February 17th

A ‘second life’ for public diplomacy in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Muhammad Ayish - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Last month’s inauguration of US President Barack Obama has sent a gripping sense of anticipation throughout the Arab region where a potential shift in how America sees its image around the world is being received with optimism. We have come to learn that improving the United States’s image among Muslim populations in particular has topped the list of urgent issues requiring the attention of President Obama and Congress.

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Israel Takes Control of More West Bank Land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel has taken control of a large chunk of land near a prominent West Bank settlement, paving the way for the possible construction of 2,500 settlement homes, officials said Monday, in a new challenge to Mideast peacemaking.

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Transitional Palestinian Government by April
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Salaah Jum'ah - February 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian sources said that Egypt informed all the Palestinian factions, which have been invited to attend inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo on 22 February, of the need to form a transitional Palestinian government by no later than April. The sources said that this government's task will be to run the PNA affairs, prepare for presidential and legislative elections to be held in January next year, and to coordinate with the donor parties to rebuild what the Israeli war machine destroyed until a new government takes office.

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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
by Mehdi Khalaji - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

During a February trip to Iran, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal praised Iranian leaders for their support during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, a further indication of the strengthening ties between the Sunni Islamist group, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, and the Shiite regime in Tehran. Mashal's statements come on the heels of the U.S. Treasury Department's terrorist designations of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives sheltered in Iran.

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February 16th

ATFP Urges US Government to Take Action on New Planned Israeli Settlement
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Feb. 16 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today urged the United States government to use its influence to work with the Israeli government to stop announced plans for a major expansion of the Givat Ha'eytam settlement in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli occupation Civil Administration has reportedly declared 1,700 dunams (approximately 370 acres) of land in the northern part of the Efrat settlement, south of Jerusalem between Bethlehem and Hebron, to be “state land,” which sets the stage for the potential construction of 2,500 new settlement housing units.


February 13th

MJ Rosenberg reviews yesterday’s congressional hearing on Gaza at which ATFP testified (1). Numerous analyses examined the results of Israel’s election (2), (3), (4), (5), (9), (11), (15). Speculation continues on a Hamas-Israel truce including the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (6), (7), while violence continues to flare up (10), (13). The Daily Star analyzes the future of the Palestinian Authority after the Gaza war and the Israeli elections (8), while Hamad Al-Majid it considers what a process of “Somalization” would look like for the Palestinian political scene (12). Raghida Dergham argues that President Obama’s commitment to “justice and moderation” does not bode well for Middle Eastern figures hoping to evade tribunals and trials (14).

Stalemate all around
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

FOR reasons of his own, Barack Obama chose to disregard the advice he got from many quarters that he should spell out his views on Palestinian statehood before Israel’s voters went to the polls on February 10th. That is a pity. Israelis disagree about many things, but most understand the value of having a prime minister who is liked and welcomed in the White House.

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After Israel's Election, Palestinians Weigh New Intifadeh
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Tony Karon - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's election and the Gaza conflict have revealed the scale of the challenge facing U.S. President Barack Obama in jump-starting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Israeli voters tacked to the right, and the government that results from Tuesday's election will be, if anything, even less inclined than the current government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to conclude a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinian leadership.

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No Deals or Impunity under Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) February 13, 2009 - 1:00am

New York --- Those who call for striking deals at any cost under the pretext of buying stability are merely burying their heads in the sand, regardless of how much they prance around like giraffes or imagine that US President Barack Obama is willing to sacrifice justice for stability or to give his blessing to extremism in order to spare himself its evil.

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The Somalization of Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Dr. Hamad Al-Majid - February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Khalid Mishal as leader of the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qurei as Prime Minister, Saeb Erekat as Foreign Minister and Ismail Haniyeh as Minister of the Interior. This is what the Palestinian political scene would be like if we transferred the results of the previous Somali elections which obtained political confirmation, and US blessing, and instead apply them to the Palestinian scene with regards to the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

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