July 15th

Yasser Abd Rabbo Cautions Against ?Partition of West Bank? Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 24, 2008 - 12:00am Washington, DC, April 25 -- In a speech in Washington today, Yasser Abd Rabbo, a PLO Executive Committee Member and Policy Adviser to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, reiterated the Palestinian commitment to peace with Israel and praised Bush Administration efforts to reach an agreement. He repeatedly cautioned Israel against seeking “the partition of the West Bank,” which he said Palestinians “will never accept.” Read more

ATFP hosts book event featuring Aaron David Miller Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 24, 2008 - 12:00am On Friday, April 18, the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted a discussion with veteran US peace negotiator Aaron David Miller about his new book “The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace” (2008, Bantam Books). Miller served as an adviser to six secretaries of state and is now public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Read more

Palestinian Officials To Washington Amid Low Expectations For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Kuwait News Agency (kuna) July 15, 2008 - 3:12pm Palestinian negotiators arrive to Washington on Tuesday to hold talks with US officials in what could be a last bid to overcome the stalemate in a peace process that seems out of reach before the end of the year. "The meeting in Washington is to talk to the Americans about what can be achieved before President George W. Bush leaves office," said the Director of Middle East Democracy at Brookings Tamara Cofman Wittes in an interview with KUNA. » Read more

ATFP Op-ed: Miscalculation In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - June 17, 2008 - 12:00am Since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza last June, a pattern of tit-for-tat provocation has defined the organization's relationship with Israel. » Read more

ATFP, Secretary Rice, Private Sector Leaders Promote Investment in Palestine Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 28, 2008 - 12:00am Washington DC, April 29 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today convened a meeting of American private sector business leaders and leaders of the US-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership initiative to explore opportunities for investment in Palestine in the run-up to the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem on May 21-23, 2008. Partnership chair Walter Isaacson and co-chairs Jean Case and ATFP President Ziad J. Asali attended the meeting at the State Department along with Secretary Rice and other senior government officials. Read more

Eu Raps Israeli Settlements After Med Union Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller, Paul Taylor - July 15, 2008 - 3:09pm The European Union criticised Israel on Monday for what it called continued settlement activity on Palestinian land, while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was still in Paris after a Euro-Mediterranean summit. A statement issued by the French EU presidency said the 27-nation bloc was "deeply concerned" by an Israeli decision to issue a call for tenders for new housing units in Arab East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. "This decision serves to undermine the credibility of the ongoing diplomatic process," the EU statement said. » Read more

ATFP President Named as Member of Presidential Delegation to Palestine Investment Conference Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 14, 2008 - 12:00am President George W. Bush today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Bethlehem to attend the Palestine Investment Conference May 21-23, 2008. The Honorable Robert M. Kimmitt, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Treasury, will lead the delegation. Members of the Presidential Delegation: The Honorable John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce The Honorable Robert Mosbacher, Jr.,President and Chief Executive Officer, Overseas Private Investment Corporation Read more

ATFP Event: Raja Shedadeh Discusses the Vanishing Landscape of Palestine Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 29, 2008 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 30 – The transformation of the landscape of the occupied territories is inextricably linked to the erosion of Palestinian rights, living conditions and national prospects, according to prominent Palestinian attorney and activist Raja Shehadeh. He spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on Friday, May 30, at a briefing hosted by the Foundation for Middle East Peaceand the American Task Force on Palestine. Read more

Palestinian Court Sentences Collaborators To Death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Wael Al-ahmed, Mohammed Assadi - July 15, 2008 - 3:06pm A Palestinian military court on Tuesday sentenced two Palestinians to death by firing squad for collaborating with Israel, a court statement said. The three-judge military court in the northern West Bank city of Jenin ruled that Wael Said Saad and Mohammad Saad had "contacted the enemy". They were found guilty of "treason" and sentenced to death by firing squad. However, it is unlikely the men will be put to death because the sentence must be authorised by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has never before taken such a step. » Read more

Palestinians: Idf Arrests Three Hamas Officials In Nablus Raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 15, 2008 - 3:05pm Israel Defense Forces troops early Tuesday arrested three Hamas council members in a raid on the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Over the past year, Israel has arrested Nablus' Hamas mayor and six of the Hamas-controlled municipal council's 14 members in its efforts to crack down on the militant group's activities in the West Bank The IDF did not immediately comment on the raid, which occurred in the early hours of the morning. Witnesses and residents say a total of 24 Hamas members were arrested, including the municipal officials. » Read more