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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UN chief urges Israel to freeze settlements despite failure to reach deal with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Shamir - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The UN Secretary-General publicly chastised the government of Israel on Wednesday for refusing to extend its ten-month moratorium on construction in the settlements of the West Bank that expired in September, calling it a snub to the international community. A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to renew its freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, framing it as an obligation that Israel is avoiding.

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Why the U.S. Ended Push for Israeli Building Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

When it became clear a month ago that American and Israeli officials were negotiating a partial, one-time, 90-day Israeli settlement construction freeze in exchange for American military hardware and diplomatic guarantees, few analysts applauded. Related Israel Says It Will Permit More Exports From Gaza (December 9, 2010)

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US admits defeat on Israeli settlement freeze. Can it still broker peace?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The US admission that it has given up on securing an Israeli settlement freeze, coupled with Latin American's growing support for Palestinian statehood – with or without a peace deal – has pushed the faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process to the brink. Late yesterday, a senior US diplomat said that the Obama administration, which had made a settlement freeze the kingpin of its peacemaking efforts, had dropped its bid to secure a second moratorium from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing coalition partners had strongly opposed such a measure.

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Abbas says peace talks with Israel in crisis?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday said peace talks with Israel were in crisis after Washington's decision to drop its demand for a new freeze on settlement building in the occupied West Bank. "There is no doubt that there is a crisis," Abbas said after his meeting with Prime Minister George Papandreou in Athens. Abbas said he hoped the European Union would get involved in relaunching the negotiations. "We hope that the time will soon come when the EU will play a role alongside the United States."

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Palestinians criticise U.S., peace process in crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Tom Perry - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians said on Wednesday "Israeli obstinacy" made Washington give up on efforts to freeze Jewish settlement and questioned whether the United States could ever help them attain independence. Senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said that with its bid to revive direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations now at a dead-end, the United States was proposing a return to indirect talks to try to unstick a peace process in deep crisis.

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US mulls reviving indirect Middle East peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The United States is weighing a return to indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks following its failure to revive direct negotiations because of disagreements over Israeli settlement construction, two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Tuesday.


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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Palestinians question US ability to forge peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

A top Palestinian official on Wednesday questioned Washington's ability to forge Middle East peace after a new breakdown in American attempts to revive negotiations. The U.S. failure to persuade Israel to renew a limited freeze on construction in West Bank Jewish settlements, announced late Tuesday, was the latest setback for the Obama administration in its quest to broker a peace deal by September. That goal, a top priority of the president, appears increasingly in doubt.

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Israel’s mistakes created a State of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Blog) December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Irrespective of whether we agree with it or like it, this is what is going to happen. A Palestinian state is going to emerge on the West Bank, Gaza, and in East Jerusalem, and most of the countries of the world are going to recognize it. It will be accepted into the United Nations, and Israel is not going to be able to do a thing to prevent it.

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