, "the Arab street," is both a pernicious myth and a dynamic reality. For decades, Orientalist stereotypes about Arab culture and attitudes imbued this so-called street—a crude and monolithic metaphor for Arab public opinion and popular political sentiment—with almost uniformly negative connotations, which would then segue into dire warnings about the consequences of its eruption.

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The Myth of the Arab Street
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Bookforum.com - March 11, 2011 - 1:00am

With the recent wave of popular uprisings in the Middle East, Western observers have had the chance to face up to an important realization: that the oldest of clichés about Middle Eastern politics, "the Arab street," is both a pernicious myth and a dynamic reality. For decades, Orientalist stereotypes about Arab culture and attitudes imbued this so-called street—a crude and monolithic metaphor for Arab public opinion and popular political sentiment—with almost uniformly negative connotations, which would then segue into dire warnings about the consequences of its eruption.

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Palestinians make risky gambit for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian leaders are embarking on a risky statehood strategy that will seek to isolate Israel's hawkish government in the international community and rely less on U.S. backing, a move that reflects growing disappointment here with the Obama administration. The campaign will include U.N. resolutions such as one proposed last month on Israeli settlement building, boycotts against Israeli products, complaints in international courts and attempts to win formal recognition from as many countries as possible, Palestinian officials say.

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Israel can't use force against the next Palestinian uprising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Menachem Klein - (Editorial) March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

If the South Sudanese and East Timorese gained independence before the Palestinians, something went seriously wrong. How can one compare these places to the religious and international standing of Palestine? This must be the thinking of any Palestinians who have calculated their private profit and loss columns since the Oslo Accords.

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Washington must not be a global policeman or dictators' patron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ziad Asali - March 4, 2011 - 1:00am

The current uprisings in the Arab world demand a reassessment of current policy by all countries, especially the United States. One expects heightened demands for democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and regular elections, as well as a commitment to the people of the Middle East that their rights and aspirations will be properly reflected. It would not be surprising if all these demands were packaged as part of an initiative to address the Palestinian-Israel conflict and the establishment of a state of Palestine.

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Washington must not be a global policeman or dictators' patron
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star - March 4, 2011 - 1:00am

The current uprisings in the Arab world demand a reassessment of current policy by all countries, especially the United States. One expects heightened demands for democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and regular elections, as well as a commitment to the people of the Middle East that their rights and aspirations will be properly reflected. It would not be surprising if all these demands were packaged as part of an initiative to address the Palestinian-Israel conflict and the establishment of a state of Palestine.

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Palestinians may be looking for peace beyond Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Schachter - (Editorial) March 4, 2011 - 1:00am

President Barack Obama has spoken more forcefully than any of his predecessors about the importance of a Palestinian state. His eagerness to advance that goal undoubtedly influenced his introduction of the unprecedented and unrealistic position ? then adopted by the Palestinian Authority ? to make a total Israeli construction freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem a precondition for further peace negotiations ?(though progress was scant following an earlier freeze?).

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