November 18th

Israel razes Palestinian homes in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 18, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli bulldozers demolished a two-family Palestinian home in the town of Al-Isawiya in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, the second home demolition in two days. Residents of the town said Israeli forces entered the village with three bulldozers on the premise of carrying out demolition orders, and noted Israeli police and border guards blocked off the main entrances of the community.

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Middle East peace: Is two-state solution kaput?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by John V. Whitbeck - (Opinion) November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

The seemingly perpetual Middle East "peace process" is now at a moment of truth. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said so himself at a press conference on Nov. 4.

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Housing plan for Jerusalem neighborhood spurs criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - November 18, 2009 - 1:00am

City officials moved forward Tuesday with a plan to build 900 homes in a disputed neighborhood of Jerusalem, prompting sharp criticism from the White House, the Palestinians and others who feel it will further undermine the chance of renewing peace talks. The new units will expand the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo, one of several built on land taken by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed to the city in a step not recognized by the international community.

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Plan to Expand Jerusalem Settlement Angers U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel said Tuesday that it had advanced plans to expand a Jewish district of Jerusalem in territory that was captured in the 1967 war and that the Palestinians claim as part of their future state. The move is likely to further complicate the Obama administration’s faltering efforts to restart peace talks.

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November 17th

ATFP Expresses Deep Concern over Israeli Plans to Build 900 Units in Jerusalem
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Nov. 17 -- ATFP expressed deep concern over Israeli plans to build 900 additional housing units in East Jerusalem. These plans contradict the United States’ policy of seeking a freeze on settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and gravely complicate the efforts to resume peace negotiations.


Most news reports and commentaries today focus on possible moves by the Palestinian leadership to declare statehood, although in an interview with IPS, lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says that the PLO is considering asking for recognition of Palestinian sovereignty in the occupied territories by the UN. Both the US and EU say that such moves are premature, and it has been angrily rejected by Hamas. Israel has responded by threatening to annex parts of the West Bank. The Washington Post highlights the holy places in Jerusalem as a persistent flashpoint. Roger Cohen argues that Israeli-Palestinian peace is presently unachievable and a truce would be the best option. The LA Times suggests the spirit of the late extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane is growing on the Israeli right. Mideast envoy George Mitchell reiterates US demands for a halt to settlement activity in occupied East Jerusalem. The Daily Star examines Hamas' strategic thinking. Time asks what the future of the new Palestinian security forces would be in the event of a resignation by Pres. Abbas.

Recognize Palestinian statehood now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

The failure of the Obama administration to launch a serious negotiating process between the PLO and Israel has led to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, announcing that he will not seek re-election. He cited Washington's inability to ensure an Israeli settlement construction freeze as well as American bias toward Israel as the main reasons.

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Hamas rejects PA’s UN move for statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by HIsham Abu Taha - November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Hamas rejected Monday a Palestinian suggestion to seek UN Security Council support for unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Such a declaration would have no meaning and was merely an attempt by the rival Palestinian camp of President Mahmoud Abbas to pretend it had an alternative to faltering peace negotiations, other than armed struggle, said Hamas, which is ruling Gaza.

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Why is Hamas keeping a low profile in the West Bank?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Omran Risheq - (Opinion) November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

A question one hears frequently among Palestinians these days is why Hamas Movement, a group some view with suspicion and others with sympathy, has become nearly invisible in the West Bank. Certainly Hamas has suffered a series of security blows in the last few years. Israel arrested roughly a thousand Hamas members, including elected delegates of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), following the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006.

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Dilemma of the peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) November 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Now, in the absence of a peace process in the Middle East, one feels compelled to discuss two main obstacles to conciliation that have been debated time and again to no avail. First, Israel will not proceed towards peace if the Americans are not on board. This explains the explicit demand, mainly voiced by the Arabs, that a third party intervention be secured if we really aspire to a quick fix to the seemingly intractable conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

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