Blair: Israel thinks its time for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair expressed optimism on a settlement freeze agreement in the near future, that will pave the way for renewed regional peace talks. Followings talks with Israeli officials in recent days, Blair told the British Independent: "I hope and believe... we can get a political negotiation launched on satisfactory terms."


US officials: Netanyahu at pivotal moment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's envoys to US talks on the freezing of construction in settlements, Attorney Yitzhak Molcho and Brig. Gen. Mike Herzog, met US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, on Wednesday. The US State Department reported that it was a "good meeting," and that Mitchell will visit the region in the second half of next week.


Beware Palestinian plot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Gadi Taub - (Opinion) September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


The “two-state vision” is no longer only endorsed by the Left or Center, but rather, it is backed by the Zionist consensus – ranging from Meretz to Likud.


Israel rekindles its African ties
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Will Ross - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am


Avigdor Liberman begins his trip in Ethiopia, where he will be accompanied by 20 business people. Officials say the trip is about building business links with Africa and also countering the influence of Iran on the continent. Israel hopes closer ties with Africa will help at the UN where African countries often vote in blocks. Ethiopia has strong links with Israel. During the 1980s and 90s tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel to resettle in what they considered to be their homeland.


Israeli moves give Blair hope of rebuilding political trust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


Tony Blair expressed optimism yesterday that Israel and the US would agree on a settlement moratorium sufficient to pave the way for the first political negotiations between Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the moderate Palestinian leadership. The international community's Middle East envoy was speaking after three days of talks with Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Netanyahu.


Hidden in Olmert Indictment Are Charges That He Swindled U.S. Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am


Washington — The indictment against former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has riveted Israelis with its allegations that the ex-prime minister took envelopes of cash from supporters for his personal use. But another aspect of the August 30 indictment, one directly relevant to American Jews, has been all but lost amid the fallout: The Israeli leader, prosecutors charge, bilked 17 prominent North American Jewish charities and pro-Israel advocacy groups for his own benefit.


Israeli Obstacles to the International Conference
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Randa Takieddine - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am


The importance of the visit by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to France on Thursday and Friday to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner lies in the timing. The visit comes before Sarkozy takes part in the General Assembly of the United Nations on 12 September, and his meeting with the heads of the G-20 in Pittsburgh on the 24th and 25th of the same month.


At the expense of peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has put the Obama administration in an awkward position by demanding a total halt to Israeli settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He is simply echoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who initially called for a complete suspension of settlement activity, including completing, to accommodate “natural growth”, the 2,500 units under construction, and housing in East Jerusalem.


Tell the settlers the truth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


At a time when the Obama administration is seeking a way to impose a construction freeze in the settlements that will be acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians, in order to pave the way for the resumption of the political process, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking common ground with the settlers. According to the minutes distributed by the Prime Minister's Office after Netanyahu's meeting with the heads of the Yesha Council of settlements last month, the prime minister stated that, "We are all interested in the same thing," and then added, "But we must act wisely."


Israel hints it may retroactively legalize settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am


The state prosecutor's representative twice hinted that construction in West Bank settlements might be retroactively legalized Wednesday, seemingly representing a major policy turnaround. The two responses are a departure from the state's usual response that the structures are illegal and are expected to be demolished.



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