Palestinian leaders deny offering major concessions to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - January 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian leaders Sunday rejected a report by Al Jazeera television network that they had agreed in 2008 to cede most of disputed East Jerusalem and to make other major concessions in an unsuccessful bid to win statehood. Citing documents that it called the "Palestine Papers," the Arab television outlet quoted minutes from a Jan. 15, 2008, meeting involving then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei.

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U.S.: Possible UN censure of settlements 'not helpful' to peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved through direct peace negotiations, not by submitting resolutions to the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday. The United States has opposed a move by Arab countries to bring a resolution condemning the settlement, but has not said it would use its veto to block passage.

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Obama must call Israeli settlements illegal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Opinion) January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

"To veto or not to veto?" That is the agonising question that has President Barack Obama pacing the battlements of the White House waiting to dodge the slings and arrows of outraged Aipac. Provoked by the latest demolition in East Jerusalem, no fewer than 120 countries have sponsored a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity. Hillary Clinton has also condemned it as "illegitimate", but the resolution introduces precision by terming the settlements as "illegal".

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Palestinian, Russian leaders urge settlement freeze to resume negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Fares Akram - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday called on Israel to stop building settlements in order to resume stalled peace talks. "There are two options: negotiations and peace, or violence and terrorism," Abbas told a news conference after his talks with Medvedev in the West Bank city of Jericho, "The Palestinian side will never choose the second option."

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Israel can't stop Palestinian independence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

They will go out into Jerusalem's summer heat and march down Saladin Street toward the Old City walls. Fifty Palestinians, then 100, then 200 and 1,000 and 10,000. Marching and shouting "Istiqlal," independence. Not because they support Ehud Barak's new party, Atzmaut (the Hebrew word for independence ), but to get Israel out of the territories beyond the Green Line and establish a Palestinian state there. Just like the demonstrators in Tunisia got rid of Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali.

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Obama at Half Time: Two Years in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Council on Foreign Relations
by Elliott Abrams - (Blog) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am

There will be many assessments of what President Obama has achieved in the Middle East during his two years as President, and few will be positive.

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PM determined to advance peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to speed up the dialogue with the United States in a bid to renew the regional peace process, state officials said Monday night. According to one of the sources, "(Defense Minister Ehud) Barak's departure (from the Labor Party) will make it possible to clarify to the Palestinians that the chance for moving up the elections is far smaller than it was before."

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Peace process under threat as Barak goes to war with his party
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, abruptly quit as leader of the Labour Party yesterday, plunging the party into disarray and casting a shadow over prospects for peace. The announcement prompted the resignation of three Labour ministers from the government, robbing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish coalition of its more moderate voices. Mr Netanyahu is left with a slender majority to govern, but he is now potentially more vulnerable to pressure from the far-right members of his coalition.

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Who will be the next to recognize an independent Palestinian state?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Shamir - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am

Who will be the next country to recognize an independent Palestinian state? The guessing game continued on Tuesday, after Russia's president said Moscow recognizes an independent Palestine. Diplomatic sources in New York speculate that the first country in Western Europe to recognize Palestinian independence will be Spain. The significance of this potential recognition cannot be understated, as it could potentially influence other countries in Europe to make the same decision.

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Palestinians to turn to Security Council this week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - January 17, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinians expect to submit their request for a U.N. Security Council condemnation of Israeli settlements this week and will not be deterred by a U.S. appeal to abandon the idea, senior officials said Monday. In recent weeks, the Palestinians have prepared a draft that would have the Security Council declare settlements illegal and demand a halt of their construction. During this time, Palestinian diplomats have tried to win support for the proposed resolution.

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