Israel Ever-Present at US-Iranian Negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

The strategy of the two parallel tracks, based on incentives and threats, which has been adopted by the Barack Obama Administration is raising debate and discussion, as well as finding those who would challenge it, those who believe in its roots, those who fear for it and those who are wary of it falling like a gift onto the lap of the seasoned experts of procrastination, obstruction and maneuvers.

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US: Israel discriminates against non-Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel continues to discriminate against its religious minorities legally, financially and culturally, according to a US State Department review on worldwide religious freedom released on Monday. In its 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, the foreign service said that despite past documentation of prejudice against minorities, the status of respect for religious freedoms by Israel "was unchanged during the reporting period."

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Obama peace quest flounders in Mideast quicksand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Alistair Lyon - (Analysis) October 23, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama's high-priority Middle East peace drive has run into predictable quicksands, even as other foreign policy challenges in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond clamour for his attention. Israel has rebuffed Obama's request for a complete freeze on settlement construction, while Arab states, whose own peace offer has gathered dust since 2002, have brushed off his calls for goodwill gestures toward the Jewish state.

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Israel joins US for defence drill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

The exercise will focus on providing a joint defence against a simulated co-ordinated missile attack on Israel. Up to 2,000 joint military personnel are believed to be taking part, along with at least 15 American ships. The Israeli army said the exercise was not a "response to any world events" but had been planned for a while. It is thought that a highly sophisticated new American radar, based in the Israeli desert, will be central to the exercise. Two-fold significance

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J Street and the ATFP are norm breakers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ghassan Rubeiz - (Opinion) October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

In “Transforming America’s Israeli Lobby,” Dan Fleshler argues that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is not helping Israel’s long-term interests and it is not properly reflecting the progressive sentiments of the American Jewish community. Fleshler explains the complexity of the Jewish lobby in America and urges congress to listen to all shades of Jewish opinion, not only to AIPAC.

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Gaza Report Author Asks U.S. to Clarify Concerns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Sharon Otterman - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Richard Goldstone, the lead author of a United Nations report that found evidence of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during last winter’s Gaza war, challenged the Obama administration in an interview broadcast Thursday to explain what it has called serious concerns about his report.

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Clinton gives Obama Mideast progress report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at the White House giving President Barack Obama a report on efforts to relaunch Middle East peace talks this afternoon. But despite near constant diplomatic effort underway in recent months, and some progress achieved, success in getting peace talks even relaunche still eludes the Obama administration, a White House readout of Clinton's oral briefing suggests.

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Mitchell: Mideast talks effort isn't a failure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Glenn Adams - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's Mideast envoy George Mitchell said Thursday it's too soon to brand his efforts to resume peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders a failure. The former Senate leader recalled being asked "hundreds of times" while negotiating for years in Northern Ireland when he was going home because the talks there were considered a failure. He finally brokered the Good Friday peace accords in 1999.

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Israel hardens stance on U.N. Gaza report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel hardened its opposition Tuesday to international calls for an independent inquiry into its offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter, saying it would urge the United States to stop the issue from advancing at the United Nations. The decision came at a cabinet meeting called to discuss a U.N. report that has accused both sides of committing war crimes during the three-week operation. The report, which was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council last week, recommends war crimes proceedings if Israel and the Palestinians do not conduct credible internal investigations.

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In Washington, Erekat says US must denounce Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The US is obligated to expose Israel for blocking the resumption of peace negotiations, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday. "When we say that we want to resume permanent status negotiations on all core issues without exceptions, that's also an Israeli obligation," Erekat told reporters outside the State Department in Washington, DC, according to AFP. Erekat was speaking after meeting with US President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace envoy, George Mitchell.

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