Internal Israeli Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israeli chief negotiator for releasing of Shalit to step down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Haggai Hadas, the Israeli negotiator heading talks with the Palestinian Hamas movement over the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, announced Wednesday to leave his post. Hadas dismissed an earlier report by Channel 2 television that he was resigning out of frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the affair, believing that not all means have been exhausted in a national endeavor to bring Shalit home.

Israeli Foreign Minister Faces Indictment on Corruption Charges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel’s attorney general on Wednesday announced his intention to indict the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on corruption charges, but said he would allow Mr. Lieberman a hearing to contest an indictment before issuing a formal charge sheet. Charges against the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, involve accusations that while in the private sector he used a company to funnel illicit gifts and contributions.

Live from the bathroom – Lieberman
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Avidgor Lieberman is known as an outspoken politician who generally shuns the prevalent politically correct culture, but on Monday Israel’s foreign minister reached new heights, or is it lows, in his conduct vis-à-vis the media – by flushing the toilet during a radio interview.

Amir Peretz makes bid for Labor chairmanship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - April 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Former Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz announced that he intends to seek a second term as party chairman. Peretz, who lead Labor in 2006, called a press conference Tuesday and announced his plans. "It saddens me to see society today. Many of the important things have been eroded. I plan on submitting an extensive plan, a social Iron Dome, to protect three major things: society, democracy and peace.

Lieberman: Israel should topple Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel should not settle for a truce with Hamas in Gaza, and should instead seek to topple the Islamist rulers of the coastal strip, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday. "The goal that we have settled on, of seeking a return to calm, is a grave error because it will allow Hamas to reinforce along the lines of Hezbollah," Lieberman told public radio, referring to the Lebanese militia with which Israel fought a 2006 war, killing 1,200, mostly civilians.

Black September is coming to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Niva Lanir - (Opinion) April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The Hamas regime is a pain in the neck. If it drags Israel into another ground confrontation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas won't be the only one that is beaten for the second time. The equation was, and remains, bad news; the shooting, the escalation and the losses harm both sides with differing force and cyclicity. There is no "bang-and-it's-over" solution, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday morning on Israel Radio. Who knows better than he?

Settlers' poll: 78% of Likudniks oppose Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - April 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Three quarters of Likud members believe that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should wait until the fate of uprisings in the Muslim world becomes clearer before he takes any steps toward the Palestinians, a Ma’agar Mohot poll sponsored by the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip revealed on Thursday.

Goldstone’s about-face
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Whenever anything happens in the world, Jews and Israelis ask the question: Is this good for Jews? But when a South African Jew who also insists that he is a Zionist was appointed to a human rights commission, the Jewish answer was a strong no. It was clear that the usual character assassination and political spin aimed at delegitmising anyone asked to investigate Israel’s war crimes would be much more difficult if the person is a Jewish judge.

Israel Aiming Punitive Measures at Soft Targets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykber - April 5, 2011 - 12:00am

As the international community becomes increasingly critical of Israel's discriminatory treatment of Israeli-Arabs and the brutal occupation in the Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli authorities are venting their anger against soft targets such as Arab-Israeli parliamentarians and Palestinian and Israeli non-violent peace activists. The majority of Knesset (Israeli parliament) members recently voted in favour of stripping Israel-Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi of her parliamentary privileges following her participation in the ill-fated Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza last year.

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