Talks ‘Doable,’ Says Palestinian Official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday that he believed reaching an agreement with Israel within a year was “doable,” echoing remarks by the Israeli prime minister a day earlier that a peace agreement would be difficult but “possible.” But the otherwise sharply differing declarations presented as the basis for going into the direct talks, scheduled to start in Washington on Sept. 2, reflect the complexity of the effort required to get the two sides to this point, and the daunting challenges that lie ahead.

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End of settlement freeze could derail Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times
by Eli Lake - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are set to begin next week in Washington may be scuttled before they even get going. Israel has yet to commit to extending a freeze on construction of settlements that the Palestinian side says it needs to continue negotiations. That settlement freeze is set to expire Sept. 26. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated in a letter to President Obama that he would not participate in the direct talks if Israel continued construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

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Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
August 22, 2010 - 12:00am

When Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu come face to face for dinner and talks in Washington, we know where they’re coming from. They will meet a decade after the last real final-status talks, 20 months after the last direct talks and after around three months of largely futile indirect negotiations.

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Israel's Netanyahu scores big victory with direct peace talks – for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Savoring the diplomatic victory of renewed direct peace talks announced last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet today that a peace treaty with the Palestinians would be "a difficult thing, but it is possible."

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In New Mideast Talks, A Small Victory For U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Michele Kelemen - August 21, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama administration has set the date for the first direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in two years, a small diplomatic victory for an administration that made Arab-Israeli peace an early priority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been invited to the White House on Sept.1. They will be joined by Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

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Stakes are high in Mideast peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Farah Stockman - August 21, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States will host the launch of direct peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington early next month, a diplomatic breakthrough for the Obama administration, which has invested much of the president’s global political capital in an attempt to broker peace in the Middle East.

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US gambles on new Middle East talks with no clear plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Kim Ghattas - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

This time, scepticism is at an all-time high and expectations are low, including for the near term, let alone the ambitious goal set out by Hillary Clinton of resolving all key issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within a year. The statement by the secretary of state and her special envoy, George Mitchell, was high in aspirations, low on details.

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Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks: What Will Help, Hinder?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from PBS
August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Transcript JEFFREY BROWN: And to talk about the talks, we go to David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and co-author of the book "Myths, Illusions and Peace," and Ghaith Al-Omari, advocacy director at the American Task Force on Palestine and a fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is a former aide to President Abbas. Ghaith al Omari, what is your answer to the question posed at the announcement today, why now?

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New Israel Fund Considering Red Lines
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am

The New Israel Fund, the target of attacks by right-wing organizations accusing it of supporting anti-Zionist groups, is discussing the possibility of specifying in its guidelines that grants will be given only to groups that accept the idea of Israel as a Jewish homeland. The discussions have been taking place in recent months in Israel and in the United States, where NIF’s headquarters are located and most of the group’s donors reside.

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PA reports year's achievements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian government on Sunday published a report outlining its activity in the past year. According to the document, in the past 12 months the Palestinian Authority's government, headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, marked significant achievements in the construction of government institutions and other infrastructure.

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