January 12th

Work begins on first planned Palestinian city ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ben Hubbard - (Analysis) January 12, 2010 - 1:00am ATARA, West Bank -- Work crews have broken ground on what they hope will be the first modern, planned Palestinian city - a step officials say will help build an independent state in spite of the current deadlock in the peace process with Israel. But without Israeli approval of a short stretch of road, the $500-million project may never get off the ground. "We could build the whole city, but the question is, would people live in a city that doesn't have an access road?" said Bashar Masri, managing director of the company behind the project. "Obviously, the answer is no." » Read more

The Tel Aviv Cluster ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by David Brooks - (Opinion) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates. Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 21 percent of the Ivy League student bodies, 26 percent of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37 percent of the Academy Award-winning directors, 38 percent of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, 51 percent of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction. » Read more

US says no plan to cut Israel loan guarantees, but it's been tried before ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Dan Murphy - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am US Middle East envoy George Mitchell touched off a minor furor in the US and Israel over the weekend, after he told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose that "under American law, the United States can withhold support on loan guarantees to Israel" when asked what tools the US had to prod the country back to peace talks. » Read more

Obama admin. considers giving letters to Middle East parties on peace process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am As it ramps up efforts to get Israel-Palestinian peace talks restarted, the Obama administration is considering sending letters to the Middle East parties, diplomatic sources tell POLITICO. The letters the Obama administration is considering giving to the Middle East parties outline what the U.S. expects from Israel-Palestinian peace talks, a diplomat source said. The letters, signed by President Obama, describe terms of reference that serve as the basis for negotiations moving forward, another source who declined to be identified said. » Read more

Obama Security Aide to Join Mideast Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Matt Spetalnick - (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser will visit the Middle East for high-level talks next week, joining a renewed U.S. effort to coax Israel and the Palestinians to resume long-stalled peace talks. The trip by Jim Jones, a top foreign policy aide, will include a stop in Saudi Arabia and coincides with travels by George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, to Europe this week and then to the region later in the month. » Read more

January 11th

Editorial: Another US Initiative ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am Is it any wonder that the Palestinians are insisting on a full settlement freeze before renewing peace efforts? » Read more

What makes sense ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am The Palestinians are right to refuse a return to negotiations with Israel unless there is a total halt to settlement construction in the occupied territories. To continue negotiations as Israel continues devouring Palestinian lands to build and expand settlements means having less and less land to negotiate over. » Read more

The American Way out and Arab Divisions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am On the occasion of her talks with Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Washington last Friday, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to palter about the real obstacle to resuming the Palestinian peace process. Prior to the visit of the US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell to the region, she relegated the problem of the ongoing Israeli settlements – on Palestinian territory designed to be part of the prospective Palestinian State– into a theoretical or even an academic issue. » Read more

A difficult path to peace can still be travelled ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) January 10, 2010 - 1:00am Judging from the intense activity on the Arab-Israeli peace front in recent weeks, there is reason for cautious hope that the current paralysis will end soon. The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recently in Cairo meeting the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers met the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the peace envoy George Mitchell last week, while Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, visited Cairo, Riyadh and Damascus. » Read more

Netanyahu complains about PA security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am After months of praising the work of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a delegation of US senators on Sunday that while active against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the PA security forces "have trouble going against their own renegades." Netanyahu was referring to the recent murder near Shavei Shomron of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Hai by members of Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigade. » Read more