When America Forsakes its Palestinian Ally
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Bilal Hassen - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

US planning, European pressure, Arab complacency, and fragility of the Palestinian negotiator; these are the four factors that have made the racist right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, seem as if it is the victorious power that can impose everything it wants in the farce of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

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U.S. warns Israel, Palestinians: Refrain from harming peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - August 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama administration expects Israel to refrain from making any move that could potentially damage peace talks with the Palestinians once they begin, United States Middle East envoy George Mitchell has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mitchell conveyed the same message to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In recent days, Abbas has made clear that if Israel renews building in West Bank settlements, after a 10-month freeze on settlement construction on September 27, the Palestinian Authority will abandon the direct peace talks.

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Negotiations lack clear terms of reference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The recent US-led efforts to resume direct talks, that ended with the two sides agreeing to renew direct negotiations, reminded many observers of US efforts to establish a peace process and Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in the early 1990s, then described as "constructive ambiguity".

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In response to vague talks, Jewish groups deliver vague message
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Two weeks before their launch, the promised renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has already engendered a first: a joint statement of welcome by mainstream U.S. Jewish and Palestinian groups. "We congratulate the Obama administration on succeeding in getting direct negotiations back on track," said a statement issued jointly on Friday by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Task Force on Palestine. "Both parties must now show courage, flexibility and persistence in order to move towards a negotiated end of conflict agreement."

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MESS Report / PLO must cease climbing trees too high to climb down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Blog) August 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to resume direct negotiations with Israel on September 2 in Washington without any of his preconditions being met. Israel has not promised to end construction in the settlements, and the Quartet's statement does not even mention this issue. Contrary to the demand that the Quartet's announcement would constitute the framework for the talks, U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell was quick to make it clear this is not the way things will be.

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Israelis and Palestinians to Resume Talks, Officials Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to announce Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will return to direct negotiations for the first time in 20 months, delivering the Obama administration a small victory in its protracted effort to revive the Middle East peace process, two officials briefed on the situation said Thursday evening. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, have agreed to place a one-year time limit on the talks, these officials said.

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Direct Mideast talks set to resume
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - August 16, 2010 - 12:00am

After months of quiet U.S. diplomacy, Israeli and Palestinian leaders appear poised to announce a resumption of direct peace talks, perhaps as early as this week. Nearly two years after the last round of talks broke off, U.S. and allied officials in recent days cleared the final hurdle by persuading Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to take a seat at the negotiating table, officials say.

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Abbas, Mubarak, Abdullah to meet in Cairo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 12, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will sit for a tripartite meeting in Cairo on Thursday, an aide to Abbas said. In a Wednesday statement published on the governmental news agency WAFA, Abbas’ political adviser Nimer Hammad said officials would discuss the US call to start direct negotiations. Earlier in the day, Abbas met with Mubarak in a one-on-one meeting in Cairo.

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Palestinians receive U.S. approval of proposal of reference for direct talks with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Osama Radi - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior official revealed on Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership received a preliminary approval from the United States over a proposal that the Quartet committee for peace in the Middle East issue a statement defining a reference for direct peace talks with Israel. Hana Amira, member of Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua that U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell informed President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that the U.S. has accepted in principle the proposal that the Quartet Committee issues the statement.

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Netanyahu rejects peace talks based on 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - August 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rejected a Palestinian demand that direct negotiations be based on a statement by the Quartet confirming its position that the future Palestinian state will be based on the 1967 borders. Meeting in Jerusalem with U.S. envoy George Mitchell, Netanyahu repeated his demand for the renewal of direct talks without preconditions. Mitchell briefed Netanyahu on his meeting on Tuesday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and gave the prime minister the Palestinian proposal.

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