US: Israel promised not to build in Ramat Shlomo for 2 years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 9, 2010 - 12:00am

The State Department said the first round of indirect peace talks between Israel and Palestinian authorities have been completed. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement Sunday that US special envoy George Mitchell has left the Middle East after concluding talks characterized as serious and wide-ranging.

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Moment of truth has arrived
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

If ever there was a statement that reflected the true position of Palestinian negotiators and Arab leaders, it was the one made by the Qatari prime minister, Hamad Ben Jasem Al Thani. The statement, made after the Arab follow-up committee gave the PLO the green light to resume indirect negotiations, reflects a pessimistic outlook of peace. "We don’t trust Israel, but we find positive indications on the part of the US mediator," said the Qatari premier, who is also his country's foreign minister.

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Turning the other cheek
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

By choice or coincidence, US President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas find themselves this week in the same boat, thanks to the mischief of Benjamin Netanyahu.The two leaders have turned the other cheek helplessly, seemingly adopting the choice offered in the Christian doctrine, which favours a non-violent response to an aggressor. One explanation of this doctrine, among many, is that to turn the other cheek is not humiliating, but rather aresponse of strength that says “I will not seek revenge because I am stronger than that”.

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Israel lobby part of the debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

One of the fascinating aspects of recent tensions between the American and Israeli governments over Washington’s Middle Eastern diplomacy has been a sea change in the public posture of what is usually called “the Israeli lobby” in the United States. This phrase refers to a very sophisticated, extensive and successful web of American organisations and individuals working to shape American foreign policy so that it favours the prevalent Israeli rather than Arab view of things.

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The friend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The settlers of Pisgat Ze'ev, the intruders of Sheikh Jarrah, the people who covet Silwan, the infiltrators into the Muslim Quarter and you, the mayor of the nationalist city, Nir Barkat, can stop worrying: (All of ) Jerusalem is yours, forever. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel met at the White House with his friend, Barack Obama, on a mission from his other friend, Benjamin Netanyahu, and when he came out he said he had the impression that Obama respected his advice to postpone discussions on Jerusalem.

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US envoy sees indirect Mideast peace talks in days
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States expects to reconvene Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in an indirect format in the coming days, a U.S. spokesman said on Wednesday after the U.S. envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We hope and expect formally to move forward with proximity talks before Senator (George) Mitchell leaves the region on Sunday," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington after Mitchell's three hours of talks with Netanyahu.

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U.S. envoy meets Netanyahu ahead of peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
May 6, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for the second time in two days before the expected start of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The United States hopes the two sides will embark on negotiations in an indirect format in the coming days, a U.S. spokesman said on Wednesday, after the first, three-hour meeting between Netanyahu and Mitchell. Neither side commented on the details of Thursday's meeting.

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On Israel, Jews and Leaders Often Disagree
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Paul Vitello - May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Criticizing Israel has long been the equivalent of touching a third rail in many Jewish families and friendships, relegating disagreements to a conversational demilitarized zone where only the innocent and foolhardy go. “You cannot really engage in that conversation,” said Phillip Moore, a teacher in this Detroit suburb who has embraced strong opinions on many topics in his life — on politics, education, even religion — but avoids the subject of Israel at gatherings of his Jewish relatives.

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Obama advisor: Jerusalem issue at end of talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Just before the start of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Obama administration has indicated that the issue of Jerusalem will be discussed at the end of the talks, and not at the beginning. The US interest in Jerusalem stems from construction plans made public during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region, just a short time before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to meet with US President Barack Obama in the White House.

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White House charm offensive pays off: Wiesel says tension is ‘gone’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

When Elie Wiesel says it's all kosher, it's good. For now, anyway. President Obama capped an intensive two weeks of administration make-nice with Israeli officials and the American Jewish community by hosting Wiesel, the Nobel peace laureate and Holocaust memoirist, for lunch at the White House. "It was a good kosher lunch," was the first thing Wiesel pronounced, emerging from the White House to a gaggle of reporters. And not just the food. "There were moments of tension,” Wiesel said. “But the tension I think is gone, which is good.”

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