September 3rd

Israelis and Palestinians talking again after months-long freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Boudreaux - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am Reporting from Jerusalem - In a limited thaw of a frosty relationship, Israeli and Palestinian officials held their first high-level meeting in months Wednesday and discussed ways to bolster a promising economic recovery in the West Bank. The encounter was part of a shift by the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership, which previously shunned contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. That position was out of step with the Obama administration, which is seeking to bring the sides together. » Read more

Low Expectations May Be Helpful for Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am For a process that evokes little optimism on either side, there is an awful lot of diplomatic activity just now aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Two high-level Israeli officials are in Washington trying to finalize a modified settlement freeze with the American Mideast envoy George Mitchell. The Israeli national security adviser just visited the Jordanian capital to meet with King Abdullah. Hamas officials are in Cairo talking about what they want to release an Israeli soldier they are holding. » Read more

Low Expectations May Be Helpful for Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am For a process that evokes little optimism on either side, there is an awful lot of diplomatic activity just now aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Two high-level Israeli officials are in Washington trying to finalize a modified settlement freeze with the American Mideast envoy George Mitchell. The Israeli national security adviser just visited the Jordanian capital to meet with King Abdullah. Hamas officials are in Cairo talking about what they want to release an Israeli soldier they are holding. » Read more

U.S., Israel Grow More Confident of Talks with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Charles Levinson, Jay Solomon - September 3, 2009 - 12:00am Optimism is growing within the U.S. and Israeli governments that direct peace talks between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the Palestinian Authority could begin as early as this fall, said diplomats involved in the process. Negotiations between the U.S. and Israel over freezing Israel's settlements in Palestinian territories remain contentious, and it isn't certain a compromise will emerge that will allow the three parties and Israel's Arab neighbors to move forward on other issues. » Read more

September 2nd

From Arab to Palestinian Israeli: One family's changing identity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Moment Magazine by Dina Kraft - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am It’s been almost three years since Shams Kalboni renamed herself. She grew up with the modern Hebrew name Revital, which means “quenched thirst.” It was given to her by her Arab parents in the hope it would pave her way to an easier life in Israeli society. And as Shams walks past blossoming purple bougainvillea plants, up the stairs and onto the veranda of her grandmother’s house in Jaffa, calls of “Revital” and “Revi” still greet her as she is embraced by aunts and cousins. » Read more

Moment of truth for Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Osama Al-Sharif - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am The moment of truth is approaching for President Barack Obama’s much hyped initiative to re-launch the Middle East peace talks with the objective of creating an independent Palestinian entity based on the two-state solution. He is expected to present the outline of his plan at the UN’s General Assembly meetings in New York this September. » Read more

A promise to keep with Gaza’s people ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Six months after the world’s top diplomats met at Sharm el Sheikh to pledge massive amounts of assistance to war-torn Gaza, there is little on the ground to show that their commitment has had any effect. The magnitude of the devastation that descended upon the Gazan people earlier this year is difficult to overstate. The UN estimates that as many as 14,000 homes and 240 schools have been destroyed and too little has been done to alleviate the suffering of the nearly 1.5 million Palestinians who overcrowd the tiny strip of territory. » Read more

Israeli, Palestinian mayors pitch rare joint industrial project ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Gil Shefler - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Even as Israeli and Palestinian leaders argue about the conditions that must be in place for a return to the negotiating table, they are striking similar tones on the need for economic development. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad unveiled an economic plan last week intended to bring about a stable, independent Palestinian state within two years, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been talking for months about the need for an "economic peace." » Read more

Israeli unilateralism undermines the peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 31, 2009 - 12:00am It's been four years since Israel evacuated its settlers and army from the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has kept Gaza under a tight siege that has undermined the economy of the already impoverished Strip. Now there seems to be consensus among most Palestinians and Israelis, though for different reasons, that the withdrawal was not constructive as far as peacemaking and ending the conflict are concerned. » Read more

The lonely struggle of Uri Davis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Seth Freedman - September 2, 2009 - 12:00am Waiting for Uri Davis in a hotel forecourt in Ramallah, I reflect that his reputation precedes him by a comfortable distance. His rejection of political Zionism, coupled with his conversion to Islam and his recent election to Fatah's Revolutionary Council means he is treated with a mixture of scorn and hostility by vast swaths of Israelis and supporters of Israel in the Jewish diaspora. » Read more