Despite Difficulties, Obama Administration to Intensify Role in Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Joyce Karam - May 24, 2009 - 12:00am

The Obama administration is planning to intensify its engagement in the Peace Process by taking an active role in resuming negotiations and mobilizing regional support for its efforts.

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The most effective stick to use with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The most interesting thing about Monday’s allegedly momentous meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is that the two men agreed on nothing. Obama gave precedence to fruitful negotiations for a Palestinian-Israeli deal while Netanyahu continued to insist that the threat posed by Iran’s non-existent nuclear weapons should be given priority. Obama insisted on early Palestinian-Israeli negotiations without conditions, Netanyahu reiterated his demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state before talks could resume.

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Clinton calls on Israel to halt 'any kind' of settlement activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a hard line against settlement construction in the territories Wednesday, including a call to freeze building for natural growth. Her statement came in contrast to the general terms U.S. President Barack Obama expressed about the issue to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week. "We want to see a stop to settlement construction - additions, natural growth, any kind of settlement activity - that is what the president has called for," Clinton said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

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A friend of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

It's already clear: the U.S. president is a great friend of Israel. If Barack Obama continues what he started this week, he might prove to be the friendliest president to Israel ever. Richard Nixon saved Israel from the Arab states in 1973, and Obama is about to save Israel from itself. Nixon sent us arms and ammunition at a critical time, and Obama is sending us, at a time no less critical, the substance of a complete peace plan, a plan that would save Israel.

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"Fixation on two-state solution is childish"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

"This idea of two states for two peoples is a stupid and childish solution to a very complex problem," senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu staff said on Wednesday as the entourage made its way back to Israel from Washington. They were determined to emphasize that Israel would continue to build in the larger settlement blocs and Jerusalem despite US President Barack Obama's resolute opposition.

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Obama demands that Israel stop settlements. But how feasible is that?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - May 21, 2009 - 12:00am

This week, US President Barack Obama conveyed a clear message to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu: the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank must stop. On Thursday, Israeli police evacuated an unauthorized settlement outpost of Maoz Esther, but Israeli peace activists said the move was a public relations stunt, since no settlers live there on a permanent basis.

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Keeping Score on Obama vs. Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Mark Landler - (Analysis) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

After the much anticipated White House meeting on Monday between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, one question being asked in diplomatic circles is this: Did Mr. Obama give up more than he got? The meeting between the two, their first as leaders, was mainly an exercise in breaking the ice. But at the early stages of a relationship between the nations’ leaders that is likely to be more strained than it was during the Bush years, their dealings are being analyzed for signs of who has the upper hand.

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Upping the Ante on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Binyamin Netanyahu's friends liken him to a good poker player. They explain, for example, that before the Israeli prime minister plays the card marked "Palestinian state," he wants an American commitment that this state will be demilitarized.

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New leaders face old problems in Mid-East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jeremy Bowen - May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

When you are dealing with a conflict that has gone on for a very long time, it is wise not to infer too much from a single meeting between two men who are new to their jobs. But new leaders usually have a better chance of changing things than they do after they have been bruised and battered by a few years in office, so it does not do to be too cynical either. Before the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu there were predictions of a rift between them.

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Obama should force Israel to act
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) May 20, 2009 - 12:00am

For decades, the chasm between words and deeds has been the root cause of the continued nonexistence of a Palestinian state and the Israelis’ ability to treat international views on the matter with contempt. There have been floods of fine words about Palestinian rights and Israeli abuses but nothing has ever been done and the words have remained only that — words without action.

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