At Mideast peace talk, a lopsided table ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Hussein Agha, Robert Malley - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am Israelis and Palestinians will be sitting at the same table on Thursday, but much more separates them than the gulf between their substantive positions. Staggering asymmetries between the two sides could seriously imperil the talks. » Read more

Negotiating With the Israeli Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Amjad Atallah, Michele Dunne, Yossi Klein Halevi, Rashid Khalidi, Menachem Klein, David Newman - (Opinion) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am David Newman The killing of four West Bank settlers on Tuesday was the last thing that Prime Minister Netanyahu needed immediately prior to the opening of talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington. Netanyahu is under intense pressure from all sides. The Obama administration, supported by Israel’s left wing opposition, wants him to make real concessions, including a continuation of the settlement freeze which has been in place for the past ten months and which ends on Sept. 26. » Read more

Israeli Peace Effort Rests on Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am David Rubinger, one of Israel’s best-known photojournalists and a man firmly on the political left, cast his ballot last year for Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister, the first time he had ever voted for the right-leaning Likud Party. “The left wants to make peace but cannot, while the right doesn’t want to but, if forced to, can do it,” he said in an interview. “So last year I decided to vote not with my heart but with my head.” » Read more

The Future Palestinian State Takes Root ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Hussein Ibish, Michael Weiss - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am Many contentious issues could bedevil the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that began Wednesday, but on one subject both sides can largely agree: The state-building program launched last year by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made measurable progress. While the terrorist group Hamas rules in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in the West Bank are trying to build the framework of a future state. The West Bank economy grew by 8.5% last year (according to the International Monetary Fund), despite the global recession and » Read more

Netanyahu and Abbas to Begin Direct Mideast Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am The Israeli and Palestinian leaders were to open direct peace negotiations Thursday after committing to work to end the conflict that has endured for six decades. » Read more