November 10th

Obama reaffirms 'strong commitment' to Israel's security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama held a private meeting on Monday night, during which the two discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as stalled Middle East peace talks. "The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," said a statement issued by the White House after the one hour and forty minute closed-door session concluded.


Abbas: Peace deal was close under Olmert
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am


Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were close to reaching a peace deal in the last round of formal negotiations, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday. Abbas claimed that the two sides were nearing a breakthrough in talks that were broken off last year when Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip. The present Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said, is simply uninterested he peace, he said.


Abbas may quit Fatah, PLO posts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am


President Mahmoud Abbas is considering resigning from his roles on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. The sources, who spoke on the condition that their names be withheld, also said that Abbas’ announcement last week that he will not seek reelection as president was a serious decision and not a political maneuver as analysts have said. Abbas is also waiting for the appropriate moment to announce his resignation from the PLO and Fatah governing bodies, the sources added.


As Netanyahu meets Obama, Israel ex-general offers Hamas talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am


Shaul Mofaz, a leading opposition politician in Israel whose former posts include both army chief of staff and defense minister, said Sunday he has a plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace – and he's willing to talk to Hamas to secure it. "I will also speak with the devil, if it will bring peace to the state of Israel," Mofaz reiterated Monday during a visit to Sderot, which has often been the target of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. "And if Hamas is chosen in elections to head the Palestinian Authority ... I am ready to speak with them."


Palestinian Authority’s Future Is in Question
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - November 9, 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. If the Palestinian leader steps down, does this mean the peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians are over?


November 9th

The Washington Post notes that even if he left the Palestinian presidency, Mahmoud Abbas holds several other powerful posts. A new poll suggests that a large majority of Palestinians want him to change his mind, as large crowds in the occupied West Bank were urging over the weekend. The election commission says it has no plans to delay the scheduled January elections. On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, nonviolent protesters from the village of Ni'lin tear down a section of Israel's separation barrier. An influential rabbi publishes a new book saying Jews may kill any Gentile who "threatens" Israel. Rep. Eric Cantor says attitudes are changing towards Israel in Congress. A number of commentaries from the Arab press analyze Abbas' move. In the Guardian, Hussein Ibish argues his speech was a complex set of messages and a warning, not a resignation.

Abbas's mixed messages
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am


The recent announcement by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas that he would not seek a second term in office or run in elections has prompted considerable speculation, even confusion, around the world. His decisions contains much ambiguity while conveying different messages to different parties at the same time.


Clear signal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am


With Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president and head of the PLO, announcing that he will not seek another term in power, the clearest possible signal has been sent that the possibility for any peace process between Palestinians and Israelis is moribund. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has now reached a critical impasse, and only something dramatic can break the stalemate. Without anything suitably dramatic, the current artificial state of affairs can limp on for a few years until Palestinians yet again reach a breaking point and there is another serious round of violence.


Abbas feels enough is enough
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am


MAHMOUD ABBAS is fed up. The day before yesterday he withdrew his candidacy for the coming presidential election in the Palestinian Authority. I understand him. He feels betrayed. And the traitor is Barack Obama. A year ago, when Obama was elected US president, he aroused high hopes in the Muslim world, among the Palestinian people as well as in the Israeli peace camp.


Stepping Down in Overtime
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) November 9, 2009 - 1:00am


When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced he would not run for a new term in elections early next year, he justified his decision by focusing on his frustration with the stance by the US and the Arabs on the Israeli settlement issue. Irrespective of the ultimate consequences of this declaration and the chance that Abbas will go back on it, his justification reveals the depth of the predicament that the peace process is now in, along with the plan to establish a Palestinian state. It also reveals the depth of the predicament of Palestinian political action.



American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017