Diplomacy | The American Task Force on Palestine

Palestinian vulnerability exposed as Israel withholds money
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday sent out an urgent appeal for help saying he may not be able to pay for salaries for about 130,000 public employees or anything else if Israel does not release about $100 million in funds collected over the last month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian vulnerability exposed as Israel withholds money
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) May 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday sent out an urgent appeal for help saying he may not be able to pay for salaries for about 130,000 public employees or anything else if Israel does not release about $100 million in funds collected over the last month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

In Shift, Egypt Warms to Iran and Hamas, Israel’s Foes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by David Kirkpatrick - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

Egypt is charting a new course in its foreign policy that has already begun shaking up the established order in the Middle East, planning to open the blockaded border with Gaza and normalizing relations with two of Israel and the West’s Islamist foes, Hamas and Iran.

Palestinian unity deal gives Netanyahu new line of attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - April 28, 2011 - 12:00am

After months of playing defense against a Palestinian campaign for international recognition of statehood, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may now have a new line of attack. The Palestinian reconciliation deal announced in Cairo yesterday would pave the way for a unity government between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party and Hamas, considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US, and the European Union.

Poll: Most Egyptians favor annulling peace with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Lahav Harkov - April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Most Egyptians are in favor of annulling a peace treaty with Israel, according to a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday. The US-based think tank polled 1,000 adults throughout Egypt between March 24 and April 7, finding that only 36 percent would maintain peace. The percentage of Egyptians who support annulling the treaty (54%) does not vary amongst those who sympathize with Islamic fundamentalists and those who do not. However, those with lower incomes are less likely to support the peace with Israel than those with higher incomes.

Obama urges Erdogan to improve relations with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama spoke to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday and expressed his hope that Turkey and Israel will find opportunities to improve their relations in the interest of regional stability. The White House issued a statement saying the two leaders discussed recent developments in the Middle East. According to the statement Obama and Erdogan expressed their deep concern about the Syrian government’s unacceptable use of violence against its own people.

Netanyahu is turning Israel into another South Africa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) April 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Let us imagine Meretz founder Shulamit Aloni as prime minister of Israel. An impish fantasy for some of us. In that case, would it be reasonable to imagine Shas launching a campaign under the slogan "Only the daring will win," calling upon Aloni to gather her courage and transform Israel into a theocracy under rabbinical law? Not really.

A universal voice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ben Shalev - April 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Sometimes you have to begin with the bottom line. In this case, it's that "Baghani" - Amal Murkus' new CD - is wonderful. It is the clearest, most beautiful and most profound Israeli album that I have heard lately. It's almost unfair to say that, because there are other albums that feature exceedingly lovely melodies, and albums that have spectacular singing, and albums with wonderful playing. Rare are the cases in which a single album has all of this - although it does happen sometimes.

Peres: Israel needs to formulate its own Mideast peace plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel needs to draft its own Mideast peace initiative if it wants to avoid international pressure over a reported U.S peace plan, President Shimon Peres said on Friday, following a report claiming Washington was working on a plan to restart stalled peace talks. Peres' comments came in the wake of a New York Times report claiming that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was drafting a new peace plan which included a Palestinian state within 1967 borders and which rejected Palestinian refugees' right of return.

Housing project aims to keep Christians in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Majeda El Batch - April 22, 2011 - 12:00am

If you build it, they will come -- or perhaps just stay. That's the hope of the Christian leadership in Jerusalem, which is building homes in a bid to stem an exodus of Christians. While the Holy City draws hundreds of thousands of Christian pilgrims, particularly over Easter when they come to retrace the steps Jesus took to his crucifixion, much of the city's small Christian population would rather leave.

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