The Arabs' blanket rejection of Netanyahu's speech is short-sighted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University triggered a host of repercussions. Perhaps the most salient is that it compelled the Israeli government to declare its position, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did in his speech at Bar-Ilan University on June 14. The Netanyahu speech, in turn, triggered two general responses. Whereas the United States and the European Union welcomed the speech, the Arabs rejected it, with some Arab media insisting it had effectively sounded a death knell for the negotiating process.

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Commentary: Israeli know-how
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
by Arnaud De Borchgrave - (Opinion) July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

He speaks like an American, looks like an American, and acts like an American -- because he is an American. He is Israel's new ambassador to the United States, a citizen of both countries. Michael B. Oren (born Michael Bornstein), 54, went to Israel for the first time at 15 to work on a kibbutz, the collective farms that were once recruitment grounds for Israel's ace fighter pilots. He returned to the United States to complete a master's in International Affairs at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Near East Studies at Princeton.

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Confusing Obama before Negotiations Even Begin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) July 7, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli debate with the US over the issue of settlements is ongoing, and it appears that the US President began experiencing the problems of the Middle Easterners from the first moment that he announced his opposition to settlement construction. The resulting headache from this may have caused the president to reach for the aspirin. “Stop the construction of settlements” is the warning that Obama issued to the Israelis when he announced his willingness to solve the critical problem of the Middle East.

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Israeli foreign minister: I'm not being sidelined
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch, Amy Teibel - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's ultranationalist foreign minister said Monday that he voluntarily removed himself from crucial talks with the United States because he lives in a West Bank settlement, denying speculation that he's being sidelined by an image-conscious government troubled by growing friction with the Obama administration. The talks are meant to bridge the gap between Washington, which demands a total West Bank settlement freeze, and Israel, which wants some construction to continue.

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Israeli foreign minister: I'm not being sidelined
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's ultranationalist foreign minister said Monday that he voluntarily removed himself from crucial talks with the United States because he lives in a West Bank settlement, denying speculation that he's being sidelined by an image-conscious government troubled by growing friction with the Obama administration. The talks are meant to bridge the gap between Washington, which demands a total West Bank settlement freeze, and Israel, which wants some construction to continue.

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Israel releases former U.S. congresswoman: group
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel has allowed a former U.S. congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, to return home days after detaining her and other activists on board a ship carrying relief supplies for Gaza, a pro-Palestinian group said on Monday. Israeli authorities intercepted the vessel, which had 21 activists on board, on June 30 and said it would not be permitted to enter Gaza's coastal waters because of security risks in the area and an existing naval blockade. McKinney has been released, a statement by the American Muslims for Palestine said.

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Israel's Barak sees progress in U.S. envoy talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

LONDON (Reuters) - Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday he and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell had made progress in their second session of talks within a week on encouraging regional peace. "I think there is progress. There's still a way to go," Barak told Reuters after the talks in London. U.S. President Barack Obama has pressed Israel to halt settlement activity as part of a bid to revive peace talks under which the Palestinians would gain statehood.

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US, Israel looking for a way to resolve settlements dispute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 6, 2009 - 12:00am

A new round of Israel-US talks in London failed to defuse the standoff over Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank, though analysts and aides say the two sides are looking for a face-saving compromise for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to yield on continued growth. After a three-hour meeting with Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak reported progress but added, "there's still a way to go," Ha'aretz reported on its website.

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Some See Extended Olive Branch For Israel In Ross Appointment to NSC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am

The promotion of Middle East adviser Dennis Ross to a senior White House position may open the door to a more positive tone by the United States toward the Israeli government, experts believe.

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Agreements must be honored
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Dov Weissglass - July 2, 2009 - 12:00am

On May 1 and 16, 2003, during discussions of Israel’s reservations in respect to the Road Map initiative, it was agreed that there will be no construction at Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, with the exception of existing communities. These words were uttered, agreed upon, and documented in the records of the talks kept at the Prime Minister’s Office. I’m sure that an efficient search will reveal the parallel American records.

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