July 5th

Rewriting the Arafat story
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Fatah’s old guard, and especially Arafat’s family, has a great task: Arranging a dignified death for the father of the Palestinian nation. The fact that Arafat left the stage while afflicted with a disease that one does not speak about openly, far away from his people, at a French hospital, is incommensurate with the national ethos.

»

Israeli officials deny Arafat poisoning rumors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli officials on Thursday quashed recent rumors that late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died due to radiation poisoning, denying any connection to his death. Arafat passed away in a French military hospital outside Paris on Nov. 11, 2004. Hospital doctors said the specific cause of death was a massive brain hemorrhage, and Arafat has a blood disease called "disseminated intravascular coagulation," according to the Haaretz daily. The report said the ailment has a number of causes, including infections, colitis and liver disease.

»

Aide: Palestinian leader wants more on Arafat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

An aide says the Palestinian leader wants more information from a Swiss lab before deciding whether to dig up the remains of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. Doctors at the lab say they found elevated levels of the radioactive agent polonium-210 on clothing reportedly worn by Arafat before his death in November 2004. The lab says the findings don't prove Arafat was poisoned. Experts are divided over whether an autopsy, sought by Arafat's widow, could clear up a lingering mystery surrounding the cause of Arafat's death.

»

It was Zionism itself that Israel buried this week. Let it go.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am

It's time to take a lesson from the successful. It's time to begin thinking like Yitzhak Shamir. When he died this week, the first several people I spoke with, knowledgeable people who closely follow politics and the news, all had the same reaction. "I wasn't sure that he was still alive."

»

Palestinians May Exhume Arafat After Report of Poisoning
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 4, 2012 - 12:00am

A potentially explosive re-examination of the circumstances behind the death of Yasir Arafat, the symbol of the Palestinian national struggle, has galvanized Palestinian suspicions that he was poisoned and led the Palestinian Authority to agree in principle on Wednesday to an exhumation of his remains, possibly within days. Yasir and Suha Arafat in Ramallah in 2004, about two weeks before Mr. Arafat died. Al Jazeera has reported that he might have been poisoned with radioactive polonium 210.

»

Containing the Islamist Revolution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) June 28, 2012 - 12:00am

When politicians are in election mode, they can see nothing but victory. All decisions, all considerations, are subservient to one question: how they can convince voters to check their name at the ballot box. As someone who ran for office nine times, I know what I am talking about. But for the candidate who wins the election, and for the voters, there is always the day after.

»

What Does Morsi Mean for Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Is the election of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, as president of Egypt the beginning of the end of the Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt? It doesn’t have to be. In fact, it could actually be the beginning of a real peace between the Israeli and the Egyptian peoples, instead of what we’ve had: a cold, formal peace between Israel and a single Egyptian pharaoh. But, for that to be the case, both sides will have to change some deeply ingrained behaviors, and fast.

»

July 3rd

NEWS: Israel's governing coalition is threatened by a dispute over military service. The Lebanese military says it has destroyed three Israeli signals intelligence devices in southern Lebanon. PM Netanyahu vows to increase settlement construction. After years of delay, Israel approves three Palestinian water projects in “Area C.” An Israeli human rights group publicizes a video of an Israeli soldier kicking a Palestinian child. One of Israel's most famous intelligence officers passes away. The PLO says Hamas' refusal to continue voter registration in Gaza is indefensible. Israeli settlers claim to have purchased land, one year after the owner's death, on which a significant “unauthorized” outpost has been built. Israel is set to institute a new “land registry” system involving the occupied territories which will deny Palestinians a right of appeal. The Israeli military holds a drill in an occupied Palestinian village. A new poll finds a majority of both Palestinians and Israelis want a two-state solution, but don't think it will happen in the next five years. The PA faces another cash crisis following the rejection of a $100 million loan request from the IMF. PLO official Hanan Ashrawi condemns the violent suppression of demonstrations by PA security forces. Negotiations over a proposed UN global arms trade treaty are embroiled in a controversy over Palestinian representation. COMMENTARY: Avi Issacharoff says public pressure forced Pres. Abbas to cancel a meeting of Palestinian officials with Deputy PM Mofaz. Amira Hass says Palestinian protests against the meeting were prompted by a sense of humiliation. Linda Gradstein looks at the reasons why the meeting might have been canceled. Leonard Fein says Jewish history means Israel should respect African migrants. Yossi Beilin says Israel and the United States should reach out to Egypt's new Islamist president. Raghad Jaraisy says Palestinians now face real police violence from their own security forces in the occupied territories. Jeremy Ben-Ami says the BDS movement is counter-productive.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Put Allies at Odds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Jeremy Benami - (Blog) July 2, 2012 - 12:00am

As a long-time advocate for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am pained that frustration over failure to achieve a just and lasting peace has led allies in the struggle to end up at odds over tactics like boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Two years ago, the organization I head, J Street, was honored with an invitation to speak at a breakfast hosted by a Presbyterian Church (USA) peacemaking group -- a long-time ally in the struggle for Middle East peace. But we attended with heavy hearts.

»

Palestinians face the real police violence – with no right to demonstrate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Raghad Jaraisy - (Opinion) July 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Difficult questions about the thin line between legitimate protest and disturbing the peace have been raised by demonstrations organized by Israel's social protest movement and the methods used to police these events raise. What makes a protest legitimate? Is it the measure of 'righteousness' inherent in the cause? Or is it just a permit to demonstrate authorized by the police? And what makes a protest 'just'? Does justice exist only in the eye of the beholder? Or in the eyes of the political camps that we identify with?

»


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