Rosen Fires Back in His Law Suit Against AIPAC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

The American Public Affairs Committee has frequently condoned its employees’ receipt of classified information, according to documents filed in federal court by lawyers for Steve Rosen, a former senior official of the pro-Israel lobby. The new court filing, submitted December 15, offers Rosen’s response to claims by AIPAC that he acted improperly by obtaining classified information without the lobby’s knowledge while working on its behalf.

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Obstructing a Middle East Rescue Effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Daniel Levy - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Special Middle East envoy George Mitchell is back in the region conducting his shuttle diplomacy, settlement construction continues apace and the much-anticipated speech of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton managed to avoid hard choices. It’s business as usual, so presumably we can all relax — Israel has dodged another peace bullet. No so fast. I would suggest that recent events should have sent the gevalt-o-meter into the red zone for anyone concerned about Israel’s future or shared American-Israeli interests.

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Congress: PA funding could hinge on state declaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - December 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Members of Congress are warning that American funding of the Palestinian Authority could be threatened by efforts to advance a unilateral declaration of statehood. “Pursuing a non-negotiated path to statehood is a fool’s errand. Palestinians want a state, not a declaration. Their only way to achieve that is through direct negotiations with Israel,” California Democrat Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

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After setback, US resumes Mideast peace push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - December 13, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — The U.S. Mideast envoy returned to the region on Monday, seeking to revive troubled peace efforts after a major setback in which Washington abandoned efforts to coax Israel to freeze Jewish settlement in areas Palestinians want for a future state. The envoy, George Mitchell, was expected to push the Israelis and Palestinians for progress on key issues at the heart of their conflict. But in a reflection of the difficulties ahead, Mitchell was being forced to meet separately with the sides during the two-day visit, and expectations for a breakthrough were low.

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U.S. debates role in Mideast peace effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration's abandonment of a failed strategy for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking has sparked a debate within the White House about what kind of approach — and how much energy — America's overbooked national security team should put into the Middle East effort. The focus of that debate sharpened Thursday as top officials jockeyed to shape a highly anticipated policy speech that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will make Friday night.

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Mitchell will proceed with Mideast talks despite breakdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will head back to the region next week after Obama administration officials vowed Wednesday to continue the push for peace despite a breakdown in direct negotiations.

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Israeli and Palestinian negotiators fault US focus on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The US decision to give up on securing an Israeli settlement freeze has left Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas disappointed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a momentary victory, and observers criticizing the Obama administration's peacemaking strategy. Indeed, analysts and seasoned negotiators see Tuesday's announcement as the end of a mishandled chapter in Arab-Israeli diplomacy, in which Washington's overriding focus on settlements ultimately failed.

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Now that the carrot has not worked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

At the beginning of the latest US-Israel crisis over the issue of settlement freeze, the Americans considered both carrot and stick to “encourage” the Israelis to do the right thing, in accordance with international law.

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UN chief urges Israel to freeze settlements despite failure to reach deal with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Shamir - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The UN Secretary-General publicly chastised the government of Israel on Wednesday for refusing to extend its ten-month moratorium on construction in the settlements of the West Bank that expired in September, calling it a snub to the international community. A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to renew its freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, framing it as an obligation that Israel is avoiding.

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U.S. hurting peace chances by giving up on Israeli settlement freeze, analysts say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration's decision to stop seeking a new Israeli settlement freeze as a way back into talks with the Palestinians has diminished prospects of achieving a peace accord within a year and eroded U.S. credibility in the region, analysts said Wednesday. The decision also represented a belated recognition that even if they had persuaded Israel to renew a construction moratorium in the West Bank for three months, U.S. officials would have faced an even more difficult problem after that expired.

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