November 6th

Abbas pushes back
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - (Blog) November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

A day after Hillary Clinton returned from a swing through the Middle East where she pushed the Palestinians to go into peace talks with Israel short of a full Israeli settlement freeze, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to not run in Palestinian elections he has called to be held in January, reports say.

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Abbas Makes His Move
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Abbas Momani/Agence-France Press/Getty Images Mahmoud Abbas announcing in a televised speech on Thursday that he will step down as president of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced on Thursday that he would not seek re-election in a presidential vote he has called for in January. While he said that this was not a “maneuver,” some of his aides have said that his decision is part of a strategy to persuade President Obama to support a full peace plan for an independent Palestinian state. What’s behind this unexpected announcement?

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Highlights from Abbas speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Following are highlights from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's speech on Thursday, in which he said he did not seek re-election and deplored deadlocked talks with Hamas and with Israel. ACCUSING ISRAEL... We pledged, us and the Israelis, with the participation and sponsorship of the international community, to reach a two-state solution. But month after month, year after year, there was procrastination and the increase of Jewish settlement and Israeli settlement on our land, which compromises the credibility of negotiations.

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Top Palestinian Rules Out Race for Re-election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, warned on Thursday that he would not seek re-election, the latest sign that the Obama administration’s drive to broker a Middle East peace accord, one of President Obama’s key foreign policy goals, has fallen into disarray.

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November 5th

One-state solution
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Arab News - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

This first critical study of the “one-state” agenda comes at a time when Palestine has witnessed no real progress on the ground and an atmosphere of hopelessness and pessimism is spreading in the region.

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U.S. Eases Pressure on Israel, Leans On Palestinians
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington — Relations between Washington and Jerusalem are warming, as months-long tensions over West Bank settlements and other issues have gradually eased.

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Secretary of State Clinton renews her calls for a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, amid analysis of the fallout from her Middle East trip. The UN General Assembly is set to approve the Goldstone report on the Gaza war. On the anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Israel moves to contain right-wing extremists. Palestinians fear further evictions in occupied East Jerusalem. Hamas reiterates its opposition to Palestinian elections, with a new poll showing that 52% of Palestinians say they would vote for Pres. Abbas as opposed to 15% who would vote for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says that Palestinians may have to consider abandoning the two-state solution.The Arab News profiles ATFP's new book on the one-state agenda. Palestinian political scientist Said Zeidani says that there is no obvious successor to Pres. Abbas. Hussein Ibish summarizes the state of the peace process following the Clinton trip.

Administration missteps hamper Mideast efforts
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Washington Post - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

President Obama came into office insisting that his administration would press hard and fast to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But after nine months, analysts and diplomats say, the administration's efforts have faltered in part because of its own missteps. As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear during her Middle East trip, which ended Wednesday, U.S. officials are now promoting new tactics -- what they called the "baby steps" of lower-level talks -- to bring the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for direct talks.

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Where things stand in the Middle East after Sec. Clinton's not-so-excellent adventure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) November 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to the Middle East and inadvertently created yet another crisis for the Obama peace initiative. It's not so much that she badly mishandled everything -- although that argument could certainly be made -- it's more that I think her difficulties demonstrate how complicated and in some practical senses almost impossible the American diplomatic task at hand really is.

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No obvious successor: An interview with Said Zeidani
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

bitterlemons: In the past week we've twice heard reports that Mahmoud Abbas is considering not running for re-election. How serious do you think this is? Zeidani: As far as Abu Mazen [Abbas] personally is concerned, I don't think he is interested in another term. He has expressed his desire to step down and I think he is sincere. The question is whether he will be allowed by his own Fateh faction to do so. I think there will be pressure on him to stay and run for another term. bitterlemons: Why?

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