March 24th, 2009

Clash in tense Israeli-Arab town
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
March 24, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli-Arab protesters have clashed with police as Jewish Israeli right-wingers marched in the majority-Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. Stun grenades and tear gas were used as hundreds of Israeli-Arab protesters threw stones, police said. Israeli-Arab residents of the town view the march as highly provocative and had vowed to stop it. The High Court gave permission for the march, but police had postponed it several times, fearing violence. About 2,500 police in riot gear were deployed as about 100 far-right activists marched in the town, waving Israeli flags.

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It's now or nothing for Palestine peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) March 24, 2009 - 12:00am

The recent Israeli attack on Gaza made little strategic difference leaving Hamas still in charge of the strip, diminished militarily but arguably strengthened politically. Israel's use of disproportionate military force yielded political and public relations setbacks, with the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit still in captivity and occasional rockets still being fired from Gaza.

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It's now or nothing for Palestine peace
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star (Opinion) - March 24, 2009 - 12:00am

The recent Israeli attack on Gaza made little strategic difference leaving Hamas still in charge of the strip, diminished militarily but arguably strengthened politically.

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March 23rd

ATFP Alarmed by Israel’s Provocative Measures in Occupied East Jerusalem
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, March 23 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today expressed deep concern about a series of recent Israeli actions regarding Jerusalem that pose a serious threat to a peaceful future between Israel and the Palestinians.


An editorial in the Middle East Times considers the concept of "political malpractice" proposed by ATFP President Ziad Asali (1). A car bomb placed outside a mall in the Israeli city of Haifa does not explode (2) and Palestinian Authority sources suspect that an Iran-backed group is responsible (10). A roadside bomb kills a senior Fatah official and four others outside a refugee camp in Lebanon (4). The Israeli military condemns appalling messages on t-shirts commissioned by groups of Israeli soldiers (6) (8), as reports of misconduct in the Gaza war are confirmed by eyewitness Israeli troops (7). Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu continues efforts to form a coalition government, opening formal talks with the Labor party (5) (14) (15).

Labor and Likud launch coalition talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Coalition talks between Labor and Likud negotiations teams kicked off Monday morning in Kfar Hamaccabiah in Ramat Gan. Entering the meeting, Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon (Labor) said that the meeting would focus on diplomatic and socioeconomic issues. "We will try to arrive at an agreement so that we can present it to the party's conference tomorrow, but we may be unsuccessful," Simhon said.


PA source: Iran-backed group may be behind Haifa bomb attempt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - March 23, 2009 - 12:00am

A senior source in the Palestinian Authority told Haaretz Sunday that he suspects Hezbollah or another organization with links to Iran was behind the attempted bombing of the Lev Hamifratz shopping mall in Haifa on Saturday night. According to the source, the PA holds definitive intelligence that Hezbollah has been trying for some time to recruit members of Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an attempt to get operatives of those terror groups to carry out an attack in Israel.

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End of the one-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - March 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Commentators in Israel and elsewhere have noted the two major trends to emerge from the recent Israeli elections, namely the collapse of the Labour party and the left bloc, and the rise of the extreme right. But there is a more significant development. The Israeli assault on Gaza and the vehement opposition from the Palestinian citizens of Israel to it brought to the fore the tension inherent in the Zionist tenet of a state that is both Jewish and democratic.

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Enough with the cosmetics
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Don't let them tell you that Benjamin Netanyahu needs Labor in order to handle the Iranian threat. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will probably continue building the bomb, regardless of whether Ehud Barak continues comfortably filling the defense minister's chair or, like Tzipi Livni, supports action against Iran from the opposition bench.

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Dead Palestinian babies and bombed mosques - IDF fashion 2009
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Uri Blau - March 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The office at the Adiv fabric-printing shop in south Tel Aviv handles a constant stream of customers, many of them soldiers in uniform, who come to order custom clothing featuring their unit's insignia, usually accompanied by a slogan and drawing of their choosing. Elsewhere on the premises, the sketches are turned into plates used for imprinting the ordered items, mainly T-shirts and baseball caps, but also hoodies, fleece jackets and pants. A young Arab man from Jaffa supervises the workers who imprint the words and pictures, and afterward hands over the finished product.

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