THE INVISIBILITY OF PALESTINIANS
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) February 4, 2013 - 1:00am


I was sitting the other day at a cafe called English Cake in a shopping center at the heart of this cluster of settlements near Jerusalem. Israeli settlers — many would not like the term — were sipping Turkish coffee, flirting over pastries and enjoying the afternoon sun. The scene was relaxed, as life generally is these days. The conflict, at least in the West Bank, is present but not pressing.


Encountering Peace: Opportunities for US peace initiative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) February 4, 2013 - 1:00am


Is there a renewed opportunity for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking after the Israeli elections? That is exactly what US Secretary of State John Kerry will be seeking to determine on his first swing through the Middle East over the next couple of weeks.


New U.S. Secretary of State to visit Israel: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 3, 2013 - 1:00am


  John Kerry, the new U.S. Secretary of State, will start his tenure with a visit to Israel in two weeks, CNN news reported citing a U.S. official. Kerry, who replaced former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday, is set to visit the Middle East including a stop in Egypt in mid-February.


Hope for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is not the preserve of thoughtless optimists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Matt Hill - (Opinion) February 1, 2013 - 1:00am


Surprising as it may sound, William Hague is turning out to be the most vocally pro-Palestinian British foreign secretary of recent times.


Palestinian ghettos
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


After Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was dealt a political lynching in this month’s national election that overthrew many of his supporters, he is walking on a tightrope in search of new partners. But some of his likely new colleagues, who have just surfaced, some gloriously, do not seem very keen on sticking their necks out for the mercurial Israeli prime minister whose days in the premiership are believed to be numbered.


PA studying plans to join international agencies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


The Palestinian Authority foreign minister said Thursday that the government was studying the steps toward joining more international organizations and agreements.  Riyad al-Malki said officials were hopeful to initiate applications "as soon as possible" now that Palestine is recognized as a state and can theoretically join dozens of UN and international agencies. 


Hamas denies accepting two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


Hamas on Wednesday said it does not accept the two-state solution, following reports the party had changed its position to accept the state of Israel. The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq reported Wednesday that Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mashaal asked Jordan's King Abdullah to inform US President Barack Obama that Hamas accepted the two-state solution. Hamas said in a statement that the report was baseless and that Mashaal did not address the two-state solution in his meeting with the Jordanian king in Amman on Monday.


Israeli settlements symbolise the acute lack of justice experienced by the Palestinian people
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Nations
January 31, 2013 - 1:00am


  The International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory today published its findings on the implications Israeli settlements have upon the human rights of the Palestinian people. The report states that a multitude of the human rights of the Palestinians are violated in various forms and ways due to the existence of the settlements.


Netanyahu Will Not Make Peace With the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) January 29, 2013 - 1:00am


We here at the Goldblog glass-enclosed nerve center are getting a lot of heat from our right about our assertion that not much has changed on the Israeli political landscape, especially in relation to issues concerning the Palestinians.


Israelis who hoped for peace progress should expect to be disappointed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Adrian Daniels - (Opinion) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am


To the same degree that the campaign itself was lifeless and predictable, the results of Israel's general election have invigorated and excited Israel's center and Zionist Left.



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