Palestinian despair for peace
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Washington Post (Opinion) - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

It is almost impossible to adequately convey the present degree of Palestinian despair, but the recent announcement that President Mahmoud Abbas might resign and that the rest of the Palestinian Authority leadership may follow -- in effect dissolving the PA -- should provide some indication.

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Palestinian Authority’s Future Is in Question
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The New York Times - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

The collapse of the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s negotiating partner, was raised as a possibility on Monday, as several aides to its president, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow.

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Obama's Middle East Strategy Stalls
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
by Meredith Buel - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

From the beginning of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top foreign policy priority. After nearly 10 months of diplomacy, however, the peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Some Middle East analysts say the failure to make progress is due, at least in part, to missteps made by the Obama administration.

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Washington disappointed: Netanyahu didn't present concrete steps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

The White House expressed disappointment in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington, with officials saying that they had hoped that the prime minister would present a concrete plan to scale back Israeli construction in West Bank settlements, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

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Comment / Obama's good intentions lead nowhere
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

After nine months of gestation, it's not too early to make a preliminary assessment of the Obama administration's foreign policy. The overall feeling is one of disappointment, especially in light of the almost messianic excitement that accompanied his election. It's clear to everyone that U.S. President Barack Obama is not George W. Bush, and the international mood regarding the United States has certainly changed for the better, even in the absence of any real breakthroughs. This is why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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'Israel is an ally, not problem of US'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Senior Israel officials on Wednesday adamantly rejected the latest media speculation over bad blood between Jerusalem and Washington, backed by one US official expressing anger at the Israeli leader's conduct in the past week, which might have brought on the possibly punitive blackout imposed on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's 100-minute talk with US President Barack Obama.

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Top Obama aide upbeat on Middle East peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Steven Stanek - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Even as US-backed peace efforts in the Middle East appear to be losing momentum, the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, told American Jewish community leaders yesterday that the peace process has reached a critical juncture and that both sides should move forward immediately with negotiations. “This moment is fragile. History tells us that nothing stands still in the Middle East,” Mr Emanuel, the son of an Israeli Jew, told the annual gathering of the Jewish Federations of North America, an umbrella group of more than 500 Jewish federations and communities.

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Adieu President Abbas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Osama Al-Sharif - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

It is probably ironic that the only direct, and most likely genuine, plea with Mahmoud Abbas to stay on and rescind his decision not to contest next year’s elections, came not from his close Arab and Western allies, but from Israeli President Shimon Peres.

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Weisglass: Something happened during White House meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Edelson - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Attorney Dov Weisglass said the fact that reporters were not allowed in the Oval Office during Monday night's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, as well as cancellation of a briefing the Israeli leader intended to hold for reporters, was indicative of either a crisis or far-reaching understandings regarding the Mideast peace process.

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US and Israeli leaders hold talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

President Barack Obama has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House as the US struggles to revive the Middle East peace process. The talks in Washington came amid heightened tension over Mr Netanyahu's refusal to freeze settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the meeting was unusual. There were no photos, no press calls, and none of the public warmth Israeli leaders usually get from US presidents.

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