International Community | The American Task Force on Palestine

Fayyad signs $40 million World Bank agreement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 1, 2010 - 12:00am

World Bank representative Miram Sherman signed an agreement with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Thursday to deliver a $40 million grant to the PA. Fayyad said the grant was aimed at enabling the PA to continue building state institutions and developing the infrastructure for a Palestinian state. During the signing ceremony at Fayyad's Ramallah office, the prime minister thanked the World Bank for empowering the Palestinian state to meet the needs of Palestinians, particularly as the PA worked to complete its state-building initiative.

Peace ball firmly in Obama's court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Although some may blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for dropping the ball soon after their peace negotiations began three weeks ago, the more likely person who will be blamed should the talks collapse totally will be no other than US President Barack Obama on whom many had banked.

U.S. envoy steps up shuttle to save Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - September 30, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. envoy George Mitchell on Thursday stepped up the pace of efforts to save Middle East peace talks launched four weeks ago, saying he was seeking common ground to avert their collapse. Former Senator Mitchell was speaking after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who says he will pull out of the talks unless Israel extends a freeze on new building in Jewish West Bank settlements, which expired this week.

Arab League may bring settlement freeze debate to UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shlomo Shamir - September 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab League representatives, set to meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the wake of the expiration of Israel's freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank, will also consider a proposal to request that an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council be held on the issue, sources at the UN told Haaretz.

Dutch watchdog criticizes Israeli tourism website for blurring borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Dutch advertising watchdog has criticized Israel for publishing "misleading" information on its tourism website that blurs the borders between Israel and occupied Arab territories. The Advertising Code Committee says in a nonbinding ruling that material distributed by the Dutch branch of the Israeli National Tourism Board does not "clearly show where the border lies between what is internationally recognized as Israeli territory and 'disputed' areas."

Japan calls for settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 30, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Japanese Foreign Ministry said the nation's government was disappointed that the Israeli moratorium on settlement activities has not been renewed," a statement issued on Wednesday said. "Japan urges Israel to return to a moratorium on settlement activities," the document read, and added that the government "reaffirms its basic position that Israel should freeze all settlement activities in the West Bank which includes East Jerusalem."

Disappointment with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - September 30, 2010 - 12:00am

A US State Department spokesman told reporters this week that Washington was disappointed with Israel because of its failure to extend the settlement moratorium for as long as the peace talks were moving. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon used the same words to describe how the United Nations feels towards Israel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, expressed the same sentiment vis-a-vis Israel's decisions.

Paris’s Role in the Peace Talk
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Randa Takieddine - September 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu did not, and will not heed the calls of his friends and allies to freeze settlement building and suspend the decision to re-allow the construction of settlements after September 26. But in truth, no one in the Arab world had any illusions that Netanyahu will respond to the calls of the U.S. administration or the European Union (EU), specifically the calls of his friend French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who urged him to extend the freeze on settlements.

U.S. Jews outraged by Lieberman's UN speech on population exchange
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid, Shlomo Shamir - (Analysis) September 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Many American Jewish leaders fumed Wednesday when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed "an exchange of populated territory" as part of a Mideast peace deal in a speech before the UN General Assembly in New York. Lieberman suggested ceding parts of Israel with large Arab populations to a future Palestinian state in exchange for Israel keeping large settlement blocs in the West Bank, a proposal which has been part of his party's platform.

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