"Other places of critical strategic and national importance"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

In his speech to the United States Congress last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was addressing three target audiences. The least important for him was the Palestinians.

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No new ideas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech delivered to the US Congress on May 24 held no new ideas or initiatives. Rather, it was a reiteration of the same well-known right-wing positions held by this Israeli government.

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Hamas is good for Netanyahu's 'no-partner' strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) May 29, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama was deeply understanding of Israel's resistance to negotiating with Hamas. So much so that in the blaze of fiery words he unleashed on Benjanim Netanyahu, AIPAC and the Israeli public, Obama gave Hamas the status it always wanted: the tripwire for any and all negotiations with Israel. This status is now approved and sanctioned by the United States.

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Road to Palestine becoming clearer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) May 26, 2011 - 12:00am

The marathon of speeches that the US capital Washington witnessed last week cleared the view as to what is needed for Palestinians to reach their coveted independent state. Clearing the view, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that getting a state will be easy or attainable in the near future. People wanting to reach statehood need to be united, set clear and realistic goals as to its borders and have a blueprint for how to reach statehood and not just declare it.

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The Mideast Peace Process: No Plan for Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) May 26, 2011 - 12:00am

This is the time for bold ideas to salvage Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel did not seize it. In his address to Congress, he showed — once again — that he has no serious appetite for the kind of compromises that are the only way to forge a two-state solution and guarantee both Palestinians their long-denied state and Israel’s long-term security.

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In speech to Congress, Israel's Netanyahu offers few concessions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - May 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a joint session of Congress he was prepared to make "painful compromises" for peace but he offered few of the concessions that President Obama has sought as a way to revive moribund Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Ending a tumultuous five-day visit to Washington, Netanyahu said Tuesday he was willing to give up "parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland" in negotiations to create a separate Palestinian state. But he set requirements that varied only slightly from his previous views, and he did not address many specific Palestinian demands.

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Abbas refuses to offer solutions without peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday he will not "put solutions before restarting peace talks" as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his speech to the U.S. Congress Tuesday, in which the prime minister announced Israel cannot go back to the 1967 borders. Abbas' remarks came before a meeting of the Palestinians leadership to review the recent speeches of U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu. The prime minister announced Israel cannot go back to the 1967 borders.

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Netanyahu wasted his chance to present a vision for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 25, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had an outstanding opportunity yesterday to present a vision of a just and sustainable peace for Israel and the Palestinians. Millions watched his speech at the U.S. Congress with bated breath. They anticipated a momentous address that would break the stalemate in the diplomatic discourse over a final peace agreement and lead to the end of the bloody conflict between the two peoples. Many hoped the new winds blowing in recent months in the Middle East would also sweep the prime minister along a new path.

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Moussa: Israel 'not serious' about peace negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Egyptian presidential likely Amr Moussa said that the Israeli refusal to negotiate a peaceful settlement with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas is illegitimate. He said that the current Israeli leadership "is not serious" about negotiating with any Palestinian faction. Speaking to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Moussa said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has to "take into consideration that the Arab world is changing," and that the new Arab leadership will not represent the old status quo. He said now is the time for the Israeli government to "seize this opportunity."

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Wary Netanyahu may offer concessions on West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - (Opinion) May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

The first four days of the US visit of Benjamin Netanyahu have drawn much speculation of an open dispute between the Israeli prime ministerr and Barack Obama, the US president, over the borders of a future Palestinian state.

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