ATFP Welcomes Summit Progress, Urges Greater Efforts on Mideast Peace Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 4, 2003 - 12:00am Washington DC, Jun. 4 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed progress on Middle East peace at the Aqaba summit and urged all parties to redouble their efforts to implement phase one of President Bush's road map. ATFP praised President Bush for his efforts to create new momentum towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict and reiterated its support for the roadmap. ATFP President Dr. Read more

ATFP Applauds Bush's Personal Commitment to Peace and a Palestinian State Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 9, 2003 - 12:00am Washington DC, May 9 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) applauded President George W. Bush's "personal commitment" to a Middle East peace centered on the creation of a "free and independent" Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. Read more

Israeli Missile Attack Kills Palestinians in Gaza Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 19, 2004 - 12:00am Washington DC, May 19 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) condemned the unprovoked killing today of unarmed Palestinians by the Israeli military in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza. According to press reports and hospital sources, Israeli forces fired a missile, four tank shells and machine guns at Palestinians peacefully demonstrating the ongoing Israeli incursion into Gaza, killing at least 10 Palestinian children and teenagers and wounding 50 people. Read more

Area's Palestinians Mourn Loss of a Symbol Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Washington Post - November 12, 2004 - 1:00am No one would call Sami Parbhoo a slavish follower of Yasser Arafat's. Over the years, the 32-year-old Takoma Park resident has freely criticized the Palestinian leader's rule. The mismanagement. The reports of corruption. The centralization of power. And yet, when Parbhoo, a Palestinian immigrant, woke up yesterday and learned that Arafat had died, he was shocked. Suddenly, his heart felt heavy. » Read more

Gaza: Gateway to Palestine or Anarchy? In Print by Ziad Asali - Arab News (Opinion) - March 12, 2004 - 1:00am After initially reacting with caution, the Bush Administration is now taking the Israeli proposal for unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip more seriously. The initial reaction of tepid interest has gradually given way to a highly engaged conversation. » Read more

Breaking the Gordian knot In Print by Ziad Asali - Al-Ahram (Opinion) - May 1, 2003 - 12:00am As tension persists in the Arab world over the Iraq war, it is imperative to act quickly to repair the political and diplomatic damage to US-Arab relations and our reputation in the Middle East. » Read more

The Mideast crisis: Ziad J. Asali Interview with ATFP - USA Today - August 22, 2003 - 12:00am This week's devastating violence between Israel and the Palestinians appears to have rendered the eight-week-old truce, or hudna, null and void. After Thursday's killing of a senior Hamas official by Israel in retaliation for a suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem which 20 people died. The Islamic militant group Hamas threatened revenge and formally abandoned the cease-fire. » Read more

Fences Don't Always Make Good Neighbors Media Mention of ATFP In Seattle Post-Intelligencer - January 14, 2004 - 1:00am Henry Kissinger still wants to be a player in U.S. foreign policy, but he is off base on a crucial issue in the Middle East. I'm convinced that Kissinger would give up all his riches -- accumulated by parlaying his government expertise into lucrative business connections -- if he could be secretary of state-in-perpetuity. Power has always meant more to him than money. When he was guiding our nation's foreign affairs in 1969 and the early 1970s as President Nixon's national security adviser and secretary of state, the world was his chessboard. » Read more

Bush's Inaction Over General's Islam Remarks Riles Two Faiths; Muslims call for rebuke of Boykin, but such a move could isolate key Christian supporters Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Los Angeles Times - November 23, 2003 - 1:00am More than a month has passed since the disclosure that a fundamentalist Christian policymaker at the Pentagon had disparaged Muslims for worshipping idols. Yet to U.S. diplomats charged with selling America to the Arab world, the remarks by Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin are an albatross they cannot seem to shake. "I get calls from officials in Arab countries every day about Boykin," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "They are stunned nothing has happened." » Read more

Bush Letter to Sharon In Print by Ziad Asali - Congressional Quarterly (Opinion) - January 4, 2005 - 1:00am Before making any serious comments about the letter that President Bush presented to Mr. Sharon we must take note that it was written before the passing of Chairman Arafat and the changes that have lead to the democratic election of a new Palestinian President. Political reality has changed and will unquestionably have an impact on policy. » Read more