Israel's Netanyahu Meets With Envoy Mitchell
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Aron Heller - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's next leader sat face-to-face Thursday with a man whose vision of Israeli-Palestinian relations is radically different from his own: the Obama administration's new Middle East envoy. Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu says negotiations on Palestinian statehood are pointless. But envoy George J. Mitchell wants Israel to resume negotiations to establish a Palestinian state. This is Mitchell's second Middle East visit since President Obama took office last month. Next week, Hillary Rodham Clinton will make her first trip to the region as secretary of state.

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Fatah, Hamas begin reconciliation talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Spurred by the prospect of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for the war-battered Gaza Strip, the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas began long-awaited talks Thursday aimed at restoring a power-sharing arrangement. The talks in Cairo have the blessing of the Obama administration and could lead to a new international approach toward Hamas, the Islamic group that the U.S., like Israel and the European Union, considers a terrorist organization.

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U.S. envoy, Netanyahu meet on peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

The special U.S. envoy tasked with jump-starting flagging peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians huddled Thursday with designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of the negotiations. The meeting was the first between Netanyahu and George Mitchell since Netanyahu was tapped to lead Israel's next government.

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Egypt urges Palestinian reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

Egypt urged all Palestinian factions on Thursday to work on ending their internal chasm in reconciliation talks aimed at pushing rivals Hamas and Fatah to form an interim unity government. "Your people are looking forward to seeing the beginning of your unity," said Gen. Omar Sulieman, Egypt's intelligence head, in nationally televised comments Thursday. Distrust between the groups runs deep after a power struggle including Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, leaving Fatah in charge of only the West Bank.

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Why 88 Arab homes received eviction notices
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel plans to demolish 88 homes in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, to make way for a new archaeological park, adding new fuel the slow-burning dispute over Jerusalem. A variety of neighborhood activists, Muslim leaders in Jerusalem, and even figures from the Palestinian Authority (PA) held a press conference Wednesday, saying that Israel was trying to minimize the Arab presence in this city claimed by both Palestinians and Jews as their capital. They say such a move amounts to ethnic cleansing.

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Palestinian Rivals Announce Steps Toward Healing Rift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Taghreed El-Khodary, Isabel Kershner - February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

Leaders of the rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah declared Thursday a “historic day” at the conclusion of a meeting here aimed at healing a 20-month schism. The long-awaited Cairo talks added another twist to an already complex political situation as President Obama’s Middle East envoy arrived in Israel for discussions with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

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Palestinians agree to form unity govt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Sakher Abu El Oun - February 26, 2009 - 1:00am

Rival Palestinian groups agreed on Thursday to set up a unity government by the end of March after reconciliation talks aimed at ending long-running factional feuding, Palestinian officials said. The agreement, which could lead to the creation of a Palestinian government acceptable to the international community, was announced by officials from two Palestinian factions involving in the Cairo-sponsored dialogue.

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Thousands rally for Abbas in West Bank as Palestinian rivals begin talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 25, 2009 - 1:00am

Thousands of Palestinians congregated in the West Bank town of Nablus on Wednesday in a strong show of support for President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions set to begin in Cairo. Later in the day, representatives of Abbas' Fatah movement are to sit down in Egypt with envoys from the Islamic militant group Hamas to try to plaster over the gaping political rift that divides them. Fatah on Tuesday released some 42 Hamas prisoners as a goodwill gesture ahead of the reconciliation talks.

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Thousands rally for Abbas in West Bank as Palestinian rivals begin talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
February 25, 2009 - 1:00am

Thousands of Palestinians congregated in the West Bank town of Nablus on Wednesday in a strong show of support for President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions set to begin in Cairo. Later in the day, representatives of Abbas' Fatah movement are to sit down in Egypt with envoys from the Islamic militant group Hamas to try to plaster over the gaping political rift that divides them. Fatah on Tuesday released some 42 Hamas prisoners as a goodwill gesture ahead of the reconciliation talks.

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Syria has more need to talk than the US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
February 24, 2009 - 1:00am

With two congressional delegations having visited Damascus since the US presidential election, Barack Obama appears to be keeping his promise to engage with Syria as part of his regional diplomacy strategy. The heads of the foreign relations committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate met the Syrian president, Bashir al Assad, purportedly to gauge the country’s openness to negotiation.

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