Rescue a two-state solution in Palestine
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

In the wake of the devastating war in Gaza, the immediate challenge facing the United States, its Arab allies, and the international community, is providing essential aid and reconstruction to the people of Gaza without bolstering Hamas. Hamas launched reckless and provocative rocket attacks against Israel. But Gazans, already suffering under siege, are not Hamas, they are not combatants, and should not be punished.

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'Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps a time bomb’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
February 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps are breeding grounds for extremist groups and constitute a “time bomb” that needs urgent attention, the International Crisis Group think tank said Thursday. Successive Lebanese governments were largely to blame for a “catastrophic” situation in the camps which were set up after the creation of Israel in 1948, the Brussels-based ICG said in a report.

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Kerry shuns Hamas during Gaza visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
February 20, 2009 - 1:00am

The US will not change its stance towards Hamas, John Kerry, the former democratic US presidential candidate, has said during a tour of Gaza. His comments came on Thursday during the highest-level visit by a US official to the territory since Hamas seized control two years ago. "I am here to listen with the UN personnel on the ground to hear ... the things we need to do is to improve the situation in the region," he said.

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The Cleanser: Lobby Whistles Up Cordesman to "Prove" Israel Waged a Clean War in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch
by Norman Finkelstein - February 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Anthony H. Cordesman, a leading military analyst from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has published a “strategic analysis” of the Gaza massacre.(1) He reaches the remarkable conclusion that “Israel did not violate the laws of war.” The report is based on “briefings in Israeli [sic] during and immediately after the fighting made possible by a visit sponsored by Project Interchange, and using day-to-day reporting issued by the Israeli Defense Spokesman.” Cordesman omits mention that Project Interchange is funded by the American Jewish Committee.

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Oral Testimony of Dr. Ziad J. Asali - February 12, 2009
Speech by Ziad Asali at House Committee on Foreign Affairs - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am



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Oral Testimony of ATFP President Ziad J. Asali: House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia Hearing on aftermath of Gaza war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia Chairman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY) February 12, 2009 Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank you and the Sub-Committee's esteemed members for the privilege to testify before you, and summarize my written testimony. Although Hamas launched reckless and provocative rocket attacks against Israel, Gazans are not Hamas, they are not combatants, and should not be punished. As a human being, and as a physician, I was horrified by the tragedy that has befallen the people of Gaza by Israel’s disproportionate use of force.

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UN to probe IDF damage to Gaza premises
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
February 11, 2009 - 1:00am

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council Monday he was about to establish a commission to look into Israeli damage to UN premises during the recent Gaza conflict, Reuters quoted diplomats as saying. Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, the current council president, told reporters that during a closed-door briefing, Ban had promised to provide the council with details on the panel's mandate and the names of its members in the coming days.

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UN official slams Israel for blocking textbooks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Head of UNRWA operation in Gaza 'extremely frustrated' by Israel's refusal to allow paper into Strip, says new textbooks meant for children's human rights program The top UN Official in Gaza criticized Israel on Monday for blocking the shipment of paper to print textbooks for a new human rights curriculum that will be taught to children in all grades in the Palestinian territory. Israel also has refused to allow 12 truckloads of notebooks into Gaza as well as plastic sheeting which is

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UN to resume aid supplies to Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
February 9, 2009 - 1:00am

The UN's Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) halted aid on Thursday, saying Hamas had taken hundreds of tonnes of aid from shipments of flour and rice. An Unrwa spokesman said deliveries were not expected to resume until after Tuesday's Israeli elections. The Gaza Strip is facing a humanitarian crisis following Israel's recent three-week offensive. About half of Gaza's population is dependent on UN food aid. Israel intensified a blockade on the Gaza Strip 19 months ago when Hamas took over the territory.

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Victory in the scales of factual numbers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Hassan Al-Battal - February 8, 2009 - 1:00am

Experts like to clutch statistics in their hands, but there are some statistics which grab journalists by the throats, especially some “marginal” statistics from the last Gaza War. These less-known statistics include the fact that 88% of the population of the Gaza Strip has become dependent on food assistance, and that 600,000 tons is the approximate weight of the rubble from destruction.

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