Diplomacy | The American Task Force on Palestine

Obama's no different
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - February 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Is Barack Obama, who is marking his mid-term as president, any different from his predecessors, except Dwight Eisenhower, as far as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is concerned? Expectations were high when Obama walked into the White House. After his triumphant trips overseas, especially to Cairo, there was hope that he will usher a new positive era in US relations with the Muslim world and resolve the 63-year-old conflict between Israelis and Arabs.

Dan Shapiro to be named US envoy to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Senior White House adviser Dan Shapiro is set to be nominated as the next US ambassador to Israel, Washington sources said on Tuesday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made, though one is expected soon. Shapiro, born in 1969, currently serves as the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. He has regularly traveled to Israel and worked closely with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell to try to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Dan Shapiro to be named US envoy to Israel
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Jerusalem Post - February 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Senior White House adviser Dan Shapiro is set to be nominated as the next US ambassador to Israel, Washington sources said on Tuesday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made, though one is expected soon. Shapiro, born in 1969, currently serves as the National Security Council’s senior director for the Middle East and North Africa. He has regularly traveled to Israel and worked closely with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell to try to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Fear grows in Israel over backlash from Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders, Batsheva Sobelman - February 22, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's so-called cold peace with Egypt is looking colder by the day. Early Tuesday, Egypt reportedly permitted two Iranian warships to enter the Suez Canal for the first time since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. During a mass prayer service Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, anti-Israel cleric Yusuf Qaradawi— who returned to Egypt after years in exile — called for the "conquest" of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War and sits atop a Jewish holy site.

Obama expected to appoint Dan Shapiro Ambassador to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 22, 2011 - 1:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama intends to appoint his adviser Dan Shapiro to the position of U.S. Ambassador to Israel, according to the website Politico. Shapiro, considered to be the White House point person for Israel, has served as the main go-between for the U.S. government and Prime Minister Netanyahu. A White House source told Haaretz on Monday, "I cannot confirm the report, but neither can I disclaim it."

Novelist Ian McEwan criticizes Jewish settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
February 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Renowned British novelist Ian McEwan has accepted an Israeli literary prize in Jerusalem with harsh criticism of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. At an acceptance ceremony for the Jerusalem Prize, McEwan praised Israel's technological and artistic advances but asked: "Where is Israel's political creativity?" He criticized Israel's 1967 annexation of east Jerusalem, the part Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state. McEwan is the author of the best-selling book Atonement and has won numerous literary prizes for his books.

Israel should join the new reality of world diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) February 16, 2011 - 1:00am

The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, the demonstrations in Iran and Bahrain and the general feeling of an earthquake rumbling across the Middle East have thus far conferred a sense of deliverance on Israel, as it has managed to escape the spotlight. After all, who wants to deal with the peace process, dismantling settlements, marking the border between Israel and Palestine or defining security arrangements when the entire world is holding its head, uncertain how to act in the face of these budding democracies?

Jewish Groups Scramble To Adjust to New Mideast Reality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am

The Egyptian revolution has kicked open the door to a vast Arab population that, for the first time, is poised to influence the course of its country’s policies directly. For Israel’s supporters, this could mean a new frontier for public diplomacy and a chance to reach out to Arab masses.

UN commissioner meets prisoner families in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Relatives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails urged the United Nations on Thursday to exert pressure on Israel to respect their human rights. In a memorandum to visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, the families asked her to "to take necessary measures and actions to activate the protection of human rights and set upon a monitoring system to ensure that Israeli government abides by these human rights principles."

IDF to remove major West Bank checkpoint to enable Palestinian movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israel Defense Forces yesterday advised the Palestinian Authority that it is removing the Hawara checkpoint, near Nablus. The measure, which is to go into effect next week, will enable the nearly unrestricted movement of Palestinians between the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

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