Diplomacy | The American Task Force on Palestine

Palestinians seek unilateral statehood recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians' Plan B — an alternative to the elusive peace deal with Israel — is gradually taking shape: convince as many countries as possible to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, and use that to lobby the United States not to veto recognition by the U.N. Security Council.

Encountering Peace: The house is on fire
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

A week ago I wrote in this column that “the house is on fire and it’s time to wake up before everything we have built is destroyed by our own doing.” I was, of course, not referring to the tragic fire in the Carmel Forest. The fire is now out and Nature will have to work its wonders to bring life back where cinders now took over, but Nature knows how to recover.

Israel warns Argentina: Recognizing Palestinian state shatters peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned as "highly regrettable" Argentina's announcement of the previous day that it recognized Palestine as "a free and independent state" within its borders prior to the 1967 Six-Day War. The decision was highly "damaging," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, "because they are in fact shattering the foundation of the peace process." The recognition while peace negotiations are ongoing and no final peace deal has yet been reached "is contrary to the existing legal framework of the peace process," he added.

Europe doesn't delegitimize Israel, only the occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

The flying squadron of international firefighters that came to extinguish the flames in the Carmel region has poured cold water on the "they are delegitimizing us" campaign. Even Norway - which, heaven help us, keeps an open channel to Hamas and heads the list of critics of Israel's government - offered a pair of helicopters. It is hard to find a diplomat who epitomizes the difference between support for Israel and delegitimization of the occupation better than Svein Sevje, Norway's ambassador to Israel.

Abbas says dissolution of PNA not an option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that the Palestinians did not consider dissolving the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) an option as no demands for such an act had been voiced. Abbas told a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul that he would press for other states to recognize an independent Palestinian state if peace talks with Israel collapse, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported. However, the dissolution of the PNA was not among the various options of the Palestinians in case talks fail, he was quoted of saying.

Israel and the U.S.: A lopsided relationship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Andrew J. Bacevich - (Opinion) December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

The widely reported deal negotiated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Israel committing itself to a nonrenewable 90-day freeze on settlement activity in return for 20 F-35 fighters and a U.S. promise to block anti-Israel resolutions in the United Nations — illuminates with startling clarity the actual terms of U.S.-Israeli relations.

Netanyahu, Abbas hold rare phone chat over fires
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed condolences in a rare telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday over the deadly fires raging in northern Israel, Israeli officials said. The two leaders were not believed to have spoken since they last met in September when U.S.-backed peace talks stalled in a spat over Jewish settlement construction.

Palestinians Moot Plans for Organized Lobby in the West
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - December 6, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority wants to mobilize Palestinians living in the United States and Europe to campaign politically for the national cause, building a counterpart to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel lobbies. The idea was raised at the first-ever Conference of Arab Expatriates, which ended yesterday in Cairo. Aimed at establishing an organizational framework for Arab expats and fostering "a dialogue of civilizations, cultures and religions," the three-day conference was held under the auspices of the Arab League.

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