January 12th

Jerusalem Palestinians taking Israeli citizenship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Daniel Estrin - January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem are increasingly lining up to request Israeli citizenship. But this is no embrace of the Jewish state. Instead, it seems to reflect waning hopes that peace talks will achieve a Palestinian state and fears that the Israeli separation barrier snaking around east Jerusalem could one day lock them out of the city.

»

Israel rabbi: Gentile sperm risks 'barbaric' offspring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

A Jewish woman should never get pregnant using sperm donated by a non-Jewish man – even if it is the last option available, a senior Israeli authority on Jewish law has asserted. According to Rabbi Dov Lior of the Religious Zionism movement, a baby born through such an insemination will have the "negative genetic traits that characterize non-Jews," Israeli media reported Wednesday.

»

Israel razes Nablus outpost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli authorities demolished on Wednesday an illegal settlement outpost adjacent to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, officials said. Calls to Israel’s Civil Administration were not immediately returned, but onlookers said bulldozers dismantled the “Yesh Dam” outpost near Qusra, a Palestinian village south of Nablus. Two busloads of soldiers were seen deployed in the village late Tuesday ahead of the demolition which removed a cement structure, agriculture buildings, and tents.

»

Israeli warplanes in fresh strikes on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli air force resumed overnight its recent series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of the consequences if Palestinian rocket fire continued. The first air strikes on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis killed a militant of the Islamic Jihad and wounded another man, Palestinian sources said. The Israeli military confirmed the attack, saying it had targeted a member of Islamic Jihad who "was involved in planning a massive terrorist attack in the heart of Israel."

»

Why the demise of the Middle East ‘peace process’ may be a good thing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Alastair Crooke - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Establishing a Palestinian state has been a sine qua non of Western foreign policy for the last 20 years. For some, the evident demise of the “peace process” has given rise to a sense of bereavement nearly on par with the end of civilization. A Palestinian state, for many, was a banner of conscience, a matter of justice. It was perceived, too, as the essential remedy for the wider maladies of the Middle East. Its final exhaustion would seem to edge the region closer to an abyss.

»

Why Palestinians want to be Israeli citizens
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

One of the givens of the Middle East peace process is that Palestinians are eager to be free of rule by Israel and to live in a state of their own. That's why a new poll of the Arabs of East Jerusalem is striking: It shows that more of those people actually would prefer to be citizens of Israel than of a Palestinian state.

»

Israel: Airstrike in Gaza Kills a Militant
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian militant from the group Islamic Jihad was killed in Gaza on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Israeli military and the group. The military said in a statement that the target of the strike, Muhammad Najar, 23, was “involved in planning a massive terror attack in the heart of Israel,” and that the pinpoint killing had disrupted those plans. Islamic Jihad threatened to avenge the Israeli attack.


January 11th

Palestinians say Israeli forces shoot a 65-year-old Gaza farmer. PM Netanyahu rebuffs Sec. Clinton's criticism of Israel's destruction of the Shepherd Hotel, while UNSG Ban deplores the move. Clinton asks Arab states to support the PA. Poor Israeli diplomacy is harming its image. The CSM looks at five crucial Jerusalem settlements. Rob Danin criticizes the demolition. Palestinians are working to persuade the US and others to support a UN resolution on settlements. More strains emerge between Netanyahu and FM Lieberman. Palestinian officials arrived in Washington. The One Voice campaign launches a “wake-up call” project on peace. Yossi Sarid says Lieberman is the new Kahane. Yagil Levy says Israeli NGOs are inadvertently entrenching the occupation. Gershon Baskin says Israel's dilemma is clearer from the diaspora. Hamas urges other extremist groups to stop attacking Israel from Gaza. The PA is encouraging Fatah officials to return to Gaza. Aryeh Cohen says Israel is responding violently to nonviolent Palestinian protests. The National says Jerusalem must be shared between Christians, Muslims and Jews. Essa Bin Mohammed al-Zedjali says international recognition of Palestine is a good thing. White House Middle East peace advisor Dennis Ross will visit Israel this week.

Palestinian Authority Urging Gaza Fatah Exiles to Return Home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority is quietly encouraging officials from its ruling Fatah party who fled the Gaza Strip following the rival Hamas movement’s bloody takeover in 2007 to return home. “Hamas and Fatah are both present in the Gaza Strip, and I support all Fatah people returning,” Hussam Khadr, a Fatah leader from Nablus, told The Media Line. "The party leadership should be brave and force people who left without a justified reason to return."

»

U.S. Middle East peace efforts to resume
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - (Blog) January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that U.S. officials led by White House Middle East peace advisor Dennis Ross will come to Israel this week to try to revive the Middle East peace process. Netanyahu made the announcement speaking to members of his right-wing Likud party, adding that all the parties share one goal -- “to strengthen security and reach peace,” Reuters reports.

»


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