Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Secretary of State Clinton's visit to Israel and the West Bank prompts speculation on the future of the peace process and the American role under a new Administration (1) (2) (3) (4) (14). A senior Palestinian Authority official warns that if a right-wing government forms in Israel and abandons the two-state solution, the peace process may crumble (6), while Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu continues to avoid taking a clear public stance on the issue (9). In an op-ed for The Weekly Standard, former Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams, argues that institution building in Palestine is key for establishing a lasting peace (11). The Christian Science Monitor looks at how the Gaza war has made coexistence harder for Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel (14).

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Re-Engagement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times (Analysis) March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Hillary Clinton answered the question yesterday of who in the West is driving policy on the Middle East. She began her first visit to the region as Secretary of State with the most intractable issue: what to do about Gaza. At a pledging conference in Sharm el-Sheikh she joined dozens of others promising Gaza substantial cash to rebuild houses and infrastructure destroyed by three weeks of Israeli air attacks. » Read more

Mrs Clinton's task ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph March 2, 2009 - 1:00am The visit this week to the Middle East by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, will offer the first opportunity to assess the Obama administration's policy in the region. It comes at an unpropitious time, with sensibilities in the region still raw after Israel's three-week invasion of Gaza, which resulted in such terrible loss of life. Mrs Clinton's first task, at a donors' conference in Sharm el Sheikh yesterday, was to offer a $900 million (£642 million) aid package to Gaza and the West Bank. » Read more

Clinton: US to 'vigorously' promote peace efforts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Matti Friedman - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Israeli government, but delivered a clear message that could put her at odds with the country's next leader: Movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state is "inescapable." At the same time, Clinton said she would not dictate orders to Israel, saying the Jewish state would determine its interests. In her first visit to the region as secretary of state, she also pledged "unrelenting" support for Israel's security. » Read more

Netanyahu: Clinton and I found common ground ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Jerusalem on Tuesday, saying following their meeting that he had "found common ground with Clinton in attaining the common goals of our two countries." "We need to think creatively in order to move forward and create a different reality, both in terms of security and politically, and this is a common goal for both sides," Netanyahu added. » Read more

Netanyahu's naysaying ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 3, 2009 - 1:00am United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's debut trip to the Middle East will be depicted - as usual - as a "familiarization tour," aimed at meeting with regional leaders and listening to their ideas. However, there should be no mistake about Clinton's message: President Barack Obama's administration expects the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to continue, with the aim of advancing a two-state solution and establishing an "independent and viable" Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. » Read more

PA official warns peace process at risk of crumbling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Should rightist government being formed in Israel abandon notion of two-state solution, Palestinian moderates will likely lose public's support while Islamic forces gain in strength, senior PA official says Ali Waked Should the two-state solution fail to become viable in the near future," the entire notion of the two states and the diplomatic process in general will collapse," a senior Palestinian official told Ynet Tuesday. Peace Process Clinton reiterates need for two-state solution / Roni Sofer » Read more

For Gaza’s sake this can’t be just another summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Another summit in Sharm el Sheikh to deal with the fallout of another violent episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is one way to understand yesterday’s meeting between heads of state, foreign ministers and officials at the Egyptian resort. But given the magnitude of the human suffering in Gaza, this cannot be just another meeting. » Read more

Could Netanyahu be an Israeli Maverick? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times by Mel Frykberg - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Kadima chairwoman and Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, has lashed out at prime minister-designate and leader of the hawkish Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, for being an extremist and unwilling to compromise with the Palestinians. "Netanyahu is more extreme than Lieberman, who doesn't rule out a two-state solution. Netanyahu isn't even willing to discuss it," said Livni on Friday after meeting with him to discuss the possibility of Likud and Kadima joining forces in a unity government. » Read more

Netanyahu faces moment of truth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Leslie Susser - March 2, 2009 - 1:00am Pressed to take a firm stand on the two-state solution, Benjamin Netanyahu’s moment of truth may have come sooner than he wanted. Despite strong international and domestic pressure, Israel's prime minister-designate is refusing to come out in support of the idea of two states for two peoples, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace. Ever since President Bush outlined his vision of two states in June 2002, the two-state solution has been consensus international policy and the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. » Read more

Abbas: Palestinian unity government must support two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 28, 2009 - 1:00am Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday said that a Palestinian unity government with Hamas must support a two-state solution. In a Ramallah speech, Abbas went on to say progress was being made toward establishing a Palestinian unity government "that will be committed to our values and will respect agreements previously signed by the Palestinian Authority," Israel Radio reported. » Read more

The Path of Realism or the Path of Failure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Weekly Standard by Elliott Abrams - March 2, 2009 - 1:00am Repetition of failed experiments is not a sign of mental health or a path to scientific progress, nor is it a formula for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Yet that is the road we may again take, unless the lessons of the Bush years are learned. » Read more

Challenge of Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Katya Adler - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Israel's Prime Minister designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, will not openly commit to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the US insists it's the only way forward, and Hillary Clinton is visiting the region for the first time as secretary of state. "I feel like a stranger in my own land. I can't go for a long walk. I have to sneak around. Otherwise I'm stopped by Israeli soldiers or threatened by Israeli settlers." “ This is no longer occupation, this is colonisation. Israel has no right to this land ” Raja Shehadeh » Read more

After Gaza war, a harder coexistence for Jews and Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Joshua Mitnick - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am The Hagar bilingual kindergarten was founded as a rare cocoon from ethnic alienation for children and parents in Israel. But even this place of innocence and coexistence isn't immune to the deeper divisions between Jews and Arabs here that has followed the Gaza war. "When Assin came back from her first day [after the war] she said, 'Mommy, today we played war between Israel and Gaza,' " says Suha Farhat, about her 5-year-old daughter. » Read more

Clinton puts 'heart' into Mideast peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Nicholas Kralev - March 3, 2009 - 1:00am Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday committed herself personally to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, saying that finding a solution is "in my heart, not just my portfolio." Mrs. Clinton cited the persistent peacemaking efforts of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and linked a solution to the future of Israeli and Palestinian children. » Read more

Hillary vs. The Israel Lobby ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation by Ari Berman - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am In her 2000 race for the US Senate, Hillary Clinton was loudly denounced by uncritical right-wing supporters of Israel for a 1999 trip to Ramallah, where she kissed Palestinian First Lady Suha Arafat and listened as Arafat denounced Israel (in Arabic). Pictures of "the kiss" were repeatedly slapped across the cover of the New York Post, in TV ads and invoked by the campaigns of Rudy Giuliani and Rick Lazio. The flap almost derailed Clinton's campaign. » Read more

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