White House Pivots in Mideast Peace Bid
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The New York Times - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama, who has met immovable resistance from Israel over his demand for a full freeze on settlements in the West Bank, is largely setting that issue aside as a first step toward restarting Middle East peace talks.

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President Obama enters the Mideast fray
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Los Angeles Times - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama, exasperated by the disappointing course of Mideast peace efforts, urged Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday to reapply themselves, even though eight months of intensive American engagement has failed to return the parties to the negotiating table. Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a New York hotel ahead of a United Nations session, stepping personally into the process and offering an unusually blunt message.

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Jewish groups, clerics back Obama peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

A number of Jewish groups and rabbis joined an open letter backing President Obama's intensive efforts toward a broader Middle East peace. Leaders of J Street, Americans for Peace Now and the Reconstructionist movement as well to former presidents of the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis signed the letter published Tuesday, saying that "we believe bold American leadership can help Israelis and Palestinians make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve lasting peace and hold the parties to account should they fail to honor their commitments."

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Obama Presses Mideast Leaders To Broaden Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Glenn Kessler - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's meetings Tuesday with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority signaled his impatience with months of stalemate in the quest for Middle East peace, as well as his desire to move beyond talks about settlement construction and straight to negotiations on the final shape of the region.

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A Middle East Handshake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

The Summit President Obama convened Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fell well short of the administration's hopes. Mr. Obama had wanted to announce agreement on the opening of talks on the creation of a Palestinian state, with a deadline of two years. He wanted to outline agreements on how those negotiations would proceed and some of the principles that would underpin them.

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President Obama enters the Mideast fray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama, exasperated by the disappointing course of Mideast peace efforts, urged Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday to reapply themselves, even though eight months of intensive American engagement has failed to return the parties to the negotiating table. Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at a New York hotel ahead of a United Nations session, stepping personally into the process and offering an unusually blunt message.

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Obama may have lost some face in the Middle East, but don't write him off yet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

There was something wrong with that picture. Of course all the best politicians are skilled actors, so they did their best to hide the reality. But, despite the smiles and the handshake, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu could not quite conceal the weirdness at the centre of their photo-op in New York today. What the image should have conveyed was the gratitude of the leaders of two minor states, happy to be basking in the sunlight radiated by the global emperor.

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Obama hosts Middle East peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Sharmila Devi - September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

The US president Barack Obama yesterday acknowledged the long road to Middle East peace after he directly entered the diplomatic process and brought the current Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for the first time. As expected, there was no breakthrough, but Mr Obama reiterated his commitment to resuming peace talks and announced that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators would meet George Mitchell, US Middle East envoy, next week.

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A Mideastern farewell photo at the UN?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Zahi Khouri - (Opinion) September 23, 2009 - 12:00am

No concrete results were expected from Tuesday’s meeting at the United Nations that brought together US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The gathering marked the end of the first phase of Obama’s intriguing foray into Arab-Israeli peace-making.

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Low expectations for 'symbolic' trilateral summit in NY
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - September 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the US overnight Tuesday ahead of his scheduled meeting with US President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. White House officials said their expectations from the trilateral talks, which are set to begin at 6 pm (Israel time), were low. Sources in the PM's entourage said the meeting between Netanyahu, Abbas and Obama would likely be symbolic in nature, adding that they do not foresee any diplomatic achievements during the General Assembly's session.

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