Netanyahu's Israel is fleeing the peace it once pursued
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nehemia Shtrasler - (Opinion) May 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The ceremony at Mount Herzl that concludes Memorial Day and opens Independence Day is quintessentially Israeli - a special mix of grief and joy, of mourning for the fallen while also celebrating the fact of the state's existence. But even in this ceremony, changes are occurring.

»

Democracy-based Arab-Israel conflict?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) May 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Predictions and speculations are the nightmare of scholars and analysts alike. The case is doubly horrifying when events are in motion and nothing seems to stand still for a snapshot. The Middle East is currently going through such a dynamic and there is no indication that the situation will stabilize any time soon.

»

Democratic Arab world to embrace peace with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Hamid Alkifaey - (Opinion) May 5, 2011 - 12:00am

One could reasonably argue that the golden opportunity for peace in the Middle East was blown away when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. He was the only Israeli leader capable of making peace with the Palestinians, and was about to do so had it not been for the bullets of Yigal Amir, the rightwing religious zealot who believed in the "winner takes all" principle.

»

Democracy-based Arab-Israel conflict?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Abdel-Moneim Said - (Opinion) May 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Predictions and speculations are the nightmare of scholars and analysts alike. The case is doubly horrifying when events are in motion and nothing seems to stand still for a snapshot. The Middle East is currently going through such a dynamic and there is no indication that the situation will stabilize any time soon.

»

CUNY nixes Tony Kushner honorary degree over Israel statements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The City University of New York has voted not to honor playwright Tony Kushner with an honorary degree at its commencement after a board member objected, citing the Pulitzer Prize winner's statements on Israel. The New York Jewish Week reported that the request by CUNY's John Jay College to recognize Kushner was turned down at a board of trustees meeting Monday after board member Jeffrey Wiesenfeld objected. Kushner would have been eligible to speak at the graduation ceremony.

»

Fayyad: No salaries as PA waits for tax revenues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 3, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority premier Salam Fayyad said Monday that Israel's decision to withhold Palestinian tax revenue over the announcement of Palestinian unity would not deter reconciliation efforts. "The Palestinian Authority will never accept division as the price of financial support," Fayyad told reporters Monday afternoon in Ramallah. Israel's Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told Army Radio on Sunday he had postponed a meeting to arrange the transfer of an estimated 300 million shekels ($88.7 million) in tax revenue which Israel collects on behalf of the PA.

»

Palestinian unity drive has Israeli price tag
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi - May 3, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian government workers fear pay cuts this month after Israel halted transfer of tax revenues in response to a deal to reunite the two rival wings of the Palestinian independence movement. But many believe the surprise agreement between President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction and Hamas Islamists in Gaza will be worth the price if it brings statehood closer. Israel refuses to deal with Hamas, which does not recognise the Jewish state. The two came close to a second war last month.

»

Palestinian presidency calls for keeping calm with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 3, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian presidency called on factions Fatah and Hamas movements to maintain calm with Israel, saying this is only way to face it. "Israel is trying to make excuses in order not to break the siege on the Gaza Strip or to withdraw from the Palestinian lands, " presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rdineh said. "We do not want to give Israel pretexts by violating the state of calm."

»

Tensions Rise as Hamas Refuses to Take Sides in Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Relations between the Palestinian group Hamas, which is based in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the Syrian authorities have been strained in recent weeks, mostly as a result of the antigovernment uprising there, with reports growing that Hamas is looking for another home. Al Hayat, the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, reported Saturday that Hamas’s political wing was decamping to Doha, the capital of Qatar, but Hamas officials in Syria and beyond it denied it. Similar reports circulated on Monday and denials were again issued.

»

Tensions Rise as Hamas Refuses to Take Sides in Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Relations between the Palestinian group Hamas, which is based in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the Syrian authorities have been strained in recent weeks, mostly as a result of the antigovernment uprising there, with reports growing that Hamas is looking for another home. Al Hayat, the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, reported Saturday that Hamas’s political wing was decamping to Doha, the capital of Qatar, but Hamas officials in Syria and beyond it denied it. Similar reports circulated on Monday and denials were again issued.

»


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