International Community | The American Task Force on Palestine

With Egypt in turmoil, Israel rethinks readiness for multi-front war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Leslie Susser - February 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Although it’s still far from clear how the uprising in Egypt is going to play out, the volatility there is already raising questions in Israel about the Jewish state’s readiness for a war on several fronts. The optimistic view in Israel is that a wave of democracy will sweep the Middle East from Cairo to Tehran, making war in any form less likely. The pessimists -- there are many here -- see an ascendant Islamic radicalism taking hold in Egypt and elsewhere, thus compounding the military threats facing Israel.

Future of Israel-Egypt treaty
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) February 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel has been unnerved by Egypt’s Revolution. The reason is simple: it fears for the survival of the 1979 Peace Treaty — a treaty which by neutralising Egypt, guaranteed Israel’s military dominance over the region for the next three decades. By removing Egypt — the strongest and most populous of the Arab countries — from the Arab line-up, the treaty ruled out any possibility of an Arab coalition that might have contained Israel or restrained its freedom of action. As Israel’s Foreign Minister, Moshe Dayan, remarked at that time: ‘If a wheel is removed, the car will not run again.’

For Israel, peace with Egypt is not just an asset
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) February 14, 2011 - 1:00am

In wake of the upheaval that has swept through Egypt and much of the region, it is important to remind ourselves that peace with Egypt is not only a strategic asset, but a moral value as well. Recently, we here were presented with a rather problematic choice: Do we support democracy, or do we support the Israeli interest in maintaining security and stability? When a moral value (democracy ) is thus posited against realpolitik (stability and security ), it is easy to lapse into the argument that Israel supports despotism.

Abbas to Step Aside for Next Generation in PA Elections, Abed Rabbo Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
(Interview) February 14, 2011 - 1:00am

Yasser Abed Rabbo is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee and is a senior adviser to Mahmoud Abbas. He was interviewed on February 13, 2011, by The Media Line’s Felice Friedson. The Media Line: The Palestinian Authority has taken a noticeably low-key position during the unrest in Egypt. How should that be viewed?

As Egypt Calms Down, So Do Israeli Nerves
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - February 13, 2011 - 1:00am

As Israelis began to adjust to the departure of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, their staunchest and longest-standing regional ally, the alarm and anxiety that Israel has been projecting seemed to give way on Sunday to more nuanced tones, as well as some hints of admiration for the Egyptian people and sympathy for their cause.

Postcard From Cairo, Part 2
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) February 13, 2011 - 1:00am

For anyone who spent time in Tahrir Square these last three weeks, one thing was very obvious: Israel was not part of this story at all. This was about Egypt and about the longing of Egyptians for the most basic human rights, which were described to me by opposition Egyptian newspaper editor Ibrahim Essa as “freedom, dignity and justice.’’ It doesn’t get any more primal than that. And when young Egyptians looked around the region and asked: Who is with us in this quest and who is not?, the two big countries they knew were against them were Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sad.

Mideast upheaval to alter peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

With the world's media focused on the street protests in Egypt that now has entered their 17th day, observers are asking whether the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will be put on the backburner because all eyes are on Egypt. Following the successful ousting of Tunisian President Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali three weeks ago, a wave of popular protests have been sweeping the Middle East with large-scale demonstrations in Egypt, Jordan and Yemen calling for regime change.

Complicated factors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by George S. Hishmeh - February 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Why is Benjamin Netanyahu (and many other Israelis) behaving like an ostrich, digging his head in the sand and wondering why the escalating Egyptian uprising, triggered by the recent Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, has engulfed the Middle East and posed a threat to Israel?

A blessing for the region: an interview with Bassma Kodmani
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) February 10, 2011 - 1:00am

BI: How would you assess Wikileaks' contribution to the revolutionary popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere?

The bigger picture eludes Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) February 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Why is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (and many other Israelis) behaving like an ostrich? He is digging his head in the sand and wondering why the Egyptian uprising, triggered by the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, has engulfed the Middle East and posed a threat to Israel. Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing cabinet may now be regretting their failure to push harder or, at least, be more accommodating in reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinian National Authority.

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