April 13th

Waste of time ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Oman Tribune (Editorial) April 13, 2012 - 12:00am Time and money has again been wasted on the Middle East conflict and its dead peace process. And it’s high time, instead of indulging in these futile exercises, some thing concrete were done. Instead of making some firm moves, the Middle East Quartet’s top diplomats, after a meeting in Washington on Wednesday, came up with a number of appeals that included one to foreign donors to deliver promised aid to the Palestinians. They also urged Israelis and Palestinians to build trust to revive peace talks. » Read more

How to Evacuate 100,000 Israelis From the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Zvika Krieger - (Opinion) April 12, 2012 - 12:00am A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still possible. As part of my debate on this question with Robert Wright, who says "it's too late" as "there are just too many settlements," I offered some proposals on how to include the vast majority of settlers within a new Israeli border that would still allow for a viable and contiguous Palestinian state. Wright was not convinced, arguing that there are practical and political barriers to implementing those proposals. I still think he's wrong, and here's why. » Read more

Jewish Americans Embrace Israeli Leaders, US Identities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Sever Plocker - (Opinion) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am A Jewish American intellectual was interviewed recently and asked how he would respond if Israel would be annihilated — wiped off the map. His answer was, “I would not feel like a complete Jew.” Something would be missing from the fellow’s identity if and when Armageddon comes to the holy land and Israel disappears off the face of the earth. » Read more

Jordan to Revoke Citizenship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI) April 12, 2012 - 12:00am AMMAN, Jordan, April 12 (UPI) -- In a move to restrict Palestinian representation in Parliament, Jordan plans to revoke the citizenship of some Palestinians, officials said. The decision coincides with a new electoral law, The Jerusalem Post said Thursday. The move will affect Palestinian Authority officials as well as members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, The Post said. Palestinian leaders will receive temporary Jordanian passports to facilitate travel. Nearly half of the Hashemite Kingdom's 6 million people are of Palestinian origin, The Post said. » Read more

New man on Israeli scene ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) April 13, 2012 - 12:00am The emergence this month of Shaul Mofaz on the Israeli political scene as the new head of the centre-left Kadima party is a welcome development. It carries with it the promise — still only a faint one, however — that a reinvigorated and politically-successful Kadima could bring about a softening, even a reversal, of the expansionist, war-mongering policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist, ultra-orthodox and right-wing Labour coalition partners. » Read more

‘One-State’ Idea Gains Support of Some Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - April 12, 2012 - 12:00am Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians are at a standstill and have been for almost two years. The stated aim of those negotiations is what is known as the "two-state solution," which means the establishment of a viable, independent Palestinian state existing in peace alongside Israel. But as hopes for an agreement diminish, Palestinians — and even some Israelis — are now talking about other solutions to the conflict. Among them, the so-called "one-state solution." » Read more

Israel is paranoid about pro-Palestinian activists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) April 12, 2012 - 12:00am And with what shall we frighten the Israeli public in advance of the seventh day of Passover? How will we provide the dose of fear to which it has long since become addicted? After a week of a quiet and safe vacation, we have to find something, after all. The Iranian threat has entered a negotiations freeze, terror is quiet, even the Grad missiles have diminished in number, there is no mass plague on the horizon and even the circumstances of the attack against the Jew in Kiev have not become sufficiently clear. » Read more

The Peace Process Stuck in a Rut of Malaise Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The National - April 13, 2012 - 12:00am The Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, the UN, the EU and Russia - met Wednesday on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Washington. But the Quartet's first high-level meeting since December passed almost without notice in the US. Neither The Washington Post nor The New York Times had a story about it in yesterday's editions. In part, say observers, the lack of interest is due to other, more pressing issues. The violence in Syria dominates the attention of the foreign-policy circuit in Washington, where Iran's nuclear programme is also a perennial concern. » Read more

ATFP Praises Release of US Aid to the PA, Welcomes New Quartet Statement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Task Force on Palestine April 12, 2012 - 12:00am Washington DC, April 12 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed the announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States would be releasing a $147 million package in aid to the Palestinian people. The move overrides some remaining congressional holds on the US aid package to the Palestinians for fiscal year 2011 economic support. » Read more

The Peace Process Stuck in a Rut of Malaise ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - April 13, 2012 - 12:00am The Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, the UN, the EU and Russia - met Wednesday on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Washington. But the Quartet's first high-level meeting since December passed almost without notice in the US. Neither The Washington Post nor The New York Times had a story about it in yesterday's editions. In part, say observers, the lack of interest is due to other, more pressing issues. The violence in Syria dominates the attention of the foreign-policy circuit in Washington, where Iran's nuclear programme is also a perennial concern. » Read more