Could This Be the Map to Mideast Peace?
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In American Online - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am

It's a cliche among foreign policy circles that everyone knows what an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement will look like. Now a Washington think tank with close connections to officials in both Israel and the United States has sketched out realistic borders for a new Palestinian state.

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Daily Star, letter to the editor
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Daily Star - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Dear Editor Dr. Ziad Asali and Dr. Hussein Ibish of ATFP (The American Task Force on Palestine) are wise in refusing to buy into the “clash of civilizations” worldview that so many Zionist ideologues and Islamists endorse. Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine.

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Aaron David Miller, Daoud Kuttab and Yossi Alpher debate the wisdom of raising the settlement issue at the UN. Palestinians and Edmund Sanders say leaked memos show nothing new. The LA Times says Israel is consistently making its problems worse. Protesters rally in favor of Pres. Abbas. Peru becomes the latest country to recognize Palestine. Hamas urges Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East to protest. Turkey's president says Israel's flotilla report has no credibility, and relations between two countries remain strained. Israeli leaders say Israeli companies doing business with Palestinian companies that participate in the settlement goods boycott should also be boycotted. Ha'aretz says Israel has a peace partner. Occupation authorities say digging under the walls of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan is completed. Hamas leaders ban two “anti-Islamic” books. Gershon Baskin asks what PM Netanyahu really wants. The Jerusalem Post and the Guardian both say a two-state solution is still viable. Aluf Benn says Israel has a partner for peace, if it wants it, in Abbas. Uri Avnery says the creation of a Palestinian state is gaining international momentum.

Digging completed on tunnel under Old City walls in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israel Antiquities Authority has completed an archaeological dig of a tunnel that will enable visitors to cross under the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, not far from the Temple Mount. The tunnel, which was uncovered during excavations conducted over the past few months, was formerly used for drainage and dates back to the Second Temple. It links the City of David in Silwan with the Archaeological Park & Davidson Center, which is located near the Western Wall.

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Palestinians insist leaked memos from peace process reveal nothing new
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In PBS - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Leaked memos from a decade of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials roiled the Mideast peace process and put the embattled Palestinian Authority on the defensive Monday. But moderate Palestinian observers and officials close to the government of President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that the documents reveal relatively little about the negotiations that isn’t already known. And if anything, they say, the records expose how uncooperative the Israeli and American governments have been throughout the process.

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Israel still has a partner for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

On Sunday, Haaretz reported on Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's proposal to promote a long-term interim arrangement with the Palestinians. A few hours later, Al Jazeera and the Guardian published documents detailing the negotiations over the final-status arrangement held between the previous government and the Palestinian leadership headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The documentation, conducted by the Palestinian team heads, illustrates the serious and down-to-business approach of the Palestinians with regards to the central core issues - borders, Jerusalem and holy places.

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Gaza's Hamas rulers ban 2 'anti-Islamic' books
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has banned the sale of two books by Arab writers that it said "contradict" Islam. It was the latest step by the militant group to impose its strict version of Islam in Gaza. Since seizing power in 2007, Hamas has also banned women from smoking water pipes or riding motorbikes. Culture Ministry spokesman Ehab Senwar said Monday that the books were banned after residents complained about their contents. He said the books won't be sold until a committee checks their contents.

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Israeli ministry calls for sanctioning local firms over joining Palestinian boycott
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures on Sunday called for sanctioning local firms that boycott Israeli companies located in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as a stipulation of tenders to take part in building the Palestinian city of Rawabi, near Ramallah. Minister Uzi Landau said his office would not "tolerate discrimination between different groups of citizens that is contrary to the basic values of the State of Israel."

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Turkish president: Israeli report has no credibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Monday that the report prepared by Israel on its attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla had no international credibility. Gul made the statement at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul prior to his departure for the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Replying to questions on the Israeli report, Gul said, "what Israel did has nothing to do with the international law. The report issued by Israel does not have credibility and legitimacy."

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Encountering Peace: What does Netanyahu want?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Understanding what has been leaked, the PM should move forward with current Palestinian leadership as soon as possible.

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