Netanyahu and the freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Nahum Barnea<br /> - (Opinion) September 13, 2010 - 12:00am

You screwed up, Netanyahu can say to Barack Obama following the president’s call over the weekend to extend the settlement construction freeze. The construction was frozen for a limited period of time – 10 months. The American Administration chose to accept this timeframe. It cannot show regret as this period draws to an end and ask for more. It’s not serious or credible.

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The peace talks—and their obstacles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - September 7, 2010 - 12:00am

Direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis have barely begun and already the sides are facing their first major hurdle -- the end of Israel's partial moratorium on settlement building. Several issues might beset the sides as they aim to meet the yearlong deadline suggested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and endorsed (with considerable enthusiasm) by President Obama and (with less enthusiasm) by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Israeli police accused of targeting Jerusalem's Arab residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - September 6, 2010 - 12:00am

A leading civil-rights group has accused Israeli police of systematic discrimination against the Arab residents of East Jerusalem as growing numbers of hardline religious Jews take up residence in Palestinian areas. A report from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Acri) found that violent confrontations between Jewish residents and their Palestinian neighbours had risen rapidly, but that Israeli police have largely ignored Palestinian complaints.

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Palestinian source: U.S. pressuring Abbas to continue talks even if settlements expand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) September 3, 2010 - 12:00am

A senior Palestinian source told Haaretz that the American administration renewed its pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in direct negotiations with Israel, even if some construction in the settlements resumes after the end of the current moratorium. The source warned that Abbas would not be able to agree to a renewal of construction and will be forced to withdraw from the talks.

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Experts Fear Mideast Talks Are Too Ambitious
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am

As the Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged at the peace summit meeting in Washington this week to try to resolve the core issues that have long divided their people and bloodied the land, a growing number of stakeholders here in Israel worried that the two sides were aiming too high.

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Barak to Haaretz: Israel ready to cede parts of Jerusalem in peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Ari Shavit - (Interview) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Ehud Barak has always vacillated between peace and security, dovishness and hawkishness, left wing and right wing. Even when he left south Lebanon, offered the Golan Heights to Hafez Assad and the Temple Mount to Yasser Arafat, he didn't do this as a bleeding heart. He always spoke forcefully, talked about the importance of sobriety. He always spoke about how Israel must survive in a jungle. It must do so even now, on the eve of the peace summit in Washington.

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Israel hints Jerusalem compromise in peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr, Matt Spetalnick - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday the Jewish state would be willing to hand over parts of Jerusalem in peace talks with the Palestinians to be launched by U.S. President Barack Obama. A flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank and a deadlock over Jewish settlements there loom as potential deal-breakers for Obama, who will host Middle East leaders for dinner at the White House in Washington.

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The trickiest issue in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas enter direct peace talks on Thursday, an intensifying battle for Jerusalem has rendered the conflict’s trickiest issue even more intractable. A key flashpoint in this battle is Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Arab neighborhood revered by religious Jews. While the number of new Jewish residents remains small, Palestinians and human rights activists see their expanding presence as fulfilling a larger plan.

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ZAKA headquarters authorized in east Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

As leaders gather in Washington to talk peace, the Jerusalem Municipality is promoting a building plan for the east of the city. Ynet learned on Wednesday that the municipal committee for commemorating terror victims has authorized the construction of a new headquarters for ZAKA, a voluntary rescue organization, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The planned headquarters will include facilities for refrigerating and storing thousands of bodies and a museum for commemorating terror victims.

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Encountering Peace: The indefatigable peacemaker’s advice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

There won’t be many more opportunities to make it work. That is the growing consensus. Even if the public does not sense it, there is a real urgency; we must move toward reaching an agreement. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolvable. There are solutions to all problems. In addition to the multiple rounds of Track I negotiations that have taken place since Madrid in 1991, there have also been thousands of hours of informal Track II negotiations in which a couple of hundred Israeli and Palestinian experts have participated and have reached understandings and “shelf agreements.”

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