February 19th

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Pleads Not Guilty in Fraud Case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - February 17, 2013 - 1:00am

Israel’s tough-talking former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleaded not guilty on Sunday to

»

Israeli public asked to choose logo for Obama visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 18, 2013 - 1:00am

The Israeli prime minister's office is asking the public to choose an official logo for next month's state visit of the US president by voting for one of three proposed designs on Facebook. Participants have until 1400 GMT on Tuesday to choose their favourite design by clicking "like' on Benjamin Netanyahu's Facebook page, a statement from the prime minister's office said.

»

Protesters rally in solidarity with hunger strikers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 19, 2013 - 1:00am

Protesters rallied in Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah on Monday in support of hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails, as the PA minister of prisoner affairs warned of a popular uprising in the West Bank. In Al-Khader near Bethlehem, dozens of people, including the families of prisoners and representatives from human right groups, rallied by route 60. Israeli soldiers arrived in the area and dispersed protestors using tear gas canisters and stun grenades, witnesses said, injuring several people.

»

Israel, PA lobbying US before Obama's visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh, Herb Keinon - February 17, 2013 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday dispatched two senior officials to Washington to brief the US administration on its stance regarding the resumption of peace talks with Israel.

»

Official: Israel continues to withhold PA tax revenues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 19, 2013 - 1:00am

Israel continues to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, an official said Monday, as unions in the West Bank organize strike action this week over unpaid salaries. Ahmad al-Hilou, director of customs taxes and VAT, told Ma'an that Israel was supposed to transfer December tax revenues to the PA last Thursday, "but the money is still withheld due to a political decision." A PA delegation will meet with Israeli officials on Feb. 28 to discuss transferring January tax revenues, al-Hilou said.

»

ATFP Concerned about Hunger-Striking Palestinian Prisoners, Reiterates Opposition to Administrative Detention
Press Release - February 19, 2013 - 1:00am

 


Palestinians to ask that Obama personally kickstart peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - February 19, 2013 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority representatives are expected to request the personal involvement of United States President Barack Obama in the Mideast peace process when they arrive in Washington on Wednesday. The PA representatives are even expected to even ask that Obama present his own initiative that will contain a formula that will allow both Israel and the PA to return to the negotiating table.

»

February 15th

NEWS: Report suggests that the late Prisoner X held secretly in Israel may have been part of a Mossad assassination squad that killed a Hamas operative in Dubai. (New York Times) Sources say Prisoner X is not the only "security prisoner" to have disappeared in the Israeli prison system. (YNet) Mossad appears to be becoming more secretive than ever. (The Independent) Palestinians protesting in support of hunger striking prisoners clash with Israeli occupation forces. (AP) Pres. Abbas urges international support for hunger striking Palestinian prisoners. (Oman Tribune) More Palestinian prisoners go on a one-day hunger strike in solidarity with other hunger striking prisoners (Xinhua) UN officials express concern over the fate of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners. (UN) A Swedish photographer wins the World Press Photo award for an image of the funeral of two Palestinian children killed in an Israeli missile attack. (AP) Two Palestinians are injured by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza. (Ma'an) A Palestinian worker is stabbed to death at a construction site in Israel. (YNet) Four Israeli border guards are convicted of abusing a mentally disabled Palestinian. (YNet) Bulgaria expels a Hamas delegation from the country. (Xinhua) The Palestinian public sector employees union says the PA will pay salaries for January soon, but no exact date has been set. (Ma'an) Reports say Israeli and Egyptian officials meet to discuss security matters. (Jerusalem Post) An Israeli playing for an English soccer team is prevented from entering Dubai. (Jerusalem Post) COMMENTARY: Roger Cohen says PM Fayyad's institution-building policy has been a squandered opportunity, but created a new paradigm that will live on. (New York Times) Rami Livni says there can and should be a genuine Zionism of the Left. (Ha'aretz) Michael Cohen says the Chuck Hagel confirmation hearings show how dangerous it is to challenge the American orthodoxy on Israel. (The Guardian) The National says Egypt needs to provide Gaza with a new lifeline from the blockade. (The National) Zuheir Kseibati says Arabs were unpleasantly surprised not to hear the word Palestine or many other references to the Middle East in Pres. Obama's State of the Union address. (Al Hayat) George Hishmeh says Sec. Kerry is offering some signs of hope on American policy towards the peace process. (Gulf News) Frida Ghitis says Obama should have modest aims for his Middle East trip. (Miami Herald) Shlomi Eldar interviews Saeb Erekat, who says a settlement freeze is essential to restarting negotiations. (Al Monitor) Amos Harel says Israelis are oblivious to the very real possibility of another intifada. (Haaretz) Jennifer Jajeh profiles 1970s Palestinian militant Leila Khaled. (The National)

Leila Khaled, the 1970s Palestinian revolutionary, is still passionate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jennifer Jajeh - February 16, 2013 - 1:00am

It looks like Leila Khaled has stood me up. It's my last day in Amman, and she's arranged to meet me in front of the Sofra restaurant at noon. It's now 12:45pm. Tired of the unwanted attention I'm receiving as a woman standing alone on the street, I duck into Café des Artistes next door and order an overpriced espresso in the hope they'll let me use their phone to call her again. She answers this time and tells me she is stuck at a meeting for the Palestinian National Council, but will meet me in another 30 minutes.

»

The distant drums of intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - February 15, 2013 - 1:00am

The public debate Americans have been conducting recently about the implications of the worldwide war they are waging against Islamic terror is not confined to the decade between September 11, 2001, and the assassination of Osama bin Laden, or to the two four-year terms of President George W. Bush. The Americans are also discussing and implementing far-reaching measures in that war during the second term of Barack Obama. It was the Obama administration that formulated a directive permitting the president to authorize the assassination abroad, without trial, of U.S.

»


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