No sign impasse is resolved as Clinton ends Mideast trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - September 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday wrapped up three days of intense Middle East diplomacy that produced good atmospherics but no sign that an impasse over Israeli settlement construction has been resolved. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said before meeting with Clinton in this West Bank city that both sides recognize there is "no alternative" to continuing peace efforts. But he gave little sign that he is willing to keep talks going after a partial moratorium on Israeli construction expires Sept. 30.

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Clinton wraps up Israeli, Palestinian talks - for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - September 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday wrapped up three days of intense Middle East diplomacy that produced good atmospherics but no sign that an impasse over Israeli settlement construction has been resolved. "We all know that there is no alternative to peace other than negotiating peace, so we have no alternative but to continue peace efforts," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said before meeting with the chief U.S. diplomat in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

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Is George Mitchell in the Middle East, or Northern Ireland?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) September 16, 2010 - 12:00am

A dozen years ago, former senator George Mitchell helped to broker a peace accord, the "Good Friday agreement," between warring Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. The Irish still appear to be grateful. But I'm not so sure about Israelis and Palestinians -- who appear to be doomed to listen to Mitchell draw parallels between their conflict and that of the Irish at every possible opportunity.

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Israel-Palestinian talks end without settlement deal: What happens next?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 16, 2010 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left the Middle East on Thursday with no sign of a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, despite three days of intensive mediation. The key sticking point is an unresolved dispute over Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. Only two weeks remain before Israel's settlement freeze expires. With Palestinians threatening to quit the talks if construction resumes, negotiators have a fast-closing window – one filled with a cluster of Jewish holidays – to come up with an end game.

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Clinton stresses urgency of Mideast talks despite focus on settlement moratorium
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler<br /> - September 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, making her first plunge into Middle East peacemaking, said she will prod Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week to press forward with talks, even with the Israeli moratorium on settlements expiring this month.

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Why the Israeli 'consensus' on settlements is not so simple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick<br /> - September 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Responding to calls from President Barack Obama to extend an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted this weekend for the first time that he's open to new limits on building after the Sept. 26 expiration.

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Obama, Clinton call on US Jews, Muslims to back talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama indicated he understood recent Palestinian statements threatening to quit the peace process and rejecting compromise as political posturing, according to rabbis on a White House conference call Tuesday. Obama, who spoke with rabbis of various denominations in a call marking Rosh Hashanah, was asked by a participant about comments from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas perceived in Israel as hostile to the negotiating process he launched with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just last Thursday.

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Clinton: There may never be another chance for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - September 8, 2010 - 12:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated the American administration's optimism as to Israeli-Palestinian peace process' chances of success Wednesday. Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton said that she believed the "pessimists" were wrong to think the talks were doomed to fail. Peace can be achieved, she said, if the parties will overcome "initial obstacles" – a clear hint the settlement freeze set to end on September 26. The Palestinians have already threatened to walk away from the negotiating table should Israel resume its settlement activity.

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Michael Oren, making the case for Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Michael Oren outlines what may be his toughest assignment: Making the case to a skeptical public for a leader who's hard to pin down. Pitching Bibi to the Americans? No, that's an easy one. The real problem for the Israeli ambassador to Washington is how to make Israelis understand President Obama. "Obama often doesn’t get the credit he deserves in Israel," Oren said in a pre-Rosh Hashanah interview with the U.S. Jewish media. "I think it’s important at some point that he visits us."

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President Obama flexes muscles
Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

The launch of new direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders Thursday was the result of a rare flexing of U.S. muscle by President Barack Obama, whose extended hand has left him fewer opportunities for foreign policy chest thumping than his predecessor had. The Obama administration was able to force two reluctant adversaries to put tricky domestic politics aside and agree to show up for an unpredictable, unscripted series of meetings every two weeks, the next to be held in Egypt on September 14-15.

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