In Ramallah, Clinton Tech Advisor Says US Backs Open Internet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 3, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top technology adviser told a group of Palestinian bloggers Wednesday that efforts to censor the Internet would ultimately backfire. 

»

Mansour: Settlements prove Israel rejects 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 27, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The PLO ambassador at the United Nations on Wednesday condemned Israeli settlement activity in a series of letters to senior UN officials. "There have been confirmations by the UN Security Council and General Assembly, Human Rights Council and the Social and Economic Council on the illegality of all settlement activity in a number of resolutions which are still available, and we are still calling on Israel to respect and implement the resolutions," Mansour said.

»

Mashaal, Abbas discuss prisoner hunger strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
April 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke by telephone Thursday about rallying Palestinians to support Palestinian prisoners in their hunger strike against certain Israeli prison policies, such as administrative detention, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported Friday, citing a Hamas statement.

»

What’s the Israel-Azerbaijan connection?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Sheera Frenkel - April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

The burgeoning relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least of all because Azerbaijan is Iran’s neighbor to the north and shares close cultural and demographic ties with Iran.

»

Israel Releases Palestinian Protest Leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Activists say an Israeli military court has ordered the release of a prominent Palestinian protest leader. The European Union and rights group Amnesty International had condemned the detention of Bassem al-Tamimi because he was charged based on evidence obtained through confessions extracted by interrogating children. Activist Jonathan Pollak says Al-Tamimi was freed late Tuesday evening. He had been held since March 2011 on charges of inciting youths to throw rocks at Israeli soldiers and organizing demonstrations against Israeli activities in the West Bank.

»

IDF Chief to Haaretz: I do not believe Iran will decide to develop nuclear weapons
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

"If Iran goes nuclear it will have negative dimensions for the world, for the region, for the freedom of action Iran will permit itself," Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told Haaretz in an Independence Day interview.

»

Hardline Pragmatists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

I was pleased when, several weeks ago, Larry Cohler-Esses called me and asked my advice about his Cairo interview with Hamas leader Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook. I told him that, over the six years that I have been dealing with Hamas, I’ve learned that, contrary to what I’d been taught, Hamas is first and foremost a Palestinian national movement, and only secondly an Islamic religious movement. Were they first a religious movement guided by the word of God, change and reform would be nearly impossible.

»

Gas Deal Dispute Reflects Change in Israel-Egypt Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Jeffrey Fleishman - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

CAIRO — The decorum of diplomacy has devolved into embarrassing headlines and testy one-liners in the increasingly strained relations between Egypt and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Egypt's Sinai peninsula had become a "kind of Wild West" overrun by militants, terrorists and arms smugglers. Over the weekend, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had suggested massing more Israeli troops along the border with Egypt.

»

Was Egypt’s Decision to Shut Down Gas Pipe to Israel Politics or Business?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Bradley Hope, Hugh Naylor - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

CAIRO / JERUSALEM // The Egyptian government's abrupt announcement on Sunday that it was ending its natural gas supply to Israel has left many analysts and businessmen wondering whether the decision was politics or business. Government officials on both sides tried to play down the decision yesterday, pointing to violations of contracts on either side of East Mediterranean Gas Company, the intermediary that manages the Egypt-Israel pipeline.

»

Israel Media Fear Canceled Gas Deal Harbinger of Things to Come
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Egypt Independent
by Jordan Gerstler-Holton - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

Following reports that the Egyptian company responsible for exporting natural gas to Israel decided to cut off shipments, both Israeli and Egyptian officials have rushed to downplay the crisis, saying the move resulted from commercial considerations, not political ones. But despite these efforts, Israeli media fear the unilateral move represents a step toward Egypt deciding to shelve the two nations’ bilateral peace accord in place since 1979.

»


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