November 14th

NEWS: Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari is killed by an Israeli missile attack. Israeli diplomats say their country will consider the Oslo Agreements null and void if Palestinians go forward with a request for nonmember state observer status at the UN. An internal Israeli government document says toppling Pres. Abbas is one possible response. The PA rejects the threats. Israel is reportedly considering a compromise in which the Palestinian UN bid would be dropped in favor of “provisional statehood.” 6 Palestinians are injured by Israeli forces in West Bank commemorations of the1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence. Four rockets from Sinai land in southern Israel. Palestinians prepare to exhume the body of the late Pres. Arafat, as a French doctor at the hospital where he died says there is "absolutely no way" he was poisoned. Israel prepares its latest missile-defense system. Egypt strongly criticizes Israel for attacks against Gaza. Fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza appears to have subsided. Israel says it will launch a satellite in the coming months. Israel is planning to evict 120 Bedouins to make way for a landfill. The PA continues to struggle to pay public employee salaries. European watchdogs say they're concerned by PA pressure against Palestinian journalists. Some Palestinian refugees in Jordan say they still want to return to Israel. Khalid Mishal may still be a contender to continue to head Hamas' politburo. COMMENTARY: Sufian Abu Zaida says Palestinians can only envy the American elections and accountable political system. James Zogby says Hussein Ibish is wrong and that the Arab-American community is already politically "normalized." Carlo Strenger says Akiva Eldar is wrong and that Israelis and Palestinians have to look beyond a two-state solution. Daniel Levy says fault lines between Israel and the second Obama administration are already showing. Zvi Bar'el says discrimination against Arabs in Israel is normal. The Jerusalem Post says Israel would be better off promoting an independent state in Gaza. Ben Sales interviews Palestinian businessman Munib al-Masri. George Semaan says Pres. Obama will have to deal with the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue. Rafi Noy argues that Pres. Assad’s regime may be better for Israel than that of the Syrian insurgents.

Is Israel Better Off With Assad in Power?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Rafi Noy - (Opinion) November 13, 2012 - 1:00am


Nobody knows who the insurgents really are or the kind of Syria Israel will have to grapple with once they seize power. With the incumbent regime, by contrast, we’ve been getting along for dozens of years. 


Obama in his Second Term: No Escaping the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by George Semaan - (Opinion) November 13, 2012 - 1:00am


The United States cannot quit its responsibilities, regardless of the obstacles and the internal and objective difficulties getting in the way of the performance of its leading role around the world, knowing it does not wish to relinquish this position, which it has occupied since the end of the Cold War.


From his West Bank Italian villa, Palestinian billionaire Munib al-Masri calls for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ben Sales - (Analysis) November 13, 2012 - 1:00am


NABLUS, West Bank (JTA) -- Dozens of photographs line the wall of a room on the first floor of Palestinian billionaire Munib al-Masri's West Bank villa, depicting a man of global influence but also of divergent impulses.


State of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) November 13, 2012 - 1:00am


Our political leaders are reassessing their options in the wake of the latest escalation in the South. Israel’s current policy is to react to each new barrage from Gaza by identifying and singling out the specific terrorist organization that fired at our civilians, targeting rocket-launching crews and arms caches.


No Arabs allowed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) November 14, 2012 - 1:00am


The Soho restaurant in Rishon Letzion apparently refused an Israeli couple's request for a reservation. Landlords deny requests from Arab citizens to rent their apartments. Businesses look for excuses to fob off Israeli applicants who seek employment, and residential communities make sure that only certain Israelis can live there.


Obama II and Israel: The faultlines are starting to show
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Daniel Levy - (Analysis) November 14, 2012 - 1:00am


Ever since the U.S. news networks placed Ohio in the blue column last Tuesday night, the speculation has been as feverish as it was predictable - how will a re-elected Barak Obama square off to Sheldon Adelson’s more successful political investment, Benjamin Netanyahu?


An open letter to Akiva Eldar: Looking beyond the two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) November 14, 2012 - 1:00am


Dear Akiva.


We Already Are Politically "Normalized"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by James J. Zogby - (Opinion) November 13, 2012 - 1:00am


There is a wonderful old Indian tale about three blind men who come upon an elephant and ask, "What is this?" One grabbing the elephant's tail says, "I think it is a rope." Another putting his arms about the elephant's leg says, "No, it is more like a tree." While the third touching its side says, "I think it is like a huge, smooth rock." The elephant, of course, is more than it's individual parts.


US vote a painful reminder for divided Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Sufian Abu Zaida - (Opinion) November 11, 2012 - 1:00am


I didn't follow the United States elections due to my belief that in the Palestinian subject particularly, and US policy in the Middle East in general, the difference between the candidates is negligible.



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