March 10th

Dr. Asali speaks at Brookings Conference
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 10, 2008 - 12:00am

On Monday, March 10th, Dr. Ziad Asali gave a presentation at The Brookings Institution entitled “Daily Life in the West Bank and Gaza: Implications for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement.” The presentation was part of the three-day Brookings conference, “Inside the Middle East.” A link to event agenda and its impressive panelists can be found here: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Course/Agenda/middle_east.pdf.


March 9th

An opinion by David Ignatius in the Washington Post examines the fading hope of Annapolis (2) while an opinion by Aaron David Miller in the Los Angeles Times discusses the American Jewish communities commitment to Israel (3). An opinion in the Telegraph cautions that the halting of peace talks will only be a victory for the militants (7). BBC News reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved a plan to build up to 750 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank (8). In the Daily Star, Mouin Rabbani warns that Fatah must reinvent itself or risk irrelevance (10). An editorial in the Middle East Times analyzes a recent Policy Focus by the American Task Force on Palestine (12).

March 7th

Destructive Emotion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) March 7, 2008 - 6:46pm

Arabs are often accused of being too emotional over the Palestinian situation rather than calculating and manipulative like the Israelis. It is a notion to which many Arabs subscribe as well, seeing it as a major reason for Israel’s continued dominance over the Palestinians. It is, in fact, impossible not to be emotional in the face of the suffering and injustice endured by the Palestinians, especially at the moment with the brutal slaughter in Prison Camp Gaza? Only the inhuman can remain unmoved.

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Un Human Rights Council Flays Israel Over Bloody Gaza Attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
March 7, 2008 - 6:44pm

  The United Nations Human Rights Council Thursday condemned Israel's bloody military assault on Gaza while also urging an end to rocket attacks that have killed Israeli civilians. The 47-member council approved the motion calling for "the immediate cessation of all Israeli military attacks throughout the occupied Palestinian territory" by 33 votes to one, with 13 abstentions.

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Persevering In The Face Of Extremism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Mara Rudman - (Opinion) March 7, 2008 - 6:42pm

Too depressingly familiar. Eight young people killed, along with the gunman who ended their lives. Many more injured. As is the intent of such extremists, he took aim not only at innocent civilians, but also at the heart of future security and hope for Israelis and Palestinians: a negotiated two-state resolution to their conflict. Ensuring that he not achieve this broader objective will require a renewed commitment by all involved, including the United States.

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Heart Of Darkness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) March 7, 2008 - 6:35pm

This is one of those times when the Israeli-Palestinian situation seems to be in a free fall. Yesterday’s terror attack at a Jerusalem yeshiva followed the Gaza incursion which followed the shelling of Sderot and now Ashkelon. It is becoming hard even to recall the few years, only a decade ago, when Israeli-PLO security cooperation had reduced terror in Israel to virtually zero and Israeli bargain hunters and day trippers flooded the Arab towns of the West Bank every weekend. And yet here we are.

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Let’s Make A Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) March 7, 2008 - 6:32pm

Of all the cruel ironies in the latest Israeli-Palestinian flare-up around Gaza, perhaps the oddest is the sight of Islamic militants stepping up their bombardment of Sderot and expanding their rockets’ range to reach major Israeli cities — and then accusing Israel of escalating the conflict when it shoots back. Israel’s response to the relentless rocket fire raining down from Gaza may not be effective in stopping the bombardment, but it can hardly be called unjustified. A country that’s under military assault is obliged to act.

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Israel On Alert, Gaza Braces After Jerusalem Killings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 7, 2008 - 6:30pm

Israel was on alert and Gaza braced for reprisals on Friday as crowds mourned eight teenagers killed by a Palestinian gunman at a Jewish religious school in an attack claimed by the Islamist Hamas. Residents of the impoverished Gaza Strip were bracing for punitive Israeli military strikes after the attack which shook the faltering peace talks and provoked strong condemnation from around the world.

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The Recent Gaza Escalation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Americans For Peace Now - March 7, 2008 - 6:29pm

Over the past few days Israelis, Palestinians, and the world have witnessed the unfolding of a serious and dangerous military escalation between Israel and Hamas. This crisis is a symptom of failed policies, irresponsible actions, and a lack of strategic thinking. Further escalating the violence in Gaza may deal a fatal blow to the credibility and viability of the peace process, and would erode support for the peace process among both Israelis and Palestinians.

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Jerusalem Braces After Gun Rampage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian
by Martin Chulov - March 7, 2008 - 6:24pm

Tensions were heightened by the fact that the gunman, who killed eight students - most of them 15- and 16-year-olds - and wounded eight more in the library of the Jewish religious college on Thursday night local time, was an Israeli resident of east Jerusalem, with full access to the city.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017