Quartet

Abbas: Negotiations must be serious
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel would be fully responsible if negotiations fail as a result of settlement expansion, as he gave a speech in Ramallah before heading to Washington to relaunch talks. Talks, which are set to begin on 2 September, will address final status issues including Jerusalem, refugees, prisoners and security among others but that "security must not continue to be a security for the continuation of the occupation and settlements," Abbas said.

Direct talks will fail – is that what the US is planning on?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

There is more chance of Saddam Hussein’s elusive weapons of mass destruction suddenly turning up in Iraq than there is of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas agreeing on the terms for a two-state solution in Washington this week. That does not mean the direct talks being orchestrated by President Barack Obama are pointless. On the contrary, they represent a moment of truth, not for the Israelis or the Palestinians, but for Mr Obama, who is creating a crisis by forcing irreconcilable differences between the two sides onto the table.

Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad signals make or break for two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, warned today that a "moment of reckoning" was approaching as Israel and the Palestinian Authority prepare to embark this week on their first direct negotiations for 20 months. Setting out his second-year plans to build the institutions and framework of a Palestinian state, due to be completed in 12 months, Fayyad said the talks "can and must" succeed or the chances of a two-state solution to the conflict would fade.

Once more into the breach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Freep
(Editorial) August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

"When you're dealing with the Middle East, 2,000 years is the normal wait for something to happen." So said Marlin Fitzwater, White House spokesman under the first President George Bush, more than 20 years ago. And, indeed, it seems as though in the generations-long quest for Middle East peace, Israel and the Palestinians have been in an endless cycle of negotiations punctuated by violence and hope destroyed by hatred.

Abbas: Negotiations despite opposition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 27, 2010 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas said he would go to negotiations in Washington next week despite heavy opposition to the resumption of peace talks with Israel. Speaking at an iftar meal honoring religious figures and diplomatic officials in Palestine, Abbas said he hoped Israeli negotiators would grasp what he termed the "current opportunity to achieve peace."

Abbas calls peace talks 'historic opportunity'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

After being forced to resume direct talks, Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas called negotiations with Israel "a historic opportunity" to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. At a reception for diplomats held in Ramallah Wednesday evening, Abbas urged the Israeli government "not to miss this historic opportunity." He stressed that the demand to maintain the settlement construction freeze comes from the entire international community, possibly hinting that the resumption of construction on September 26 could lead to the PA's withdrawal from talks.

Mash'al: Talks will eliminate Palestinian cause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Mash'al said a return to direct negotiations with Israel was "nationally illegitimate, carried out by force and American summons," on Tuesday. Mash'al, speaking at an iftar dinner held for journalists in Damascus, said the PLO Executive Committee's decision to endorse the talks was "an echo of Washington's orders," adding that consensus was not reached among Palestinian factions, with most of the 11 parties making up the PLO opposing a return to talks with Israel.

Six Signs for the Forthcoming Washington Negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Mamoun Fandy - (Opinion) August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

When the US President, through his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, invites the Israelis and the Palestinians to hold direct negotiations under the auspices of the United States, and the International Quartet (of the EU, Russia, the United States, and the United Nations), then this is something that is worthy of interest and analysis of the hidden meanings and messages, for even if this does not benefit our understanding in this round [of negotiations] it could benefit us in future rounds.

Washington Watch: An inauspicious beginning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by D. Bloomfield - (Opinion) August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

No sooner had Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the resumption of Mideast peace talks “without preconditions” than the Palestinians threatened to walk out, nearly two weeks before they were even scheduled to begin, unless their conditions were met. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who constantly kvetched that everyone in the world, particularly his Arab brethren, was pressuring him to sit down with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, demanded all Jewish construction in territories he wants for a Palestinian state be frozen before he’d talk.

Israel Refuses Blair Request to Up Electricity to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel has balked at a request to boost the amount of electricity it supplies to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on grounds that it didn’t want to cooperate with “a terror organization.” Quartet Representative Tony Blair made the request Monday to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, Blaire’s spokesman confirmed to The Media Line.

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