September 27th

Abbas: Talks waste of time if settlements continue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 27, 2010 - 12:00am


PARIS (Ma’an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas told members of France's Jewish community on Sunday that peace talks would be futile if Israel's settlement activity continued in the West Bank. Abbas met with 20 well-known members of the Jewish community at Le Meurice Hotel in Paris, reiterating that "if Israel does not continue the freeze on settlement process, the peace process will be a waste of time."


The Palestinians Are Taking the Initiative to End the Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - September 24, 2010 - 12:00am


New York-The concept of building the state or destroying it remains obscure for many in the Arab region – this not out of a lack of awareness but rather purposely. This is why many ignore the importance of what the Palestinian Authority is doing in terms of strengthening the building of the Palestinian state’s institutions, in parallel with political negotiations, as a strategy to end the Israeli occupation.


West Bank settlement construction resumes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 27, 2010 - 12:00am


NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israelis resumed construction across several illegal West Bank settlements on Monday, following the expiration of Israel's 10-month partial moratorium at midnight. Israel's Channel 2 said construction would be resumed in at least eight illegal West Bank settlements, including Kiryat Arba in Hebron.


Obama and his audacity of hope for Middle East peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) September 24, 2010 - 12:00am


At the United Nations on Thursday, President Obama took a risk by speaking so optimistically about the fragile Middle East peace talks. He told his international audience that “this time will be different.” The president offered that outcome as a choice, but even so, he went out on a limb by pronouncing that one short year from now, the UN could have a new member: a sovereign Palestine living in peace with Israel. In 2003, President Bush held out that possibility for 2005.


As Israel settlement freeze ends, one-year peace plan begins
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am


Tel Aviv — If negotiators can overcome today’s deadline to resolve a dispute on Israeli settlement expansion and keep peace talks alive, the date of September 2011 will begin to loom as the target for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.


Israeli settlers rev bulldozers as settlement freeze nears end
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am


Tel Aviv — With Israel and Palestinian negotiators deadlocked over settlement expansion just hours before the expiration of a 10-month Israeli settlement freeze, Jewish settlers vowed to renew building during symbolic celebrations in the West Bank.


Palestinian President Abbas has the most to lose
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) September 25, 2010 - 12:00am


PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Middle East peace diplomacy has made some progress, but an early error still haunts it. The president's ill-advised attempt to force a freeze of Israeli housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank could cause the breakdown this weekend of direct talks on a final settlement, only a month after they began.


Palestinian President Abbas has the most to lose
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) September 25, 2010 - 12:00am


PRESIDENT OBAMA'S Middle East peace diplomacy has made some progress, but an early error still haunts it. The president's ill-advised attempt to force a freeze of Israeli housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank could cause the breakdown this weekend of direct talks on a final settlement, only a month after they began.


U.S. Scrambling to Save Talks on Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - September 26, 2010 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Israel allowed a politically charged freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank to expire on Sunday, but the Palestinians did not carry out a threat to quit peace negotiations, setting the stage for further frantic efforts to keep the talks alive. For President Obama, who had publicly called on Israel to extend the freeze, the Israeli decision was another setback in what has been a tortuous effort to help resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.


Mideast Talks Teeter as the Settlement Freeze Expires
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - September 27, 2010 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Israel’s freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank expired at midnight, but Palestinians did not immediately carry out a threat to quit peace negotiations as several settlements resumed limited home building on Monday and American-led efforts to save the talks moved into high gear. For President Obama, who had publicly called on Israel to extend the freeze, the Israeli decision was another setback in what has been a tortuous effort to help resolve one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.



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