Sec. Clinton leads US Middle East peace efforts. Palestinian youth campaign for good governance. Israel allows the importation of 20 cars into Gaza. FM Lieberman again proposes stripping Israeli citizenship from some Palestinians. Former PM Olmert describes peace offers he claims to have made. A senior Hamas official is arrested in Egypt, and others arrested by the PA. A PA court suggests Palestinians who sell land to Israelis may face the death penalty, and Hamas imposes it on drug dealers. Hamas says it told the US it would accept a state on the 1967 borders. Ha'aretz describes the Palestinian plight in the face of settler violence and the occupation. Manuel Hassassian and Edward Edy Kaufman say Israeli-Palestinian peace may be a key to dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Jacqueline Rose reviews a new book by David Grossman. The Netherlands cancels a visit by Israeli mayors because some are settlement leaders. Adel Safty says peace must do justice to the Palestinians. Joel Beinin looks at the struggle over Silwan. Nathan Thrall looks at Palestinian state building and the new security forces.

Contesting Past and Present at Silwan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Report
by Joel Beinin - September 17, 2010 - 12:00am

On September 1, Elad -- a Hebrew acronym for “To the City of David” -- convened its eleventh annual archaeological conference at the “City of David National Park” in the Wadi Hilwa neighborhood of Silwan. Silwan, home to about 45,000 people, is one of 28 Palestinian villages incorporated into East Jerusalem and annexed by Israel after the June 1967 war. It lies in a valley situated a short walk beyond the Dung Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City.

»

Mideast needs a peace of the brave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

The late Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) used to refer to the peace process he and the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin started in the early 1990s as the "peace of the brave". This was more of a colourful description than an accurate rendition of reality.

»

Netherlands nixes visit by Israeli mayors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
September 19, 2010 - 12:00am

The Netherlands canceled a visit by Israeli mayors because the group included the leaders of West Bank settlements. Participants in the delegation, sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, included the heads of 30 small local councils, including several Arab communities. West Bank communities represented on the delegation include Kiryat Arba, Oranit, Beit El, Elkana and Efrat.

»

To the End of the Land by David Grossman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jacqueline Rose - (Book Review) September 18, 2010 - 12:00am

For some time now, David Grossman has been describing his writing as a means of survival, as a way of no longer feeling a victim in the "disaster zone" of the seemingly eternal conflict that is Israel-Palestine. At moments he has talked of the risk of dispassion, of being paralysed with fear and despair. With the publication of this extraordinary, impassioned novel, such purpose or hope acquires a new meaning and intensity. It now seems that the life to be saved by writing, even though the struggle may be doomed, could only be – perhaps always has been – the life of a child.

»

The Tehran tangle in Middle East peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Manual Hassassian, Edward Edy Kaufman - (Opinion) September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Success in the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations will depend on active bridging by the third party, the United States. At the same time, we should not forget the destructive role played in the past and present by spoilers on both sides, as well as others further afield. As the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, stated last month, "the enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and derail these talks".

»

PA arrests Hamas men in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Ynet also learned Sunday that the Palestinian Authority carried out many preemptive arrests over the weekend after Hamas threatened to avenge the assassination of Iyad abu Shilbayeh by Israel. Among the detainees were members of Islamic Jihad. The PA held several meetings following the murder in order to prepare for Hamas' supposed retaliation, for fear that such a move would be especially desirable for the Islamist group due to the direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

»

Hamas: Death sentence for drug dealers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - September 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Hamas approved a law permitting the death sentence for drug dealers and up to seven years behind bars for drug users, thereby stepping up its war on drugs in the Gaza Strip. Ministry of the Interior spokesman Ihab al-Rasin said Sunday that Hamas had in fact adopted an Egyptian law. Al-Rasin, speaking during a ceremony to mark the end of a three-month campaign against drugs, also accused Israel of "continuing its efforts to swamp the Strip with drugs."

»

Hamas: We told U.S. in the past that we would accept Palestinian state along 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

The Hamas militant group announced Monday that it had previously told the United States it would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, according to Israel Radio. Citing the organization's semi-annual report, Israel Radio said that Hamas had also asked the U.S. administration to open dialogue. The militant group said in its report that it had passed that message along via American academics and politicians visiting the Gaza Strip.

»

PA court: Sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

The sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death, a Palestinian Authority court ruled on Sunday, in what Palestinian officials are saying is a necessary measure to ensure the founding of a future state. Judge Ta'et At-Twil, according to a report by the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, ruled that selling, or attempting to sell, land to a foreign country was a criminal offense which could result in the death penalty.

»


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