April 13th

Two-State Solution Loses its Champion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

The spines of the books that bear Sari Nusseibeh's name are testimony to the cause he once championed. There is Palestine: A State is Born, published in 1990. A year later, it was No Trumpets, No Drums: A Two-State Solution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. To the dismay of those who continue to support the two-state solution, Mr Nusseibeh now believes the convictions he espoused in the pages of these books are as faded and musty as the volumes.

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Israeli Ambassador to New York Times: Netanyahu Does Not Interfere in U.S. Elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

The duel between the New York Times and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers continues. Israeli ambassador to Washington Michael Oren submitted a letter to the editor to the New York Times' editorial board, with a complaint regarding an article which was published several days ago about the close ties between Netanyahu and the likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. In the letter, which was published on Thursday, Oren rejected the allegations that Netanyahu is intervening in the presidential race in the United States.

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Abbas Ready to Meet Israeli PM When Peace References Recognized
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is ready to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the latter recognizes the basis of the peace process, a spokesperson for Abbas said Thursday. "The Palestinian side has no problem to hold bilateral and direct meetings with the Israeli side if they were based on a clear reference so we know on what basis and mechanisms we are negotiating," Abbas' spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdineh told Voice of Palestine Radio.

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Palestinian, Israeli Officials to Meet on Water Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian and Israeli officials will meet next week to discuss water issues that affect the two sides, a Palestinian official said Thursday. The meeting mainly aims to "overcome Israeli obstacles" on water projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, said Shadad Al- Otili of the Palestinian Water Authority. The meeting comprises members of the joint water committee which was formed after Israel and the Palestinians signed Oslo accords in 1993, Al-Otili told Xinhua.

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Abbas Arrives in Japan on First Leg of International Tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Japan on Thursday for the first leg of an international tour. Abbas discussed the latest developments concerning Palestine with several Japanese officials, including Japan's special Middle East peace envoy Yutaka Iimura. Abbas is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Sunday, before heading to the Maldives for two days on Tuesday.


With West Focused on Iran, Netanyahu Moves to Expand Israeli Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is moving to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank at a time when international attention is focused elsewhere, with President Obama gearing up for reelection and the West targeting Iran's nuclear program. Last week, the Netanyahu government took a variety of steps that, taken together, amount to a significant strengthening of Israel's hold in the West Bank, the biblically resonant territory occupied in 1967, which Palestinians claim as the heartland for their future state.

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Once Taboo, Germans’ Anti-Israel Whispers Grow Louder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Nicholas Kulish - April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

BERLIN — To judge by the outpouring of comments from politicians and writers and from the newspaper and magazine articles in response to the Nobel laureate Günter Grass’s poem criticizing Israel’s aggressive posture toward Iran, it would appear that the public had resoundingly rejected his work. But even a quick dip into the comments left by readers on various Web sites reveals quite another reality.

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April 12th

ATFP Praises Release of US Aid to the PA, Welcomes New Quartet Statement
Press Release - 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.


NEWS: The Quartet urges an immediate resumption of negotiations and the delivery of pledged aid to the Palestinians. The US will be releasing $147 million in aid to the Palestinians, overriding congressional opposition. Palestinians reiterate their demand for a settlement freeze. Israel says it plans to send its own letter to Pres. Abbas. Palestinians say 3 have been injured in an attack by settlers near Nablus. Another Palestinian prisoner held by Israel begins a hunger strike. MK Tibi threatens a lawsuit against Amb. Oren for suggesting he supports suicide bombing. The Media Line looks at the role of women in the Israeli military. Israel deports a Palestinian man to Gaza even though he faces possible execution there for “collaboration.” The PA blames Hamas for the Palestinian financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Former Pres. Carter says it is vital the world doesn't give up on Middle East peace. The LA Times says Israel declaring Gunter Grass persona non grata because of a poem is the kind of reaction one would have expected from Iran. Anshel Pfeffer says Egypt's major military deployment in Sinai hasn't changed much. Daniel Gordis defends “Jewish tribalism” in Israel. Uri Savir says Israel's go it alone attitude on security won't work anymore. George Hishmeh says a newly released letter by David Ben-Gurion shows he anticipated the need to drive out Palestinians long before the 1948 war. Arron David Miller says it's extremely unlikely a second-term Pres. Obama would choose to heavily pressure Israel. Hanan Ashrawi says Palestinians in Jerusalem need freedom, not Israeli permits. Jerome Segal says Palestinians should pursue the creation of a new UN Special Committee on Palestine. Hussein Ibish says just because he supports peace with Israel based on ending the occupation and creating a Palestinian state doesn't make him a “Zionist.”

No, Of Course I'm Not
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Since the emergence of the one-state movement, I've been routinely described by the pro-Palestinian far right and ultra-left as a “Zionist,” and even a “traitor” and “collaborator,” because I remain committed to ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Of course, most of these people were, in the past, themselves supporters of a two state solution, so by their logic they were also once “traitors” and “collaborators.”

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