Israel FM confirms interim Palestinian state plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matti Friedman - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's foreign minister confirmed Monday that he has drawn up a plan for the creation of an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders in the absence of a full peace agreement. Avigdor Lieberman argued that an interim arrangement was the only option, saying the Palestinians have turned down previous Israeli offers and no agreement is possible at present. "There is no other way. We must go back to an interim agreement," he told Israel Radio, adding, "The plan is ready." He offered no details and did not say when and if the plan would be made public. » Read more

The story behind the Palestine papers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ian Black, Seumas Milne - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am How 1,600 confidential Palestinian records of negotiations with Israel from 1999 to 2010 came to be leaked to al-Jazeera The revelations from the heart of the Israel-Palestine peace process are the product of the biggest documentary leak in the history of the Middle East conflict, and the most comprehensive exposure of the inside story of a decade of failed negotiations. » Read more

Abbas says Jazeera leaks on Israel talks confused ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Leaked documents detailing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians deliberately confuse the positions of either side, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday. The documents, obtained by Al Jazeera television channel, indicate that Palestinian negotiators offered Israel much bigger concessions than previously revealed. "What is intended is a mix-up. I have seen them yesterday present things as Palestinian but they were Israeli... This is therefore intentional," Abbas said in Cairo. He said the peace talks were carried out in an open manner.

Abed Rabbo blasts Emir of Qatar ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 24, 2011 - 1:00am PLO executive committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo on Monday blasted the Emir of Qatar over documents leaked by the Doha-based Al-Jazeera TV network covering a decade of Israel-Palestinian negotiations. According to documents released Sunday, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat offered Israel huge concessions, including "the biggest Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] in history" during 2008 negotiations. » Read more

Palestine papers: Now we know. Israel had a peace partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Jonathan Freedland - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am The classified documents show Palestinians willing to go to extreme lengths and Israel holding a firm line on any peace deal Who will be most damaged by this extraordinary glimpse into the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process? Perhaps the first casualty will be Palestinian national pride, their collective sense of dignity in adversity badly wounded by the papers revealed today. » Read more

Palestinian Nonviolent Movement Continues Despite Crackdown ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Mohammed Khatib - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am The January 1st death of Palestinian protester Jawaher Abu Rahmah from Israeli tear gas, and efforts to imprison people like us illustrate the Israeli government's intensifying crackdown on the unarmed Palestinian protest movement. Though threatened, this movement of Palestinian men, women and children, along with Israeli and international supporters, has grown too much to be easily stopped. » Read more

Reaction to the leaked Palestine papers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian negotiators have angrily dismissed accounts as lies, fabrications and half truths As Palestinian negotiators named in the secret accounts of negotiations with Israel angrily dismissed them as lies, fabrications and half truths, there was an equally hostile backlash over their offer to let the Jewish state keep its settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and other concessions. » Read more

Best Mideast option: Muddle through ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) January 21, 2011 - 1:00am The Obama administration’s options on a major foreign policy issue, the Arab-Israeli peace process, range from bad to worse. Those options mirror the choices contained in a semi-mythic State Department memo, which lives on in the hearts of all of us who served the interests of the Republic there: option #1 go for the breakthrough; option #2 disengage, and the infamous option #3 – muddle through. » Read more

President Barack Obama’s efforts in the Middle East hit deep freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico by Ben Smith - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am For two years, the Obama White House has tried to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt as a prospective peace partner — viewing him as a leader who shared U.S. goals but faced tough domestic political constraints that Washington felt obliged to help counter. That’s over. » Read more

The Palestine Papers - Risks for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera Arabic by Robert Grenier - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am The overwhelming conclusion one draws from this record is that the process for a two-state solution is essentially over. » Read more