Obama Under Siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Mostafa Zein - (Opinion) November 24, 2009 - 1:00am

The neoconservatives in the United States were defeated, but they were victorious in Israel and for Israel. They achieved a single victory during the administration of President George Bush, who spread chaos in the manner of the nihilists, believing, stupidly, that it was the way to spread American values.

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Tribute to Kahane planned by Israeli legislators
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Jonathan Cook - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

A plan by right-wing legislators in Israel to commemorate the anniversary this month of the death of Meir Kahane, whose banned anti-Arab movement is classified as a terrorist organization, risks further damaging the prospects for talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials have warned. A move to stage the commemoration in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is being led by Michael Ben-Ari, who was elected this year and is the first self-declared former member of Kahane's party, Kach, to become a legislator since the movement was banned 15 years ago.

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Editor's Notes: Salam Fayyad builds Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Horovitz - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

To one side stood Sen. Joe Lieberman, the former vice presidential candidate. To the other stood Rep. Howard Berman, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And as these two staunch Jewish supporters of Israel nodded their encouragement, the Palestinian Authority's Prime Minister Salam Fayyad explained at a press conference in Ramallah on Sunday precisely how he was preparing the Palestinians for statehood.

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Dancing with Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Ghassan Charbel - (Opinion) November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu is waging a draining war against Barack Obama. He is attempting to take him on before agreeing with him on a vision for peace. It is a very dangerous game that provokes the feelings of one billion Muslims. It is what President Hosni Moubarak said to Shimon Perez. This implies undermining the opportunity for peace and drowning Israel in isolation due to its excessive embarrassment in front of its friends. The warning came from former President Bill Clinton. Netanyahu is acting like a blind warrior who refuses to read the regional and international situations.

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Obama still has leverage over Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by David Gardner - (Analysis) November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Has Barack Obama made a hash of his Middle East peace diplomacy? That seems to be the verdict of international commentators and – more to the point – of Palestinian leaders in despair at ever getting their own state and an Israeli government exulting that it made the US president blink first. Yet, it is worth stepping outside the hothouse for a minute to examine whether it is that simple: whether Mr Obama will be content to see his ambitious strategy of reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim worlds held hostage by the obdurate obstruction of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

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President Clinton, you're wrong!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoram Ettinger - (Opinion) November 20, 2009 - 1:00am

On November 15, 2009, former President Clinton stated in Jerusalem: "Two things remain unchanged since 1993 – geography and demographics. Palestinians have more children than Israelis can have or import." Clinton's intentions are positive. However, he is mistaken and misleading, while trying to convince Israelis to support a policy (withdrawal to the 1967 lines), which could determine the fate of the Jewish State: Oblivion or survival.

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Obama: Settlement expansion could be ‘dangerous’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

President Obama said additional Israeli settlement building "embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous." In an interview Wednesday with Fox News in China, Obama said Israel's decision to approve the construction of 900 new apartments on the outskirts of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo was not helpful to peace talks.

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Moves against peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

It seems Israel is taking full advantage of the crisis in the peace process to push its anti-peace agenda. Razing houses in East Jerusalem and issuing tenders for another 900 settlement units in illegal settlements, these ones in Gilo, a particularly ugly housing estate near Bethlehem, the Israeli government is continuing to send the kind of unmistakable signals that really ought to leave this country exposed as the pariah state it is.

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Few options left
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The declaration by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he does not wish to run for a second term if and when elections are held has shocked both Israel and the US. His presence at the top of the Palestinian Authority provided them with the cover they needed to pursue their own selfish policies: Israel to continue its colonisation enterprise in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the US to carry on with its longstanding capitulation to the demands of the powerful hardline Zionist lobby, which marches in lockstep with the right-wing Israeli government.

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A disregard for law, and for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The news this week that the Israeli government has approved a further 900 new buildings in an East Jeru­salem settlement deals another hammer blow to the already waning peace process. Not only does the expansion of the Gilo settlement show a complete disregard for international law, it shows once again a preference for expansion over peace on the part of the Israel. In a speech to the Jewish Federation of North America a couple of weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the achievements of the Jewish people.

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