ATFP Praises Release of US Aid to the PA, Welcomes New Quartet Statement
Press Release - April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Washington DC, April 12 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today welcomed the announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the United States would be releasing a $147 million package in aid to the Palestinian people. The move overrides some remaining congressional holds on the US aid package to the Palestinians for fiscal year 2011 economic support.


Quartet to Meet in DC, but Expectations are Low
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - April 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Senior Quartet representatives will meet in Washington on Wednesday amid little expectation that they will have more luck this time kick-starting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and Quartet envoy Tony Blair will meet on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process.

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Palestinians accuse Israel of destroying prospects for two-state solution with new settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 9, 2012 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinians accused Israel on Monday of systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with its continuing campaign of settlement building. Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour sent a protest letter to the U.N. secretary-general, Security Council and General Assembly two days before the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia — meets in Washington to discuss the long-stalled peace process.

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Blair meets PM, Fayyad in effort to engage sides
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - April 1, 2012 - 12:00am

Quartet envoy Tony Blair met separately Sunday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an effort to keep the sides engaged and the situation stable. Blair’s visit comes in advance of a scheduled meeting of the Quartet in Washington on April 11. On Monday he will hold meetings in Jordan and on Tuesday, US Middle East envoy David Hale will follow Blair to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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PA: Abbas, Clinton discuss upcoming Quartet meet
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of the international Quartet scheduled for next month, state media reported. Clinton's call to Abbas was to follow up on discussions between Abbas and Obama a day earlier, the official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa reported Wednesday. According to the report, Clinton said a group of US officials will arrive to the region soon. Abbas told Obama on Monday he would return to negotiations if Israel committed to Quartet requirements.

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Beware Palestinian despair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am

“The last chance” – this is how we can characterize the letter sent in recent days by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to the International Quartet members. In his letter, Abbas complained that the PA is expected to conduct itself like a government without being allowed to govern. He further detailed what he views as Israeli failures during the negotiations and finished with a warning: Should Israel fail to commit to genuine actions in March, “all options are open.”

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Netanyahu's border proposal: Israel to annex settlement blocs, but not Jordan Valley
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - February 19, 2012 - 1:00am

Three weeks after the end of the talks that took place between Israel and the Palestinians in Amman which took place under the patronage of the King of Jordan, Israeli officials revealed their version of the events, laying the blame on the failure of the talks on Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Despite the mutual “blame game,” according to positions presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the topic of borders, it is clear that it is not much different than the positions presented by Tzipi Livni during the Annapolis Conference.

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Abbas: We'll remind world what peace process was built on
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 15, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would send a message to the Israeli government and to the world reminding them of the bases and terms of reference on which the Middle East peace process was built. “We will not accept continuation of the status quo, and will soon take the steps we have agreed on with the Arab countries,” he said. At a meeting in Ramallah with members of his Fatah party's Revolutionary Council, Abbas said the peace process collapsed because the Israeli government violated previously signed agreements.

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West Does Not Have Monopoly On Veto Morality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

"At the end of last week we received a reminder about the environment we're living in. We heard Iran's ruler talk about Israel's destruction, we saw the Syrian army massacring its own people. Some leaders have no compunctions about harming their people or their neighbors," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the cabinet meeting. True, it's a lousy environment. Only one sentence is needed to complete the picture: "And there are governments that don't mind continuing to occupy other nations for nearly 50 years."

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EU vows aid to “non-violent” Palestinian gov’t
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 7, 2012 - 1:00am

BRUSSELS — The European Union will provide financial aid to a new Palestinian government as long as it is peaceful and accepts Israel's right to exist, an EU spokesman said Monday after a deal between rival factions Fateh and Hamas. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will head an interim consensus government under a deal signed with the Islamist movement Hamas in Doha aimed at reconciling the feuding sides.

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