A significant month for Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Sami Moubayed - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

The month of September is indeed a rich one for Arab historians wanting to write up a 'Today in History'. September 28 alone has recorded several monumental events that have shaped modern Arab history: the break-up of the Syrian-Egyptian Union in 1961, the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser in 1970, the signing of Oslo II in 1995, and the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000. September of course, is when the horrific 9-11 terrorist attacks took place in 2001, when the Sabra and Shatila massacres occurred in 1982 and when the original Oslo Accords were signed on the White House lawn in 1993.

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Palestinians want peace deal but don't reject Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
September 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Most Palestinians who want a state of their own would like to achieve it through a peace deal with Israel but there is still substantial support for the Islamist Hamas group which favors resistance, according to a new opinion poll. The survey by New York pollsters Charney research for the New York-based International Peace Institute (IPI) was carried out over the summer in Gaza, where Hamas rules, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, under the authority of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement.

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No shortcuts to statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
(Opinion) September 24, 2009 - 12:00am

There may be something new under the sun after all – at least since the days when Balfour promised the Jews a National Home in Palestine and Trygve Lie oversaw the UN General Assembly's endorsement of the partition of Palestine.

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IPI Poll: Palestinians Support 2-State Peace Plan, Fatah, Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Peace Institute
September 24, 2009 - 12:00am

The poll reveals major changes in attitudes since 2000, when Palestinians rejected compromises proposed at the Camp David summit with Israel, and the 2006 Palestinian elections, when Fatah was defeated by the Islamist Hamas party.

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Obama Presses Mideast Leaders To Broaden Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Glenn Kessler - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's meetings Tuesday with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority signaled his impatience with months of stalemate in the quest for Middle East peace, as well as his desire to move beyond talks about settlement construction and straight to negotiations on the final shape of the region.

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A Middle East Handshake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

The Summit President Obama convened Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fell well short of the administration's hopes. Mr. Obama had wanted to announce agreement on the opening of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state, with a deadline of two years. He wanted to outline agreements on how those negotiations would proceed and some of the principles that would underpin them.

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President Obama enters the Mideast fray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama, exasperated by the disappointing course of Mideast peace efforts, urged Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday to reapply themselves, even though eight months of intensive American engagement has failed to return the parties to the negotiating table. Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a New York hotel ahead of a United Nations session, stepping personally into the process and offering an unusually blunt message.

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Peace talks begin with little Palestinian or Israeli support
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

An inglorious beginning to peace talks was kicked off with what some described as a “civil” meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. The two leaders reportedly stated their previous positions of stalemate, while the US diplomatic machine put its gears into drive and arranged for US special envoy George Mitchell to return to the region after he failed to convince sides to sit down in New York. Teams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will also travel to Washington for a resumption of efforts.

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Source: Obama strongly expressed his impatience to Netanyahu and Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday that he was dissatisfied with their recent foot-dragging on getting Israeli-Palestinian talks restarted. A senior U.S. administration source Tuesday told Haaretz that "during the tripartite meeting Obama strongly expressed his impatience." The source said the meeting was "businesslike" but not cordial. Netanyahu and Abbas voiced their opinions but did not attack.

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White House Pivots in Mideast Peace Bid
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The New York Times - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama, who has met immovable resistance from Israel over his demand for a full freeze on settlements in the West Bank, is largely setting that issue aside as a first step toward restarting Middle East peace talks.

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