August 21st

Obama urges renewed Mideast peace talks as soon as possible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters August 20, 2009 - 12:00am U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israel and the Palestinians to restart stalled peace talks as soon as possible and urged both sides and the Arab states to take steps to advance the process, the White House said on Thursday. "Obama spoke by phone to Jordan's King Abdullah and agreed on the need to move forward on Middle East peace," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. The president has promised sustained engagement in the elusive quest for an Israeli-Palestian peace deal but has had trouble getting the sides to make conciliatory gestures. » Read more

Settlers taped attacking Palestinians evade arrest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 21, 2009 - 12:00am Despite the video footage and the international public outcry it generated, the Judea and Samaria police are closing the case of a severe beating of three Palestinians by masked settlers, without having managed to produce even a single suspect, according to the complete investigation file obtained by Haaretz. » Read more

Netanyahu struggles to reach deal over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Vita Bekker - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am TEL AVIV // As prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to reach a compromise with the US on settlement expansion: he is increasingly facing a challenge from key political allies at home who are pushing for continued Jewish construction on territory Palestinians want for a future state. The hurdles Mr Netanyahu may face should he agree to any building limits were highlighted on Wednesday, when a top government minister and member of the premier’s own party called a left-wing, anti-settler group a “virus” and suggested Israel defy a US call for a settlement freeze. » Read more

U.S. finalizing groundwork for resuming talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) August 20, 2009 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration will "finalize the steps" for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks in the next few weeks, the White House spokesman said. "The president said that Special Envoy (George) Mitchell would follow up with the parties in the next few weeks to finalize the steps they would take and lay the groundwork for resumption of negotiations," Robert Gibbs said Thursday. » Read more

US raps Israel over limit on Palestinian-Americans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Gavin Rabinowitz - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — The United States has complained to Israel over rules that keep Palestinian-Americans from entering Israel, officials said Thursday. A travel update posted by the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem says that for some time, Israel has not permitted Palestinians who also hold American passports to enter through Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport, requiring that they use the Allenby Bridge land crossing from Jordan directly into the West Bank. » Read more

August 20th

Hamas rejects elections, Arab normalization with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Saud Abu Ramadan - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am The Islamic Hamas movement rejected on Wednesday participation in Palestinian elections early next year unless a reconciliation deal is reached with rival Fatah party. Hamas sources in Gaza stressed that the movement would never go to legislative and presidential elections on Jan. 25 before signing a reconciliation deal that ends the current internal rift. "Ending the file of political prisoners in the West Bank, and reaching a reconciliation agreement are conditions for holding the elections on time. Otherwise, the idea will be rejected for sure," the sources told Xinhua. » Read more

Not an impossible demand ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) August 20, 2009 - 12:00am Israel is still trying its very best to wriggle out of its obligation to enforce a complete freeze of settlement activity in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. Tuesday, Israel’s housing minister, Ariel Atias, of the ultra-conservative Shas Party, announced that Israel would institute a “temporary” freeze on issuing new housing tenders for settlements. This is clearly an attempt at appeasing Washington, which has been pushing for Israel to abide by its obligations under the roadmap. » Read more

Arab reaction to Obama’s Mideast policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Nasser Ali Khasawneh, Dima Sari - (Opinion) August 20, 2009 - 12:00am The new American administration is moving at a frenetic pace, trying to break the seemingly interminable deadlock between Israel and the Arab world. Recent press reports suggest that George Mitchell, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, is reaching a critical point in his negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Palestinian Authority. Amid all this, it is fair to say that the average Arab is rather puzzled about the US policy. » Read more

It's time to speak openly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) August 19, 2009 - 12:00am Fatah’s historic Congress, held in Bethlehem earlier this month, has generated widespread optimism in the region due to the ouster of the old guard which paid the price for tolerating the cruel status quo and its ineffectiveness since signing the inconclusive peace accord with Israel in 1993. What was sorely missing from the exchanges at the Congress, and subsequently the media coverage thereof, was any mention of the consequences of Israel’s harsh policies. » Read more

The Missing Courage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) August 19, 2009 - 12:00am The state of embarrassment and opportunism, and sometimes malice, that accompanied the military settlement carried out by Hamas against Jund Ansar Allah in the Gaza Strip, is not unique in the relationship between political Islam and the hard-line fundamentalist organizations it brought about under different names. We have seen such a case in Egypt when some fundamentalist organizations ignited armed violence in the face of the state and citizens. We also witnessed it in Algeria with the outbreak of hostile activities. » Read more