March 5th

Hillary Clinton shores up weakened Palestinian leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
by James Hider - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Hillary Clinton pledged her full support yesterday to the ailing Palestinian Administration of President Abbas, whose efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Israel have brought little progress, and whose standing among his own people has slipped dramatically. Speaking in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, the US Secretary of State said that Mr Abbas's Administration was the only legitimate government of the Palestinian people - yet another snub to Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip and which the US regards as a terrorist organisation.

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Clinton's caution in Israel has some Palestinians grumbling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

On her first visit as secretary of state to the de facto Palestinian capital, Hillary Clinton publicly chided Israel on Wednesday for demolishing dozens of Arab homes in East Jerusalem, a move that's undermining anemic peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Deceptive unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Talks on forming a united Palestinian Authority government between West Bank-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas commenced in Cairo last week. Egypt is sponsoring the talks, with the tacit blessings of the international community. This is a mistake. The Obama administration should take a close look at the likely consequences of such an arrangement.

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Driver Shot Dead After Rampage in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Palestinian driver of a construction vehicle flipped over an Israeli police car and rammed an empty bus here on Thursday, injuring two police officers before he was shot dead, police said. Police later identified the assailant as a Palestinian resident of Beit Hanina, a predominantly Arab neighborhood in northeast Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man, Mari al-Radeideh, 26, was married and the father of one child. Jerusalem’s deputy police commander, Niso Shahar, told reporters: “We have no doubt that it is a terror attack.”

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Dr. Ziad Asali discusses ATFP with the Media Line
Interview with Ziad Asali - The Media Line - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Dr. Asali is interviewed by The Media Line on the purpose and role of the American Task Force on Palestine.  

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The Gaza War & What All Sides Must Do
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Encylopaedia Britannica Blog (Opinion) - March 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The recent war in Gaza proves yet again what all reasonable people understood about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for many years: there is no military solution for either side, and both peoples’ hopes for a better future depend on reaching a peace agreement with each other.

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March 4th

Hope Amidst Despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ahmad Majdoubeh - August 15, 2008 - 12:00am

The demise of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who was laid to rest on Wednesday, evokes a complex of emotions in the Palestinian people themselves, in Arabs and in all advocates of stability and peace all over the world. What can one say on such an occasion? Naturally, one wants to say a great deal. However, compared to what Darwish himself has said, what we say, no matter how elaborate and elegant, is a drop in an ocean. And that is why my advice to readers is: rather than read what people say about Darwish, read Darwish himself. It is way superior, and way more elegant.

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The Murder Of Fadel Shana
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) August 15, 2008 - 12:00am

THERE has been worldwide condemnation by journalists of yet another decision by an Israeli military tribunal to clear Israel troops of killing journalists. The death in April of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana while filming an Israeli tank during an incursion into Gaza roused media protests that Israeli soldiers were deliberately targeting members of news organizations sent to cover their activities.

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Jaffa Pool Restricts Entry Of Arab Residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Omer Ori - August 15, 2008 - 12:00am

Jewish and Arab relations in the city of Jaffa have always been tense, and Jewish residents' committees of some of Jaffa's neighborhoods have decide to do something about it, at least where the city pool is concerned: They rent out the pool every two weeks – to Jews only. "There was quite a bit of violence at the pool on the Arab residents' part and we had to figure out what to do," said a source familiar with the subject.

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Secretary of State Clinton meets with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, showing her support for a two-state solution and criticizing Israeli home demolitions (1) (4) (5) (6) (7). An op-ed in The Christian Science Monitor urges President Obama’s Middle East team to build on the momentum developed toward the end of the Bush Administration (2). In an op-ed for The Daily Star Rami Khouri warns that despite its generosity, the donors’ conference in Sharm el-Sheikh failed to address the political issues underlying the destruction in Gaza (8). Israeli Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim dismisses the settlement expansion report issued earlier this week by Peace Now as “baseless” (11).

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