NEWS: Palestine joins UNESCO as full member. After a deadly exchange of rocket fire, there are efforts to restore the cease-fire between Israel and militant groups in Gaza, but tensions continue to run high. The death toll in Gaza reaches 12. Both sides are using new technology. The attacks suggest Islamic Jihad may becoming a threat to Hamas. Pres. Abbas says the Arab rejection of the UN partition plan in 1947 was “a mistake.” The Arab League says it will look into alternatives to the bid for full UN membership for Palestine. A former Israeli soldier is jailed for leaking secret documents to Ha'aretz. UN officials say Israel should take the idea Palestinians might dismantle the PA seriously, as outlined in Asharq Al-Awsat. Palestinians say they will ask for full UNESCO membership in a vote later today, despite US threats to cut off funding to the agency. COMMENTARY: Robert Blackwill and Walter Slocombe say Israel is a true ally to the United States. Ha'aretz says Israel must end the Gaza blockade. Sefi Rachlevsky warns Israel's “radical leadership” might drag the country into war with Iran. Daniel Friedmann says a decision to strike Iran should be by the West, not Israel. JJ Goldberg notes that prominent Israeli columnist Nahum Barnea has suggested that PM Netanyahu and PM Barak are pushing for an attack on Iran. The Jordan Times says the US is blackmailing the UN over Palestine's UNESCO membership. Newsweek interviews Moshe Dayan's widow, who says the current government cannot think in terms of peace. ATFP releases a full transcript of PM Fayyad's address to its Sixth Annual Gala.

Remarks by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the Sixth Annual Gala on October 19, 2011
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Task Force on Palestine
October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Thank you. Thank you so very much. This gives a whole new meaning to what Woody Allen must have had in mind about the importance of showing up. Let me see what I can do with the ten percent.

»

Moshe Dayan's Widow Ruth: Zionist Dream Has Run Its Course
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Rula Jebreal - (Opinion) October 30, 2011 - 12:00am

Elegantly dressed and perfectly made up, Ruth Dayan, 95, receives me with a wide smile in her Tel Aviv home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The charismatic, alert, and extremely intelligent Dayan is the widow of Moshe Dayan, legendary chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces and a key leader in the war of independence in 1948. Indeed, Moshe Dayan was transformed into a symbol of national strength during the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The Israelis felt invincible with this imposing figure at the helm.

»

Intimidating and malicious
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The US threat to stop supporting UNESCO financially if it votes for the admission of Palestine as a full member amounts, simply, to blackmail. Washington has been taking an actively hostile position on the Palestinian quest for recognition as an independent state by international organisations; now it is UNESCO’s turn to come under direct pressure from the US, acting as a proxy for Israel, of course.

»

Israeli Brass Astir Amid Pressure for Iran Strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Blog) October 28, 2011 - 12:00am

“Have the prime minister and defense minister sealed a deal between them, one on one, to attack the nuclear reactors in Iran?” So asks Nahum Barnea, commonly described as Israel’s senior and most respected political journalist, in an article leading the top of the front page of today’s Yediot Ahronot. He writes that growing rumors to that effect have created a quiet but urgent buzz within Israel’s political and military elites.

»

Palestine joins UNESCO as full member
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The UN's cultural agency voted to admit Palestine as a full member on Monday, weeks before the Security Council is due to report on Palestine's bid for full membership of the United Nations. Palestine overcame US and Israeli opposition to join the cultural body, with UNESCO saying that 107 member states voted in favor, 14 states voted against, with 52 abstentions. The resolution needed 81 votes to pass, as abstentions are not counted, UNESCO said.

»

Iran strike? Just say no
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Friedmann - (Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

As expected, the terror regime in Gaza continues to constitute an open, bleeding wound for Israel. Yet according to media reports, Defense Minister Barak, who failed in handling the Hamas rule in Gaza, seeks to engage in bigger issues. The Gaza Strip is a minor issue for him. He has his sights set on Iran and the nuclear bomb threat, and Prime Minister Netanyahu is there with him. The situation reached the point where former Mossad Director Meir Dagan felt the need to openly warn against this dangerous move.

»

U.N. agency approves full Palestinian membership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Josh Levs - October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

(CNN) -- The U.N. agency focusing on education and science voted Monday to accept a Palestinian bid for full membership, in the first vote on the matter by a part of the world body. The vote, which required two-thirds approval by UNESCO members, passed with 107 votes in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstentions. The vote is separate from the Palestinian bid for full membership in the United Nations. Representatives of several countries pointed out that currently that bid is being discussed by members of the U.N. Security Council.

»

Israel's radical leaders tempted to drag us into war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Under normal circumstances, the military establishment is to the right of the political establishment. The reason is obvious: The singer wants to sing, the writer wants to write, and the division commander wants to mobilize divisions. When Moshe Dayan said he would rather restrain galloping horses than prod lazy mules, he was not referring only to his generals. It is a common pattern on the world stage. Only rarely are the roles reversed for the military to find itself to be more moderate and circumspect than the political leadership.

»

Abbas to dissolve Palestinian Authority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali El-saleh - October 30, 2011 - 12:00am

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Despite a number of denials by members of Fatah Movement regarding Israeli press reports that Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas intends on dissolving the Palestinian Authority [PA], sources have stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that President Abbas intends on reverting the situation in the Palestinian territories to what it had been before the creation of the PA in 1994, which means handing over the management affairs of the West Bank to the administration of the Israeli occupation, which means, in other words, dissolving the PA.

»


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