Arab countries miss opportunity to cash in on strained Israeli-US relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - March 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The 22nd Arab League summit that ended on Sunday was, as is common by now, long on rhetorical support for the Palestinians but short on practical measures to implement such support. Arab leaders did agree to draw up a strategy, in the words of Amr Moussa, the league’s secretary general, to stand up to Israel. In this context, however, it was surprising that the apparently strained US-Israeli relations were not more of a topic.

»

Rift Exposes Split in Views on Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

When Israel announced new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem at the start of a visit this month by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for the timing and expressed regret at the embarrassment. Mr. Biden accepted his explanation, and the two sides seemed prepared to move on.

»

Fierce debate on Israel underway inside Obama administration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tense visit to the White House last week, an intense debate inside the Obama administration about how to proceed with Netanyahu to advance the Middle East peace process has grown more heated, even as Israeli officials are expected to announce they have reached some sort of agreement with Washington as soon as tonight.

»

After US dustup, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing challenges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

On the eve on Israel's Passover holiday, which celebrates liberation from oppression, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked so mired in his mounting, multi-faceted crises that he might need a miracle to survive them.

»

At a dead-end
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The announcement by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab League summit that he will not enter into indirect talks with Israel unless it backs down on settlements, coming immediately after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected anew international calls to stop settlement building in East Jerusalem, means that the peace process has hit a dead-end.

»

Hobby or Necessity?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) March 27, 2010 - 12:00am

If you think this latest Israeli-American flap was just the same-old-same-old tiff over settlements, then you’re clearly not paying attention — which is how I’d describe a lot of Israelis, Arabs and American Jews today.

»

Netanyahu and Obama are at point of no return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The strife between Israel and the United States concerns something far bigger than the proximity talks with the Palestinians. As far as President Barack Obama and his senior advisers are concerned, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for nothing less than damaging the standing of the U.S.in the Middle East and the Muslim world.

»

Arabs pledge $500 million in east J'lem aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Thursday announced that the organization's member states approved a $500 million assistance package for Palestinians residing in Jerusalem. The Arab foreign ministers convened Thursday for a preparatory meeting in the Libyan city of Sirte, ahead of the Arab League summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

»

Is It Too Late to Share Jerusalem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Andrew Lee Butters - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The disputed fate of Jerusalem has long epitomized the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, and over the past two weeks it has been at the center of rare diplomatic brawl between Israel and the U.S. But even as the Obama Administration and the Israeli government square off over demands that Israel refrain from announcing new construction projects in occupied East Jerusalem, the tussle as Israel extends its grip and Palestinians push back is a flashpoint. "The tinder is dry in Jerusalem," says one Western diplomat.

»

Mr. Obama and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

After taking office last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel privately told many Americans and Europeans that he was committed to and capable of peacemaking, despite the hard-line positions that he had used to get elected for a second time. Trust me, he told them. We were skeptical when we first heard that, and we’re even more skeptical now.

»


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