Internal Palestinian Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Agenda for Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

The visit by Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, is easy enough to explain in “political” terms. Abbas will preside Wednesday over the official opening of a Palestinian embassy in Lebanon, while the visit is also dealing with next month’s meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, and how Beirut can provide support in the run-up to the declaration of a Palestinian state.

Israelis, Palestinians brace for massive statehood protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians say it will trigger the biggest West Bank demonstrations in years. Israelis are bracing for another intifada. A month before a potentially historic United Nations showdown over Palestinian statehood, the two sides are mobilizing for the possibility of mass street protests that some fear could spiral into a violent uprising.

Abbas names PNC speaker to form constitution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday nominated Salim Za'noon, speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), as the chairman of a committee to form the Palestinian constitution. Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah's central committee, was nominated as Za'noon's deputy, the state-run Wafa News Agency reported. The Palestinians will approach the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly in September to gain a recognition of an independent Palestinian state established in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

Obama will not save Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amir Oren - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Newly born Israel arose while suffering a surprise blow. On the morning of May 15, 1948, Egypt's air force dared attack Israel's sleepy air force at Sde Dov. Sometimes, however, the surprised is the one that pulls a surprise. During the Six Day War it was one way, during the Yom Kippur War it was another.

How (not) to think about the Arab Spring
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Both Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman made up their minds about the Arab world long ago, and no facts will confuse them.

Divided We Execute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The execution of a Palestinian father and son by Hamas security forces in Gaza throws up a sharp difference over the death penalty between Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank a temporary moratorium is in place. The executions were carried out despite pressure from Palestinian and international human rights organisations for the death penalty in the occupied Palestinian territories to be rescinded.

Fetishizing nationalism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

For those in the grip of its authority, a clearheaded understanding of how nationalist ideology actually operates seems extremely difficult. All contemporary nationalisms are based on constructed and imagined narratives about history, geography, culture, ethnicity and religion. Such narratives invariably involve a great deal of what can only be described as fiction. In particular, reading the past—whether real or imagined—as a justification for present-day political projects is, by definition, intellectually treacherous territory.

Israel-Palestinian conflict writ large on road signs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Yolande Knell - August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

The increasingly heated dispute over place names in Israel underlies a much greater political struggle, the BBC's Yolande Knell explains from Jerusalem. "Where are you going?" asked the friendly, but slightly over-familiar, Jewish-Israeli boy sitting next to me on the plane from London. "I work in Jerusalem," I replied. His smile instantly turned to a scowl. "It's not Jerusalem," he said. "It's Yerushalayim".

A Recess Destination With Bipartisan Support: Israel and the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Looking for your member of Congress? Try Jerusalem. More than 80 members of the House are visiting Israel this month as guests of the American Israel Education Foundation, a charity affiliated with the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. It is the largest number of members of Congress ever to make the trip during a single recess, according to the organizers. The numbers reflect both the size of the freshman Congressional class, which accounts for 47 of the visitors, and the enduring efforts of Israel to court its most friendly ally, the United States Congress.

Abbas makes Arab aid appeal, sees risk to U.N. bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday appealed for Arab financial support to help the Palestinians deal with "pressures and threats" from Israel and its allies which he said were a risk to his plan to seek U.N. approval for statehood in September. The Palestinian Authority faces a financial crisis which forced it to cut wages by half in July. Policymakers have identified a shortfall in Arab aid as the main cause.

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