Hezbollah cell worries Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Jumana Al Tamimi - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am Egypt's arrest of purported Hezbollah operatives marks a dangerous escalation of tension between Iran and the Arab world, analysts say. Egypt's public prosecutor is investigating 49 people it claims planned to carry out "hostile operations" on orders from Hezbollah, the militant Islamist group in Southern Lebanon that bested Israel in a monthlong war in the summer of 2006. The case against the purported Hezbollah cell in Egypt "sums up all the region's issues together," Egyptian analyst Nabeel Sharaf al-Deen told The Washington Times. » Read more

Reading Obama Wrong ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) April 17, 2009 - 12:00am It seems to me that none of the key figures in the Israeli leadership (Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, or Minister of Defense Ehud Barak) "get" Barack Obama. This is no surprise. Israel was one of the only countries in the world that preferred Obama's opponents in the primaries and then in the general election. In fact, if Israelis could have chosen our President, they would have given George W. Bush a third term. (On the other hand, 78 percent of Jewish Americans voted for Obama last November). » Read more

Bibi and Obama: Could a Clash Be in the Offing? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am Are they headed for a diplomatic divorce? Or can this relationship be saved? The growing number of differences between the new Obama administration and the newer Netanyahu government is coming into view at a sensitive time. American envoy George Mitchell seemed, during his recent Middle East visit, to draw attention to the apparent disconnect between his vision and Benjamin Netanyahu’s by making a mantra of the very policy that Netanyahu has declined to support — the “two-state solution.” » Read more

Israeli Military Says Actions in Gaza War Did Not Violate International Law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - April 22, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli military on Wednesday presented the conclusions of several internal investigations into its conduct during the war in Gaza and stated that it had operated in accordance with international law, countering widespread international criticism over its actions and continuing accusations of possible war crimes. » Read more

ATFP hosts Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish Press Release - Contact Information: Mohammed Maraqa - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am Washington, DC, April 21, 2009 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted a meeting with Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian doctor who tragically lost three daughters and a niece during Israel’s military incursion into Gaza last January. The meeting was attended by ATFP board members and supporters. Read more