June 17th, 2008

West Bank 'attackers' Arrested
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
June 17, 2008 - 5:13pm

Israeli police say they have arrested two Jewish settlers over an apparent assault of Palestinians that was filmed as part of a human rights project. An adult male and a minor were arrested in Susia settlement overnight and will appear in court on Tuesday. B'Tselem human rights group has been giving Palestinians video cameras as part of its Shooting Back scheme. The footage shot on 8 June shows four masked figures walk up to some shepherds and attack them with clubs.

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The American Task Force on Palestine: Setting The Record Straight
Issue Paper by Hussein Ibish - October 15, 2007 - 12:00am

1: What ATFP does and why it does it

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Our Position: Secretary Rice Was Right To Call Israel On Adding Its Footprint To Disputed Land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Orlando Sentinel
(Editorial) June 17, 2008 - 5:09pm

If the Bush administration is to have any hope of succeeding in its belated push for a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, the United States must be seen as an honest broker. That's why it was important for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to criticize Israel this week for its plans to add hundreds of new homes to land claimed by the Palestinians.

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What Ehud Olmert Should – But Probably Didn't – Tell George Bush
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Ori Nir - (Opinion) June 17, 2008 - 5:08pm

WASHINGTON—What Ehud Olmert should – but probably won’t - tell George Bush last Wednesday in the White House. Thanks for seeing me, George. This may be my last meeting with you as Israel's prime minister. I'm in a pinch, you know, and I'm fighting to save my political life. All these calls in recent days for me to resign have broadened my perspective. They have actually inspired me to speak bluntly to you.

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Sense, Nonsense and Strategy in the New Palestinian Political Landscape
Issue Paper by Hussein Ibish - September 6, 2007 - 12:00am

The catastrophic division that has recently developed in Palestine, with the national leadership split between two fiefdoms and in a state of open conflict, has left Palestinians and their allies around the world dismayed, and struggling to reformulate a viable strategy for ending the occupation. As people search for guidance and try to make sense of a shocking turn of events, misleading and overwrought polemics have become more prevalent than sober analysis.

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Israel Seems To Make Progress In Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 17, 2008 - 5:07pm

JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered mutual cease-fire for the Gaza area starting Thursday morning, Egyptian and Hamas officials announced on Tuesday. “The Palestinian and Israeli sides have accepted the first stage of a reciprocal and simultaneous period of calm, starting in the Gaza Strip, from 0600 on Thursday,” an unidentified senior Egyptian official told the state news agency MENA.

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What Lies Ahead for Gaza?
Policy Focus by ATFP - March 5, 2008 - 1:00am

The confrontations last weekend between Hamas and Israel in Gaza have brought two facts into sharp focus. First, Hamas and Israel have locked themselves into a logic of progressively increasing violence that – unless broken – will inevitably lead to a wide scale land operation against Gaza. Second, unless accompanied by a policy of strengthening the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad by enabling them to deliver concrete results, the strategy of pressuring Hamas will not work and would likely be counterproductive.

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Defining Success: The Fall Mid-East Meeting
Policy Focus by ATFP - October 1, 2007 - 12:00am



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Palestinian National Unity: The Question of Hamas
Policy Focus by ATFP - June 16, 2007 - 12:00am

Two months into the Hamas violent takeover of the Gaza Strip (GS), one thing has become clear: for all practical intents and purposes, the West Bank (WB) and GS represent two separate spheres of control for the foreseeable future. While ultimately, for political, economic and geopolitical reasons, the WB and GS must be one territorial unit, the prospects for reunification at the short or even medium term are very slim.   The Buildup

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June 16th

The New York Times reports on progress being made by Israel on three diplomatic fronts (1). Israeli police arrest the two Jewish settlers involved in a recent assault on Palestinians that was caught on film (4). Reuters reports that a truce between Hamas and Israel has been reached and will begin on Thursday (5). Though the prospects for the success of the truce seem somewhat tenuous (9) (10). Claude Salhani reports on a relatively new Los Angeles based organization called the Israeli Palestinian Confederation (6).

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