Daily Star, letter to the editor
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Daily Star - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Dear Editor Dr. Ziad Asali and Dr. Hussein Ibish of ATFP (The American Task Force on Palestine) are wise in refusing to buy into the “clash of civilizations” worldview that so many Zionist ideologues and Islamists endorse. Time and time again I have watched the cycle of incitement and spin sabotage support for Palestine.

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Israel worries over possible EU states' recognition of Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Dave Bender - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's efforts to stem a rising tide of recognition of a Palestinian state received a blow Tuesday afternoon, with Ireland's decision to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Dublin to that of an embassy. The announcement, broadcast by Israel Army Radio, followed a symbolic gesture of recognition by Peru on Monday. Sources at Israel's foreign ministry said officials had been discussing the possibility, and foresaw even more states following suit.

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Ireland upgrades PA mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Ireland becomes first EU member to take such measure; Israel says move detrimental to peace process The Irish government decided Tuesday to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic mission in the country. Ireland is the first European Union member to announce such a move, which was initiated by the Irish foreign minister. However, the upgrade does not constitute Irish recognition of a Palestinian state.

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Turkey releases report on flotilla incident, accusing Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Scott Peterson - January 25, 2011 - 1:00am

Antagonism between Turkey and Israel is being reinvigorated as each nation's report about the lethal storming by Israeli commandos of the Mavi Marmara ship last May is made public. Eight Turks and an American citizen of Turkish descent were killed during the 4:26 a.m. raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla, which was cruising 72 miles off the coast in international waters on its way to break Israel's Gaza blockade.

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News Analysis: Turkey-Israel relations to remain strained after Israeli flotilla report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - January 24, 2011 - 1:00am

After the Israeli Turkel Commission cleared the Israeli soldiers of wrongdoings during last year's deadly raid on a Turkish flotilla bound for Gaza, the relations between Turkey and Israel are expected to remain strained. The Commission, appointed by the Israeli government and headed by a retired supreme court judge to investigate the Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in Mediterranean last year which killed nine Turkish citizens, reported its finding that the soldiers acted in accordance with international law.

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Egypt Links Palestinians to Attack at Church
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael Slackman - January 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Egypt’s interior minister charged Sunday that a Palestinian extremist group with links to Al Qaeda was behind the Dec. 31 bombing outside a church in Alexandria that killed 21 people and set off days of sectarian rioting around the nation. In a nationally televised speech, the minister, Habib el-Adly, said the authorities had “conclusive evidence” linking the attack on Egyptian Christians to the Army of Islam, a militant group based in the Gaza Strip.

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Settlement issue isn’t Israel's problem, it's Obama's
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Opinion) January 21, 2011 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday the U.S. administration doesn’t see the proposed resolution which demands an immediate freeze of all construction at the settlements, discussed at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, as helpful to the peace process. In fact, it’s mostly unhelpful to the Obama Administration.

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Leader confounds both sides with plans for Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am

No one seems to know what to make of him. Israelis puzzle over the cleanshaven technocrat who denounces violence. Palestinians see an outsider who never cut his teeth on the tear-gas-choked streets of intifadas. Now, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad hopes to confound expectations even further, pursuing what some see as a quixotic goal of laying the groundwork for an independent country by August. No matter that peace talks are stalled. If Palestinians build the trappings of a state, he believes, a real state will follow.

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French FM accosted on her way into Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
January 21, 2011 - 1:00am

A crowd of furious Palestinian protesters have tried to block the French foreign minister on her way into the Gaza Strip, jumping on her vehicle and lying on the road. Dozens of protesters surrounded Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie's convoy and tried to block her passage through the Erez Crossing from Israel on Friday. The protesters were relatives of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. They were angry about comments made by Alliot-Marie on Thursday in support of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held by Hamas militants in Gaza since 2006.

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IOC hosts Israeli-Palestinian sports talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Graham Dunbar - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli and Palestinian Olympic officials met Thursday to begin building closer ties and help send stronger teams to the 2012 London Games. IOC President Jacques Rogge brokered a five-hour gathering at Olympic headquarters that addressed lifting Israeli travel restrictions to allow Palestinian athletes and coaches more access between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian athletes were promised IOC funding and Israeli support to prepare for the London Olympics.

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