September 23rd

A Middle East Handshake ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post (Editorial) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am The Summit President Obama convened Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fell well short of the administration's hopes. Mr. Obama had wanted to announce agreement on the opening of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state, with a deadline of two years. He wanted to outline agreements on how those negotiations would proceed and some of the principles that would underpin them. » Read more

Abbas says Israel must keep 2008 word ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Ali Waked - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that Israel must honor agreements on borders and Jerusalem which he says its government made in 2008 talks with the Palestinians if stalled peace negotiations are to resume. Speaking after talks with US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abbas also repeated Palestinian insistence that Israel halt settlement building in the territories, including east Jerusalem. » Read more

Obama Presses Mideast Leaders To Broaden Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Glenn Kessler - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama's meetings Tuesday with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority signaled his impatience with months of stalemate in the quest for Middle East peace, as well as his desire to move beyond talks about settlement construction and straight to negotiations on the final shape of the region. » Read more

In Mideast Peace Bid, Obama Pivots in His Demands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - September 22, 2009 - 12:00am President Obama, who has met immovable resistance from Israel over his demand for a full freeze on settlements in the West Bank, is largely setting that issue aside as a first step toward restarting Middle East peace talks. » Read more

ANALYSIS / Obama's rebuke is contrary to Palestinian position ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday night that the renewal of negotiations "depends on a definition of the negotiating process." His remarks came at end of his summit meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York intended to jump-start talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Abbas said "that means basing [the talks] on recognizing the need to withdraw to the 1967 borders." » Read more

Akiva Eldar / So what if Obama wants to move peace process forward? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat opposite U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday, perhaps he was overcome by the sullen recollection from the days when he served as deputy foreign minister under David Levy. Even then, 17 years ago, there was an American president who entertained the idea of resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict and thought that this concept was incompatible with the expansion of settlements. » Read more

IDF bombs Gaza smuggling tunnels ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 21, 2009 - 12:00am Air Force jets attacked three smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip late Sunday night, and hits were identified. The IDF Spokesperson's Office stated that the bombing was retaliation for the Qassam rocket fire from Gaza towards southern Israel Saturday night. The bombing was a conclusion to 24 hours of tension at the Gazan border. On Sunday afternoon two Palestinians were killed and four injured from IDF fire near the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. » Read more

Obama to Meet With Mideast Leaders ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 20, 2009 - 12:00am After a frustrating week of shuttle diplomacy here in which the Obama administration failed to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to renew peace talks, leaders of the two sides are heading to the United States to make their cases again that the administration should push the other harder. » Read more

Barak, Clinton may join Mideast summit at UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - September 21, 2009 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will apparently participate in a tripartite meeting on Middle East peace in New York on Tuesday. U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, for a meeting all sides have declared would unlikely bring about an immediate resumption of peace negotiations. » Read more

September 22nd

ATFP Welcomes UN Meeting, Supports Pres. Obama’s Peace Efforts Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - September 22, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, Sept. 22 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) welcomed today’s trilateral meeting at the UN General Assembly between President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ATFP reiterated its strong support for President Obama’s Middle East peace initiative, and urged the administration to continue to spare no effort in pressing for an Israeli settlement freeze in the occupied territories and the resumption of permanent status negotiations. Read more