January 26th

The Palestine Papers expose an Israeli-dominated process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 26, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestine Papers being published this week by Al-Jazeera TV and The Guardian newspaper provide many important and, often problematic, insights into several key aspects of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to achieve a comprehensive, permanent peace agreement. Reading through the entire archive of over 1,600 documents, however, as I had a chance to do at the Al-Jazeera offices in Doha, Qatar, this week, provides a useful overview of, and insights into, the three principal actors in the process: the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli government, and American officials. » Read more

What should we take away from the ‘Palestine Papers’? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from PBS by Sal Gentile - (Opinion) January 25, 2011 - 1:00am In recent months, peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have been fitful, to say the least. There was reason for hope when President Obama took office two years ago promising a recalculation of American foreign policy. By the time his administration restarted the negotiations in September, however, veterans of the peace process were skeptical that progress could be made. Now, just four months later, even the most optimistic observers have reason to be despondent. » Read more

Death by a thousand leaks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) January 26, 2011 - 1:00am Somebody up there must really hate the Arab-Israeli peace process. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, that the odds against serious negotiations couldn't get any longer and the hope for a two-state solution couldn't be more forlorn, we now have the Palestinian version of WikiLeaks. » Read more

A Palestinian View: International legality is not up for a vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Blog) January 17, 2011 - 1:00am The prospect of posing a referendum in the respective societies on any agreement reached between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators is not a new idea. Periodically it has surfaced in the political landscape, arising for different and sometimes contradictory reasons. » Read more

Good News From the Middle East (Really) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jeffrey Goldberg, Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) January 25, 2011 - 1:00am IT has lately become the accepted wisdom that the Middle East peace process is dead, finished, kaput. This belief has been reinforced by Al Jazeera’s release this week of some 1,600 documents that are said to describe the inside workings of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2008. » Read more

January 25th

Digging completed on tunnel under Old City walls in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am The Israel Antiquities Authority has completed an archaeological dig of a tunnel that will enable visitors to cross under the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, not far from the Temple Mount. The tunnel, which was uncovered during excavations conducted over the past few months, was formerly used for drainage and dates back to the Second Temple. It links the City of David in Silwan with the Archaeological Park & Davidson Center, which is located near the Western Wall. » Read more

Israel still has a partner for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) January 25, 2011 - 1:00am On Sunday, Haaretz reported on Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's proposal to promote a long-term interim arrangement with the Palestinians. A few hours later, Al Jazeera and the Guardian published documents detailing the negotiations over the final-status arrangement held between the previous government and the Palestinian leadership headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The documentation, conducted by the Palestinian team heads, illustrates the serious and down-to-business approach of the Palestinians with regards to the central core issues - borders, Jerusalem and holy places. » Read more

Gaza's Hamas rulers ban 2 'anti-Islamic' books ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press January 24, 2011 - 1:00am The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has banned the sale of two books by Arab writers that it said "contradict" Islam. It was the latest step by the militant group to impose its strict version of Islam in Gaza. Since seizing power in 2007, Hamas has also banned women from smoking water pipes or riding motorbikes. Culture Ministry spokesman Ehab Senwar said Monday that the books were banned after residents complained about their contents. He said the books won't be sold until a committee checks their contents. » Read more

Israeli ministry calls for sanctioning local firms over joining Palestinian boycott ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 24, 2011 - 1:00am Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures on Sunday called for sanctioning local firms that boycott Israeli companies located in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as a stipulation of tenders to take part in building the Palestinian city of Rawabi, near Ramallah. Minister Uzi Landau said his office would not "tolerate discrimination between different groups of citizens that is contrary to the basic values of the State of Israel." » Read more

Turkish president: Israeli report has no credibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua January 25, 2011 - 1:00am Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Monday that the report prepared by Israel on its attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla had no international credibility. Gul made the statement at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul prior to his departure for the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Replying to questions on the Israeli report, Gul said, "what Israel did has nothing to do with the international law. The report issued by Israel does not have credibility and legitimacy." » Read more