Stakes are high in Mideast peace talks
Media Mention of ATFP In The Boston Globe - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States will host the launch of direct peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington early next month, a diplomatic breakthrough for the Obama administration, which has invested much of the president’s global political capital in an attempt to broker peace in the Middle East.

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Support builds for boycotts against Israel, activists say
Media Mention of ATFP In The Boston Globe - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

In May, rock legend Elvis Costello canceled his gig in Israel. Then, in June, a group of unionized dock workers in San Francisco refused to unload an Israeli ship. In August, a food co-op in Washington state removed Israeli products from its shelves. The so-called “boycott, divestment, and sanctions’’ movement aimed at pressuring Israel to withdraw from land claimed by Palestinians has long been considered a fringe effort inside the United States, with no hope of garnering mainstream support enjoyed by the anti-apartheid campaign against South Africa of the 1980s.

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US gambles on new Middle East talks with no clear plan
Media Mention of ATFP In BBC News - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Whenever a US administration makes a formal announcement about peace talks in the Middle East, hopes are usually raised - maybe, just maybe, they will actually succeed. This time, scepticism is at an all-time high and expectations are low, including for the near term, let alone the ambitious goal set out by Hillary Clinton of resolving all key issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within a year. The statement by the secretary of state and her special envoy, George Mitchell, was high in aspirations, low on details.

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End of settlement freeze could derail Mideast talks
Media Mention of ATFP In The Washington Times - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are set to begin next week in Washington may be scuttled before they even get going. Israel has yet to commit to extending a freeze on construction of settlements that the Palestinian side says it needs to continue negotiations. That settlement freeze is set to expire Sept. 26. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated in a letter to President Obama that he would not participate in the direct talks if Israel continued construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

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Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks: What Will Help, Hinder?
Media Mention of ATFP In PBS - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Transcript JEFFREY BROWN: And to talk about the talks, we go to David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and co-author of the book "Myths, Illusions and Peace," and Ghaith Al-Omari, advocacy director at the American Task Force on Palestine and a fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is a former aide to President Abbas. Ghaith al Omari, what is your answer to the question posed at the announcement today, why now?

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Mideast talks offer promise, peril for Obama
Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's announcement Friday of new direct Middle East peace talks will renew the sense of opportunity that had faded as the regional stalemate hardened. But the talks also renew the political peril for President Barack Obama, who once again is in the position of pledging progress that's easier to promise than to deliver.

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Joint ATFP-JCPA Statement: Israelis and Palestinians Must Show Courage, Flexibility, Persistence for Peace Talks to Succeed
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Joint ATFP-JCPA Statement: Israelis and Palestinians Must Show Courage, Flexibility, Persistence for Peace Talks to Succeed


Israeli-Palestinian direct talks expected to be announced soon
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am

An announcement that Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to go into direct peace talks is expected in the coming days, U.S. officials, Mideast watchers and European diplomats said Monday. “We are close, we are optimistic,” a U.S. official said. “There’s still work to do, details remain.” One western diplomat said the announcement was expected Monday, adding that both parties are essentially agreeing to go into direct talks based on assurances they have received from the United States.

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ATFP Launches New Online Palestinian State and Institution Building Resources
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - August 6, 2010 - 12:00am

The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) is pleased to announce the launching of a new section of its website devoted to compiling resources on the Palestinian state and institution building program. As far as we are aware this is the first effort to compile comprehensive set of resources on the Palestinian state building program.


Obama Administration Presses Palestinians To Enter Direct Talks With Israel
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Jewish Daily Forward - August 5, 2010 - 12:00am

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley strove hard to hit the right note August 2 in describing the Obama administration’s recent effort to push the Palestinians into direct peace talks with Israel.

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