The end of the settlement freeze gimmick is not the end of the world, or the possibility of peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

For many months now I have been predicting that the US would probably be able to secure a three or four-month settlement freeze extension, allowing for the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. And, indeed, the Obama administration moved heaven and earth to do so, but now it would appear they have accepted that the present Israeli cabinet simply will not agree to any such thing.

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Hillary Clinton signals failure of direct talks on Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration will continue to try to negotiate the outlines of an eventual peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians through indirect talks, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday evening, implicitly acknowledging that the direct talks launched with fanfare just three months ago had failed.

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U.S. debates role in Mideast peace effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration's abandonment of a failed strategy for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking has sparked a debate within the White House about what kind of approach — and how much energy — America's overbooked national security team should put into the Middle East effort. The focus of that debate sharpened Thursday as top officials jockeyed to shape a highly anticipated policy speech that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will make Friday night.

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Top PA officials head to Washington
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad and chief negotiator Saeb Erakat were on Thursday flying to Washington to hold talks with top US officials over the crisis in peace talks. Fayyad was to hold talks with Hillary Clinton early on Friday ahead of a conference at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at which the secretary of state was to give a keynote address outlining a new strategy for advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

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U.S. hurting peace chances by giving up on Israeli settlement freeze, analysts say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration's decision to stop seeking a new Israeli settlement freeze as a way back into talks with the Palestinians has diminished prospects of achieving a peace accord within a year and eroded U.S. credibility in the region, analysts said Wednesday. The decision also represented a belated recognition that even if they had persuaded Israel to renew a construction moratorium in the West Bank for three months, U.S. officials would have faced an even more difficult problem after that expired.

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Obama's double-or-nothing moment in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The latest collapse of the Middle East peace process has underlined a reality that the Obama administration has resisted since it took office -- that neither the current Israeli government nor the Palestinian Authority shares its passion for moving quickly toward a two-state settlement. And it has left President Obama with a tough choice: quietly shift one of his prized foreign policy priorities to a back burner -- or launch a risky redoubling of U.S. efforts.

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Mitchell will proceed with Mideast talks despite breakdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell will head back to the region next week after Obama administration officials vowed Wednesday to continue the push for peace despite a breakdown in direct negotiations.

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Israeli and Palestinian negotiators fault US focus on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The US decision to give up on securing an Israeli settlement freeze has left Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas disappointed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a momentary victory, and observers criticizing the Obama administration's peacemaking strategy. Indeed, analysts and seasoned negotiators see Tuesday's announcement as the end of a mishandled chapter in Arab-Israeli diplomacy, in which Washington's overriding focus on settlements ultimately failed.

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Abbas: No talks with Israel in shadow of settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday stood firm on his demand for a halt to settlement building before talks with Israel can resume, as US officials scrambled to rescue the collapsing peace process. "We will not accept negotiations as long as settlements continue," Abbas told reporters in Cairo after more than one hour of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "We have made this clear to the Americans: without a halt to settlements, no negotiations."

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Dissolving the Palestinian Authority is a terrible idea
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) December 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The latest pronouncements of the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, that he would consider dissolving the Palestinian Authority (PA) if the current stalled peace negotiations with Israel do not move ahead, is more bizarre than brazen. It is understandable that he is frustrated and groping for alternatives to his current failed policy, but what he proposes is simply silly and regrettable.

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