White House

Israel hints Jerusalem compromise in peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr, Matt Spetalnick - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday the Jewish state would be willing to hand over parts of Jerusalem in peace talks with the Palestinians to be launched by U.S. President Barack Obama. A flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank and a deadlock over Jewish settlements there loom as potential deal-breakers for Obama, who will host Middle East leaders for dinner at the White House in Washington.

Barack Obama seeks peace within a year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Carrie Budoff Brown, Laura Rozen - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama opened the first round of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations Wednesday in nearly two years by challenging Mideast leaders to put aside decades of antagonism and reach a peace accord within the next year. "Do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace?" Obama asked, standing alongside leaders of Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinians in the East Room of the White House.

46% say Obama is pro-Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - July 16, 2010 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama’s efforts to reach out to the people of Israel last week – when he hosted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for a positive meeting at the White House and gave his first interview as president to an Israeli television station – were not very successful, according to a Smith Research poll for The Jerusalem Post. When asked whether they saw Obama’s administration as more pro-Israel, more pro- Palestinian or neutral, just 10 percent of Israeli Jews said more pro-Israel, 46% said more pro-Palestinian, 34% said neutral and 10% did not express an opinion.

'Palestinian-Israeli situation could lead to a holy war if not resolved soon'
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Arab News - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama assured Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Friday of his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The call followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday, in which the two leaders discussed a number of issues including Israel's stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. Dr. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said it is important to keep focused on the efforts the president is making in outreach to both Palestinians and Israelis.

'Palestinian-Israeli situation could lead to a holy war if not resolved soon'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Barbara Ferguson - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama assured Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Friday of his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The call followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday, in which the two leaders discussed a number of issues including Israel's stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. Dr. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said it is important to keep focused on the efforts the president is making in outreach to both Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinians brace for US pressure after Netanyahu's White House visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 9, 2010 - 12:00am

It's an axiom of Arab-Israeli peacemaking that the new rapport between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would leave Palestinians in an awkward spot. After the Obama administration pushed Mr. Netanyahu over the past year to rein in West Bank settlements, there are signals in the wake of Netanyahu's White House visit on Tuesday that US pressure could shift to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Summit of Misleading
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Zuheir Kseibati - (Blog) July 9, 2010 - 12:00am

One cannot deny Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s success in clearing his page with American President Barack Obama, assuming it was darkened not due to the killing of the Turks on the Freedom Flotilla, but also due to the embarrassment caused to the White House and the besieging of its efforts to revive the Palestinian negotiations track with an endless series of settlement projects.

Political theatre masks US-Israel tensions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Jeremy Bowen - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

After their meeting at the White House, President Barack Obama walked his guest, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to his limousine. The solicitous host waited, slightly awkwardly, as Mr Netanyahu settled himself into the back seat. Immaculately uniformed servicemen stood rigidly to attention on either side of the vehicle. And then the video ended, before you could see whether Mr Obama waved until his new pal was out of sight. Actually he was only staying a few minutes walk away, at the official guest quarters, Blair House.

Focus U.S.A. / Netanyahu-Obama meeting continues the Israel-U.S. soap opera
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Professional cynics should have no doubt that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama had an “excellent” meeting at the White House on Tuesday. After all, Obama used the adjective three times, seemingly compensating for the previous episode of the unfolding Israel-U.S. soap opera, in which Obama snubbed the prime minister. Other superlatives describing the two countries’ relationship were “extraordinary," “unbreakable," “strategic," “closer and closer," as well as the declaration that “our relationship is continuing to improve."

Mr. Netanyahu at the White House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel satisfied their short-term political goals with an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday. It is less clear that they achieved much of substance.

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