Diplomacy | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel's lost weekend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Even before last weekend, the news from the Israeli-Palestinian peace front was not good. The most recent round of talks fell apart months ago. The Palestinian Authority is weakened and unsure where to turn; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with terrorist incidents down and the economy growing, has little incentive to move forward. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ripped apart the opposition by leaving the Labor Party. Prospects for near-term solution: low to none.

Counterpoint: Palestinians and the U.N.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Aaron David Miller - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

On Jan. 21, Hanan Ashrawi, the veteran Palestinian negotiator and politician, argued on these pages (“Palestinians, America and the U.N.”) that the Palestinians are justified in raising the issue of Israeli settlements before the U.N. Security Council, and that Washington should support them. The debate is joined. A bad idea

Palestinians insist leaked memos from peace process reveal nothing new
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from PBS
by Sal Gentile - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

Leaked memos from a decade of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials roiled the Mideast peace process and put the embattled Palestinian Authority on the defensive Monday. But moderate Palestinian observers and officials close to the government of President Mahmoud Abbas insisted that the documents reveal relatively little about the negotiations that isn’t already known. And if anything, they say, the records expose how uncooperative the Israeli and American governments have been throughout the process.

WikiLeaks: Israel charged bribes for Gaza access
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - January 6, 2011 - 1:00am

A U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks on Thursday quoted American officials as saying a key Israeli cargo crossing for goods entering the Gaza Strip was rife with corruption. The June 14, 2006, cable, published Thursday by Norway's Aftenposten daily, says major American companies told U.S. diplomats they were forced to pay hefty bribes to get goods into Gaza. It was unclear whether the practice still continues. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Al-Maliki: Lieberman takes defense
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli foreign ministry officials are working defense on the international stage, PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki told Ma'an, saying his Israeli counterpart had taken to visiting the same nations he visits and working to undo advances in Palestinian foreign relations. Traveling with President Mahmoud Abbas on his recent trip to South America, Senegal and Tunis, Al-Maliki spoke of the West Bank government's efforts to push Palestinian statehood on the international stage, and anticipating Israeli diplomatic moves that could seek to quash successful initiatives.

Abbas says int'l recognition urges Palestinians to stick to peaceful choices
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that recent recognition of the Palestinian statehood by some countries will encourage the Palestinians to stick to their peaceful choices. At a meeting with Brazilian representatives in the Palestinian territories, Abbas praised Brazil for being the first Latin American country to recognize the Palestinian state, saying the Palestinians will stick to peaceful solution as "a strategic option," official Wafa news agency reported.

Encountering Peace: Wanted: A progressive leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

The gathering of the leadership of the Israeli “peace camp” on Sunday in Ramallah under the auspices of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and almost the entire leadership of the PLO was its largest get-together in the past 10 years. What is left of the Left is a small group of dedicated individuals divided into splinter groups of political initiatives and non-government organizations sharing a very similar platform with a common sense of urgency and a total inability to work together.

Arabs’ priorities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Aquestion Westerners often ask is whether solving the Arab-Israeli conflict constitutes a priority for Arab regimes. No matter how one answers this question, a majority of them are convinced that political survival for the ruling regimes is the number one priority, and not the Palestinian cause. Some in our part of the world wonder if there is a contradiction between the two matters in the first place.

“Annoying” Palestine is on the right track
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) December 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Last week the US House of Representatives adopted a resolution threatening a potential cutoff of aid to the Palestinians if they unilaterally declared statehood. It was essentially meaningless bluster, taking a strong stance against something the Palestinians aren’t currently pursuing or even seriously considering.

Does Israel have a peace partner after all?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) December 20, 2010 - 1:00am

It may be that the big news from Sunday's visit to Ramallah of the Geneva Initiative supporters is that somewhere, out there in the Palestinian territories and in Israel, there is still a peace camp that appeared to have entirely disappeared. In other words, to use the slogan of the Geneva Initiative, "there is a partner." More than 200 people, Israelis and Palestinians, crowded the conference room of the Muqata yesterday to hear their host, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and have lunch.

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