Israel and Palestinian sources to Haaretz: U.S. peace efforts have failed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

The intensive U.S. efforts to create an agreed outline for renewed negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have failed, Israeli and Palestinian sources have told Haaretz. The sources said the Palestinian leadership is more determined than ever to pursue the recognition of an independent Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.

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A Palestinian View: September needs Israel's awakening and not politicians' bluffs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mahdi Abdul Hadi - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The proposal made by Yossi Alpher and several other Israelis of "Buying into Palestinian Statehood" (New York Times, June 24, 2011) is based on several wishful assumptions for the "day after".

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Israel 1967 Borders Are Central in Mideast Talks Restart Effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Nicole Gaouette, Bill Varner - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by starting with the 1967 borders will likely be adopted by the international group trying to find a peace agreement. The meeting today in Washington by the “Quartet” -- the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has taken on added urgency as Palestinians plan to ask the UN to recognize their state in a September vote. Israel and the U.S. oppose the move, which would raise political and legal questions.

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Israel 1967 Borders Are Central in Mideast Talks Restart Effort
Media Mention of ATFP In Bloomberg - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by starting with the 1967 borders will likely be adopted by the international group trying to find a peace agreement. The meeting today in Washington by the “Quartet” -- the U.S., European Union, United Nations and Russia -- has taken on added urgency as Palestinians plan to ask the UN to recognize their state in a September vote. Israel and the U.S. oppose the move, which would raise political and legal questions.

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Breaking the Israel-Palestine Impasse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus
by Didier Jacobs - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

On a recent trip to Israel, I visited a school in Sderot featuring bunkers in the playground. I asked the principal what she thought about her government: “Things are quiet now, so the policy is working”, she replied. And when rockets rain down, it’s time to retaliate. Hawks take political advantage of violence, and doves can’t convey the urgency of peace in good times.

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World powers should impose Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Linda Heard - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The world’s appetite for the inhumane status quo to continue indefinitely is receding. And as long as Israel continues its land grab the window of opportunity for two states diminishes. The only remaining option — apart from the genocide of historic Palestine’s rightful owners — would be the one-state solution which most Palestinians reject and Israelis fear would signal the Jewish state’s demographic demise.

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Jordan calls for rescuing Israeli-Palestinians peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 8, 2011 - 12:00am

AMMAN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Thursday underlined the need for serious efforts to rescue the peace process and resume peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the state- run Petra news agency reported. The peace talks should lead to the creation of an independent, viable and geographically connected Palestinian state at the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said at a meeting with Iceland's Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson Thursday.

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Ashton: Quartet meeting aim to set framework for talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday said that the goal at a Quartet meeting in Washington scheduled for Monday will be "to try and adopt a statement that will help the Israelis and Palestinians to bridge the gap, and allow for a return to the negotiating table." The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- are scheduled to meet on July 11, a senior UN diplomat said last week.

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Palestinian official: UN vote on statehood won't contradict peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat attended a meeting with U.S. officials at the U.S. State Department Wednesday, at which U.S. officials were expected to push the PA negotiator to accept American terms for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Acting Middle East Envoy David Hale and diplomat Dennis Ross both attended the meeting with Erekat. Following their meeting, Erekat said in a brief press conference that he does not expect the Quartet’s meeting scheduled for July 11 to “invent the wheel.”

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Mediators matter, and good mediators can broker agreements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Daniel Kurtzer - (Blog) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Mediators matter, especially in the Arab-Israel conflict, where all parties have looked to the United States to play the role of third party helper. During the more than 30 years of active American mediation, the parties have sometimes defined what they wanted the US to do or to avoid doing, but they have not defined clearly the structure or functioning of the mediator's role.

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