February 10th, 2009

UN envoy: Gaza's children traumatized by war, despite ceasefire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Children in the Gaza Strip continued to suffer and feel insecure despite a ceasefire that has mostly ended three weeks of intense fighting between Israel and Hamas, the UN special envoy for children and armed conflict said Monday. Radihika Coomaraswamy said grave violations of child rights had been committed during the fighting that began on December 27 when Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes against Hamas militants who had been firing rockets and mortars into southern Israel.

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Israel election: Arabs to overtake Jewish population
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by David Blair - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The Israeli Right's old ambition was to keep every inch of this territory, especially the gains of the Six Day War in 1967. But demographics now underlie every calculation and, for Israelis, the facts are deeply disturbing. Today, their country has about 5.7 million Jewish inhabitants. Meanwhile, the West Bank, which Israel occupies, has 2.5 million Palestinians and the Gaza Strip another 1.5 million. The Arab minority within Israel itself numbers a further 1.4 million.

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Victory in the scales of factual numbers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hassan Al-Battal - February 8, 2009 - 1:00am

Experts like to clutch statistics in their hands, but there are some statistics which grab journalists by the throats, especially some “marginal” statistics from the last Gaza War. These less-known statistics include the fact that 88% of the population of the Gaza Strip has become dependent on food assistance, and that 600,000 tons is the approximate weight of the rubble from destruction.

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One Region, Two States
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Shimon Peres - (Opinion) February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to Middle East affairs, and the recent events in Gaza have not muted them. A minority of Middle East pundits have recently emerged as advocates for a one-state solution, which would undermine Israel's legitimacy and internationally recognized right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state in the land of my forefathers. Having personally witnessed the remarkable progress we have made with the Palestinian Authority in recent years, I believe that a two-state solution is not only the best resolution to this age-old conflict but one within our reach.

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Palestinians Stop Paying Israeli Hospitals for Gaza and West Bank Patients
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Scores of Palestinian patients being treated in Israeli hospitals, a rare bright spot of coexistence here, are being sent home because the Palestinian Authority has stopped paying for their treatment, partly in anger over the war in Gaza. Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem says that for the past week, no payments have come in and Palestinians whose children it is treating have been instructed by Palestinian health officials to place them in facilities in the West Bank, Jordan or Egypt.

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Violence breaks quiet of cease-fire on eve of Israel's national election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by Ibrahim Barzak - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY - Israeli aircraft struck two targets in the Gaza Strip and a Gaza militant died in a clash with troops on the border yesterday, as an official of the moderate Palestinian government accused Hamas of trying to boost hawkish candidates in Israel's election. The violence on the eve of the vote occurred as Egyptian mediators continued their efforts to cement a long-term cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, after the three weeks of intense fighting that racked the coastal territory last month.

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Livni and Netanyahu level as Israeli election begins
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rory McCarthy, Haroon Siddique - February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Israelis cast their votes today in the country's general election, with the rightwing opposition leader, Binyamin Netanyahu, and his rival, Tzipi Livni, the centrist foreign minister, neck and neck, according to analysts. Up to a fifth of voters were thought to be undecided hours before voting began, an unusually high number that reflected disillusionment with all candidates. After casting her vote in Tel Aviv, Livni urged people to ignore the bad weather and cast a vote for "hope".

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Middle East envoy George Mitchell no stranger to conflicts
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Los Angeles Times - January 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Since leaving the Senate in 1995, Mitchell has taken on one seemingly intractable problem after another, including the Northern Ireland conflict, which he helped settle. By Paul Richter and Henry Chu January 24, 2009

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February 9th

ATFP President to Testify at House Committee Hearing on Gaza
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 9, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Feb. 9 – American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) President and Founder Dr. Ziad Asali will testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia at a hearing entitled "Gaza After the War: What Can Be Built on the Wreckage?" In his testimony, Dr. Asali will focus on the need for political progress towards a two-state solution, the human and political impact of the war in Gaza, ways to ensure that such events do not recur, and mechanisms and modalities for the efficient and expedited reconstruction of Gaza.


The Washington Post reports on the various obstacles delaying rebuilding in Gaza (1). With Israeli elections only two days away, a still-tight race prompts discussion (2) (3) (9). The UN resumes delivery of aid to Gaza after Hamas returns the food it had seized last week (4). An op-ed by Thomas Friedman speculates on where Middle East peace will fit amongst President Obama’s priorities (5). A pair of articles discuss the challenges ahead for Mideast envoy George Mitchell (6) (12) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says that a broader ceasefire agreement may be achieved in the next week (10). A new poll published in Haaretz shows that only a quarter of Gazans are in support of Hamas (13).

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