As occupier, Israel must face up to Goldstone report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

Goldstone was born in June 1967. I am not referring to the judge from South Africa, but to his report, or more precisely, the notion that Israel needs a synonym for the soul-searching it must carry out after 42 years of occupation. In the 575 pages of the report that is loaded with details, names, numbers, a list of weapons, interrogation methods and articles of international law, three paragraphs hide among the conclusions on pages 521 and 522, numbered 1674 to 1676. Here lies the explanation for the tragic results of Operation Cast Lead.

»

'Iran is our friend,' says Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Robert Tait - October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

With its stunning vistas and former Ottoman palaces, the banks of the Bosphorus – the strategic waterway that cuts Istanbul in half and divides Europe from Asia – may be the perfect place to distinguish friend from foe and establish where your country's interests lie. And sitting in his grandiose headquarters beside the strait, long the symbol of Turkey's supposed role as bridge between east and west, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had little doubt about who was a friend and who wasn't.

»

Jordan’s ties with Israel turn cold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Suha Philip Ma’ayeh - October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

Jordan and Israel mark 15 years of peace today, but ties between both countries are cooler than ever. Since the right-wing Israeli government of Benjamin Netenyahu took office in May, Jordan has been left further disappointed with its neighbour.

»

Israel Ever-Present at US-Iranian Negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

The strategy of the two parallel tracks, based on incentives and threats, which has been adopted by the Barack Obama Administration is raising debate and discussion, as well as finding those who would challenge it, those who believe in its roots, those who fear for it and those who are wary of it falling like a gift onto the lap of the seasoned experts of procrastination, obstruction and maneuvers.

»

US: Israel discriminates against non-Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel continues to discriminate against its religious minorities legally, financially and culturally, according to a US State Department review on worldwide religious freedom released on Monday. In its 2009 International Religious Freedom Report, the foreign service said that despite past documentation of prejudice against minorities, the status of respect for religious freedoms by Israel "was unchanged during the reporting period."

»

Goldstone doubts Security Council to debate war report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Israel News
by Ali Waked - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Richard Goldstone said he believes Russia, France and China will oppose having the report on Operation Cast Lead in Gaza debated in the UN Security Council. In an interview to Aljazeera television, he said that while he is not an expert on the political power ties in the UN, he believes these three nations will refuse to move forward with the report. He said the report could still be brought before the UN General Assembly, and added that if the UN refuses to discuss this report, it would be the end of UN involvement in international crises.

»

Gaza Report Author Asks U.S. to Clarify Concerns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Sharon Otterman - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Richard Goldstone, the lead author of a United Nations report that found evidence of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during last winter’s Gaza war, challenged the Obama administration in an interview broadcast Thursday to explain what it has called serious concerns about his report.

»

No way home: The tragedy of the Palestinian diaspora
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Judith Miller, David Samuels - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

It is a cynical but time-honoured practice in Middle Eastern politics: the statesmen who decry the political and humanitarian crisis of the approximately 3.9 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza ignore the plight of an estimated 4.6 million Palestinians who live in Arab countries. For decades, Arab governments have justified their decision to maintain millions of stateless Palestinians as refugees in squalid camps as a means of applying pressure to Israel.

»

US in fresh bid on Palestine stalemate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Susan Rice, Washington’s ambassador to the United Nations, held talks yesterday with senior Israeli officials in what appeared to be the latest bid by the Obama administration to end a months-long deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Ms Rice is also likely to have reiterated the US’s call for Israel to adopt a key recommendation of the UN-mandated Goldstone report to carry out a credible probe into possible war crimes committed by its troops in the attack in the Gaza Strip in December and January.

»

Israel’s failure to investigate war only hurts itself
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) October 22, 2009 - 12:00am

The first Israeli inquiry into Gaza war crimes was concluded after just a few days and completely exonerated the military of wrongdoing. It was a whitewash so glaring, conducted so quickly and with such an obvious and predetermined agenda, that it cast an even more negative light on the country. It also squandered an opportunity to deal with these serious allegations before they got out of control.

»


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