Internal Israeli Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Settlement freeze failures have exposed gutless leaders in both Israel and the U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yehuda Ben Meir - (Opinion) December 1, 2010 - 1:00am

The total ineptitude that has characterized moves in recent weeks to extend the moratorium on construction in the settlements has done great damage to Israel's image abroad. It has also done nothing to improve relations with the United States. To be fair, the U.S. administration is as much to blame for all the incompetency shown - the blatant lack of skill and endless mistakes - as is the Israeli government.

Interrogation of Palestinian teens was illegal, court rules
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yanir Yagna - December 1, 2010 - 1:00am

Police illegally questioned two Palestinian minors late at night, even though there was no lawyer or adult family member present, their lawyer told the Kfar Sava Magistrate's Court this week. The minors, both 16-year-olds from Qalqilyah, are suspected of being accessories to the theft of three bicycles and two helmets that were found three weeks ago in the possession of two adults from Qalqilyah. These men were carrying the identity cards of the teens, which led police and military personnel to raid the minors' homes in Qalqilyah at 2 A.M. Monday.

Editorial: US responsibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) December 1, 2010 - 1:00am

We hear Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week warning that the unresolved Jewish settlements issue is a time bomb waiting to blow apart any chance of a peace deal between Palestinians and Israelis. We hear, too, from international aid and human rights organizations that Israel’s claims to have eased the blockade on Gaza is a lie; it has had almost no effect and done nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians there. We hear, as well, that a poll of Israeli Jews finds that they are intolerant and suspicious of Israeli Arab citizens.

Wikileaks: Israel assessed Abbas as weak, unpopular
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

Senior Israeli defense and political figures described President Mahmoud Abbas as weak, unpopular and unlikely to survive politically past 2011, leaked US diplomatic cables showed on Monday. In meetings with US representatives, Israeli officials ranging from then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, to senior defense official Amos Gilad expressed doubt about Abbas's political longevity.

Leak: Peres said Oslo based on false economic premise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

President Shimon Peres admitted to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the Oslo peace process he helped initiate was based on a mistaken premise, according to an April 2007 cable of a conversation Netanyahu had with US Congressman Gary Ackerman, the Wikileaks website revealed Monday. Netanyahu was opposition leader at the time and Peres was vice premier.

UPDATE 1-Mossad insider succeeds embattled Israel spymaster
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Dan Williams - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

A veteran Mossad spy was named to succeed director Meir Dagan on Monday, signalling the Israeli government's confidence in the intelligence service despite fallout from the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

We don't need WikiLeaks to know Netanyahu is unreliable
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

So Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is elegant and charming but doesn't keep promises. That Netanyahu is elegant and charming is a matter of personal taste. As for the prime minister not keeping his promises, it's possible to ask: "What else is new, WikiLeaks?" Now if Mubarak had said Netanyahu did tend to keep his promises, that would have deserved a front-page headline - though more because of the doubt it would arouse about the Egyptian president's judgment than by virtue of its contents.

Israel tries to clean up its image abroad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister is proposing a major new public relations drive in Europe aimed at bolstering Israel's flagging image. The campaign, expected to launch early in the new year, would rely on teams of volunteers in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain to deliver Israel's message, while professionals from public relations and lobbying firms would also be hired to for the rebranding initiative.

Editorial: A nail in the coffin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) November 29, 2010 - 1:00am

By requiring a two-thirds Knesset majority to cede land in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians and the Golan Heights to Syria, a new Israeli law raises the bar for passage. Putting any such withdrawals to a national referendum will subject international law to the whims of Israeli public opinion. The bill which Israel’s Parliament has passed will complicate peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria by making it very difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.

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