Diplomacy | The American Task Force on Palestine

So who is Israel’s one true friend? Clue: it isn’t the US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) January 16, 2010 - 1:00am

Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, an old American slogan says. By that measure the US has hardly been a real friend to Israel over the past decade. It has enabled a pattern of Israeli behaviour so reckless as to endanger Israel’s prospects of ever achieving peaceful coexistence with the states and peoples around it. An aggressive drunk often reserves his most toxic invective for those of his friends who tell him the truth: that his behaviour is intolerable, is dangerous to himself and others, and can’t be allowed to continue.

Report: Turkey warns Lebanon that Israel may be planning attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week warned Lebanese leaders that Israel may be planning an attack on its northern neighbor, Lebanese sources told the London-based Arabic language daily A-Sharq al-Awsat on Thursday. At a meeting in Ankara with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and President Michel Suleiman on Monday, Erdogan declared that Israel was endangering world peace by using exaggerated force against the Palestinians, breaching Lebanon's air space and waters and for not revealing the details of its nuclear program.

Obama must put pressure on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Barack Obama does not want to resort to using the stick, although this approach has been effective in the past, especially in settling Arab-Israeli disputes. This was pointed out by his special Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, when he recalled that recent US presidents have done so with notable success. Obama may yet be forced to change his mind. One reason for this is the arrogance of the right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declared on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of Occupied Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 armistice lines.

Israel’s immaturity cause for concern
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) January 14, 2010 - 1:00am

If the Turkish ambassador to Israel was surprised by his humiliation at the hands of Danny Ayalon, he should not have been. This is what the deputy Israeli foreign minister considers his job. He is no suave advocate for Israel, like the media spokesman Mark Regev. He takes his cue instead from his boss, Avigdor Lieberman, engaging in diplomacy with all the tact that might be expected of a Moldovan nightclub bouncer.

Apply American decency to Mideast policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am

I am often asked why I maintain the slightly naive expectation that the United States will one day pursue policies in the Middle East that are fair to all in the region, and also comply with international law and core American values. My answer is, in part, Denise Horn’s Globalization and International Affairs class INTL 1101 at Northeastern University in Boston.

Analysis: Saudis seek illusory 'third way' in regional diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jonathan Spyer - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am

Syrian President Bashar Assad is reportedly scheduled to visit the Saudi capital Riyadh, where he is to meet with Saudi King Abdullah. The meeting is rumored to be a prelude to a three way summit also to involve Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The current round of talks is the latest stage in Syria's return from the cold in terms of its reintegration - on its own terms and with no concessions made - into the mainstream of Arab diplomacy. This process, in turn, is testimony to the current weakness of Saudi Arabia's position.

Lieberman-style diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alon Liel - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 1:00am

The humiliating meeting held by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon with Turkey’s ambassador to Israel attests to a new kind of diplomacy invented by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The content of the conversation was barely mentioned, but rather, only its style was: Seating the ambassador on a low seat, refraining from shaking his hand, pummeling him, and later stressing this was about pulverizing him – these are all new rules of diplomacy. The incident made the Foreign Ministry look ridiculous internationally, and not only in the context of our ties with Turkey.

PA demands apology from Egyptian cleric
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday demanded a public apology from one of the most prominent Islamic scholars, who called for stoning President Mahmoud Abbas to death. Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said that if it is proven that Abbas had instigated Operation Cast Lead against the Gaza Strip, he must be stoned.

What makes sense
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians are right to refuse a return to negotiations with Israel unless there is a total halt to settlement construction in the occupied territories. To continue negotiations as Israel continues devouring Palestinian lands to build and expand settlements means having less and less land to negotiate over.

Obama admin. considers giving letters to Middle East parties on peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
(Editorial) January 11, 2010 - 1:00am

As it ramps up efforts to get Israel-Palestinian peace talks restarted, the Obama administration is considering sending letters to the Middle East parties, diplomatic sources tell POLITICO. The letters the Obama administration is considering giving to the Middle East parties outline what the U.S. expects from Israel-Palestinian peace talks, a diplomat source said. The letters, signed by President Obama, describe terms of reference that serve as the basis for negotiations moving forward, another source who declined to be identified said.

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