Us Criticises Israeli Homes Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
December 7, 2007 - 5:38pm

The United States has voiced rare criticism of Israel, for its decision to build more homes on occupied land. "This doesn't help build confidence," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after meeting Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Brussels. Israel said on Tuesday it had invited bids to build 300 new homes in Har Homa, a settlement in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians asked the US for help. Israel says it annexed the area in 1967 and so does not regard it as occupied.

»

Rice Criticizes Israel On Settlement Building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ari Rabinovitch - December 7, 2007 - 5:29pm

Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel on Friday for planning to build new homes on occupied land in the Jerusalem area -- a move Palestinians say could wreck a peace process Rice helped launch last week in Washington. "We are in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence with the parties and this doesn't help to build confidence," the U.S. Secretary of State said in rare public censure of Washington's closest ally in the Middle East.

»

The Devastation Our Disunity Has Created
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) December 5, 2007 - 5:02pm

This morning, Israeli forces killed yet another three Hamas activists in an air strike on Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip. Over the past two weeks, some 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military forces, mostly in the Strip, even as Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak insists his army continues to hold out on wide scale military action there.

»

The Failure Of Annapolis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus
by Stephen Zunes - (Commentary) December 5, 2007 - 4:51pm

Despite the best efforts by the Bush administration of putting a positive spin on the recently-completed summit in Annapolis to restart the “Performance-Based Road Map to Peace,” there is little reason to expect that it will actually move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward as long as the United States insists on simultaneously playing the role of chief mediator and chief supporter of the more powerful of the two parties.

»

Israel Plans New Homes In East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - December 5, 2007 - 4:45pm

Israel announced plans Tuesday to build more than 300 new homes in a disputed east Jerusalem neighborhood, drawing quick Palestinian condemnation that the move will undermine newly revived peace talks. The new housing would expand Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood in an area Palestinians claim as capital of a future state. Palestinian officials appealed to the U.S. to block the project, but Israel says a pledge to halt settlement activity does not apply anywhere in the holy city.

»

New Har Homa Settlement Expansion Undermines New Peace Efforts and Future Negotiations
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - December 5, 2007 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, December 6 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed grave concern today about reports that the Israeli government has invited bids to build more than 300 new housing units in the Har Homa settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.


Diaspora Groups And Israel Spar At Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Marc Perelman - December 4, 2007 - 2:09pm

In a rare public spat between Israel and its supporters in the United States, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bluntly denounced efforts by a coalition of American Jewish groups aimed at maintaining a united Jerusalem. Following statements by several hawkish and Orthodox groups that appeared to question Israel’s right to broach discussion of dividing Jerusalem with the Palestinians, Olmert told reporters on the eve of this week’s peace conference in Annapolis, Md., that Israel has exclusive purview over negotiating the future of its capital.

»

Israel To Build Homes In East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - December 4, 2007 - 2:07pm

Israel said Tuesday it is seeking bids to build more than 300 new homes in a disputed east Jerusalem neighborhood, drawing Palestinian condemnations that the move is undermining the newly revived peace talks held last week in Annapolis, Md. A Housing Ministry spokesman said 307 units would be built in Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

»

Palestinian-American Experts Available for Comment on Bush Mideast Trip
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - December 3, 2007 - 1:00am

Six weeks after the Annapolis meeting, the dynamics between Israelis and Palestinians are on the verge of falling back on familiar patterns of obstruction and finger pointing resulting in a faltering of the process of negotiations.


Summit Surpasses Low Expectations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) November 30, 2007 - 4:52pm

It started out like an office party that no one wanted to attend. Everyone felt obliged to put in an appearance in Annapolis, even though the first Middle East confab in six years wasn't billed as a peace conference, a forum for negotiation or, really, much more than a photo-op. Yet once the leaders were all there, with the TV cameras pouring an intoxicating adrenaline cocktail, the pressure to be seen to do something about the seminal conflict of our time couldn't be ignored.

»


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