Now that the carrot has not worked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

At the beginning of the latest US-Israel crisis over the issue of settlement freeze, the Americans considered both carrot and stick to “encourage” the Israelis to do the right thing, in accordance with international law.

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Asharq Al-Awsat Talks to Fatah's Mohammed Dahlan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Salah Jumaa - (Interview) December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Fatah Commissioner of Information, Mohammed Dahlan confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that "members of the Fatah Central Committee are united behind President Mahmoud Abbas." He also revealed that "informers" had poisoned his relationship with Abbas, although this has not reached the level of a "dispute." Dahlan called for peaceful and creative steps to be taken in order to strengthen the perseverance of the Palestinian people, whilst he also predicted the outbreak of a third Intifada should the peace process remain stalled.

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Encountering Peace: The house is on fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

A week ago I wrote in this column that “the house is on fire and it’s time to wake up before everything we have built is destroyed by our own doing.” I was, of course, not referring to the tragic fire in the Carmel Forest. The fire is now out and Nature will have to work its wonders to bring life back where cinders now took over, but Nature knows how to recover.

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Israel warns Argentina: Recognizing Palestinian state shatters peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned as "highly regrettable" Argentina's announcement of the previous day that it recognized Palestine as "a free and independent state" within its borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. The decision was highly "damaging," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, "because they are in fact shattering the foundation of the peace process." The recognition while peace negotiations are ongoing and no final peace deal has yet been reached "is contrary to the existing legal framework of the peace process," he added.

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Europe doesn't delegitimize Israel, only the occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

The flying squadron of international firefighters that came to extinguish the flames in the Carmel region has poured cold water on the "they are delegitimizing us" campaign. Even Norway - which, heaven help us, keeps an open channel to Hamas and heads the list of critics of Israel's government - offered a pair of helicopters. It is hard to find a diplomat who epitomizes the difference between support for Israel and delegitimization of the occupation better than Svein Sevje, Norway's ambassador to Israel.

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Abbas says dissolution of PNA not an option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that the Palestinians did not consider dissolving the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) an option as no demands for such an act had been voiced. Abbas told a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul that he would press for other states to recognize an independent Palestinian state if peace talks with Israel collapse, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported. However, the dissolution of the PNA was not among the various options of the Palestinians in case talks fail, he was quoted of saying.

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Israel upset by Argentina Palestinian recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Daniel Estrin - December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel expressed disappointment Tuesday with Argentina's recognition of a Palestinian state in territories Israel occupied in 1967, saying they undercut American-led efforts to create such a state through negotiations with Israel. Argentina said its move, announced Monday just days after Brazil took a similar step, reflected the country's deep frustration with gridlocked peace efforts. But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said unilateral recognition was "counterproductive" to peacemaking.

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A narrow road to Palestinian freedom
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

A narrow road near the small West Bank village of Qarawat Bani Hassan is now the implausible epicenter of the Palestinian drive for freedom and independence. At first glance, the two-kilometer stretch is remote and of little practical significance, since it does not lead to any major hub and has no strategic value. But it is, quite literally, the frontline of the Palestinian state and institution-building program being led by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

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Palestinians Moot Plans for Organized Lobby in the West
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority wants to mobilize Palestinians living in the United States and Europe to campaign politically for the national cause, building a counterpart to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel lobbies. The idea was raised at the first-ever Conference of Arab Expatriates, which ended yesterday in Cairo. Aimed at establishing an organizational framework for Arab expats and fostering "a dialogue of civilizations, cultures and religions," the three-day conference was held under the auspices of the Arab League.

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Still not too late to change course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Blog) December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

In these early days of December, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took time off from his seemingly endless negotiations with both the Obama administration and his own coalition over the terms for a renewed settlement-construction freeze. Netanyahu was totally immersed in Israel's biggest-ever natural disaster, a mega-fire on Mt. Carmel. Friends, neighbors, even semi-enemies--countries as diverse as the Palestinian Authority, Turkey and the United States--all gallantly helped Israel fight the fire.

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