Radical action needed after Oslo's decline
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The National - April 20, 2012 - 12:00am

In 1993, when the Oslo Accords were signed and the Palestinian Authority was born, the senior Israeli politician Yossi Beilin was a leading advocate for Palestinian self-rule. The accords, and the Authority, were intended to pave the way for permanent solutions on borders, refugees and two-state control.

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Can UN observers end the cycle of violence?
Interview with Hussein Ibish - Al-Jazeera English - April 14, 2012 - 12:00am

As the UN security council debates a resolution to send 30 monitors into Syria to monitor the ceasefire between Syrian government forces and the opposition fighters, the shelling and gunfire continues. On the second day of the UN-backed ceasefire to end the 13-month uprising, protests continued. Both sides are believed to have breached the terms, with several deaths being reported. The violence now makes the UN's next move more important than ever. But as Ahmad Fawzi, Kofi Annan's spokesperson, points out, there is still a long way to go:

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The Peace Process Stuck in a Rut of Malaise
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The National - April 13, 2012 - 12:00am

The Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, the UN, the EU and Russia - met Wednesday on the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Washington. But the Quartet's first high-level meeting since December passed almost without notice in the US. Neither The Washington Post nor The New York Times had a story about it in yesterday's editions. In part, say observers, the lack of interest is due to other, more pressing issues. The violence in Syria dominates the attention of the foreign-policy circuit in Washington, where Iran's nuclear programme is also a perennial concern.

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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.


Safer Side by Side: Why Israel Needs Palestine
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - April 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Benny Begin, a member of Prime Minister Netanuyahu's inner cabinet, recently dismissed the idea of the creation of a viable Palestinian state, claiming it would be an unbearable security threat to Israel. He added that Netanuyahu's 2009 Bar-Ilan speech, which seemingly endorsed the two-state goal, was aimed exclusively at foreign audiences but that Palestinian statehood "was not brought up for discussion in the government, nor will it be discussed." "This is not the government's position," he stated bluntly. All the evidence suggests he's correct.

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The West Must Support Universal Values in the Arab World
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - March 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Over the past 14 months of uprisings in the Arab world, Iran has steadily lost influence throughout the Middle East. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding the way in which Palestine, Syria and other key strategic battlegrounds now play into Iranian calculations, and how new opportunities have emerged for both Arabs and the West.

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A settlement boycott can work
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Peter Beinart’s recent call in the New York Times for Jewish Americans to boycott Israeli settlement goods has been met with angry responses from many Jewish Americans. This includes some who are opposed to the settler movement. The most important of these objections hold that a boycott cannot work because Jewish Americans won’t go along with such a program and there isn’t much to boycott anyway. Both arguments hold little water.

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Bret Stephens' Crisis of Empathy
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometimes crude binaries can be instructive, and it's possible to distinguish two different types of people: those who seek out generous and universalist empathy with others, and those who prefer the warm cocoon of tribal solidarity.

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World Must Act Urgently to Avert “Crisis” in Palestine, Experts Warn
Press Release - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, March 27 -- The international community must act urgently support the Palestinian Authority and its institutions or face a looming “crisis” a panel of experts today warned at a Washington event today co-hosted by American Task Force for Palestine and The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.


Show, Don't Tell: Why the Apartheid Analogy Falls Flat
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - March 26, 2012 - 12:00am

A series of recent articles have pointlessly debated whether or not Israel can accurately be described as “an apartheid state.” But the problem with the apartheid analogy is less its inaccuracy, and more that, however emotionally appealing some people may find it, it’s just not useful in ending the occupation and advancing the Palestinian cause.

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