Report: Secret document affirms U.S.-Israel nuclear partnership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's Army Radio reported on Wednesday that the United States has sent Israel a secret document committing to nuclear cooperation between the two countries. According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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ANALYSIS / Obama trying carrot, not stick, on Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Analysis) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

From the White House's perspective, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a constant state of vacillation, evading any decision that could get him into political trouble. United States President Barack Obama is striving to put an end to Netanyahu's hesitations and push him to make the historic decision to withdraw from the occupied territories and establish a Palestinian state in place of the settlements.

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Analysis: President now working with the PM, not against him
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Tuesday's White House meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama was the fifth time the two leaders have met in some 14 months, but only the second time they have issued joint statements and answered questions together. And the difference in Obama's tone on Tuesday, compared to the last time they met the press in the Oval Office in May 2009, was striking.

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President Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu try to mend fences
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to exude a new sense of warmth in their rocky relationship Tuesday as both expressed confidence that the Israeli leader will soon hold direct peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,” said Obama, seated in the Oval Office alongside Netanyahu following their meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes. “We’ve seen over the last year how our relationship has broadened,” Obama added. “In fact, our relationship is continuing to improve.”

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Netanyahu hears no discouraging words from Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Dana Milbank - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

A blue-and-white Israeli flag hung from Blair House. Across Pennsylvania Avenue, the Stars and Stripes was in its usual place atop the White House. But to capture the real significance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit with President Obama, White House officials might have instead flown the white flag of surrender.

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Israel's rocky friendship with Barack Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jeremy Bowen - (Opinion) July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu does not have a great history with the occupants of the Oval Office. He got off to a bad start with Bill Clinton during his first term as Israel's prime minister in the 1990s. After he lectured Mr Clinton about the Arab-Israeli conflict the president was not happy. "Who the heck does he think he is?" he expostulated. "Who's the hecking superpower here?" Only according to the witness, a diplomat called Aaron Miller, he did not say "heck". It is safe to say that Mr Netanyahu's relations with President Obama have been disastrous.

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B'Tselem: Settlements must be evacuated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Forty-two percent of the West Bank is governed by settlement councils, Israeli rights organization B'Tselem revealed in a new settlements study, published Tuesday. Released as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington, the report By Hook and by Crook: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank, uses government reports, Civil Administration maps and military documents to compile a picture of "the mechanisms used to gain Israeli control of land in the West Bank."

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Obama, Netanyahu meet again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Anne E. Kornblut - July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Two months after a tense meeting at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Obama are set to meet on Tuesday with a deceptively simple mission: getting their picture taken together. The public show of unity matters for the delicate Middle East peace process and for domestic political consumption on both sides. Of immediate concern to the Democratic Party is the effect a perceived rift could have on the midterm elections, as Republicans angle to use any perceived rupture with Netanyahu to argue that Obama is insufficiently committed to Israel.

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Clock is ticking on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Robert Danin - (Opinion) July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy brokered by the United States is rapidly heading toward a September crisis. President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu need to establish a new understanding quickly when they meet Tuesday at the White House or relations between the two governments will remain stormy and efforts to launch direct negotiations will fail.

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What do Palestinians expect from Obama-Netanyahu meeting?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Emad Drimly - July 6, 2010 - 12:00am

On the eve of the scheduled meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, the Middle East peace process and lifting Gaza Strip blockade are the two major issues of deep concerns for the Palestinians. They are seeking an active U.S. intervention in both tracks, while officials and observers see that the White House is standing before a real examination at this moment to achieve a serious progress in the political process and respond to the Palestinian demands.

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