ATFP Warns Against Israel’s Plans for New West Bank Settlement
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Feb. 4 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today warned that plans for a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank poses a serious threat to progress towards a peace agreement. The proposed new settlement in the so-called “Binyamin region” of the occupied West Bank is located to the east of the separation barrier and would violate both Israel’s Roadmap obligations and commitments by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to former US President George W. Bush.


ATFP Senior Fellow Speaks on Gaza Crisis at University of Costa Rica
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 31, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Jan. 31 – ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish lectured at the University of Costa Rica Law School on Jan. 30 on the subject, “The Gaza Conflict: Summary and Future Impact.” Dr. Ibish told the audience of law students, faculty and diplomats that the Gaza conflict could be a turning point in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but its effects would more likely be decided by events in the West Bank in the coming 12-24 months as Palestinians and other Arabs would be comparing the results of the competing policies of confrontation and negotiation.


CHF International Announces New Partnership with the American Charities for Palestine and the Sheikh Mohammad Shami Foundation
Media Mention of ATFP In - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am

CHF International is pleased to announce that in partnership with the American Charities for Palestine, with funding from the Sheikh Mohammed Shami Foundation, we have commenced a Three Hundred Thousand Dollar ($300,000) development project in the West Bank village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta. ACP, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a sister organization of ATFP dedicated to help build the education and health sectors in Palestine.

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Martyrs vs. Traitors myth gains currency in Gaza war's wake
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Chicago Tribune (Opinion) - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am

The conflict in Gaza has the potential of becoming a transformative political event in the Middle East that allows Islamists to capture the Arab political imagination for at least a generation. Along with familiar appeals to religious and cultural "authenticity," and dubious claims regarding good governance and democracy, Islamists are beginning to consolidate an exclusive claim to the most powerful Arab political symbols: Palestine and nationalism.

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Middle East envoy George Mitchell no stranger to conflicts
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Los Angeles Times - January 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Since leaving the Senate in 1995, Mitchell has taken on one seemingly intractable problem after another, including the Northern Ireland conflict, which he helped settle. By Paul Richter and Henry Chu January 24, 2009

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As Obama Visits State Dept., Clinton Announces Two Special Envoys
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Washington Post - January 23, 2009 - 1:00am

By Karen DeYoung and Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, January 23, 2009; A05 President Obama traveled to the State Department yesterday afternoon for a visit that was as rich in symbolism as in substance, underscoring his pledge to give top priority to diplomacy as he outlined an activist policy in the Middle East and warned that "difficult days lie ahead" in Afghanistan.

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ATFP Welcomes the Appointment of Senator George Mitchell as Middle East Special Envoy
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - January 22, 2009 - 1:00am

ATFP welcomes the appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as Middle East Special Envoy, and views this appointment as a clear signal of President Obama's strong commitment to an early, energetic engagement in peace making in the Middle East.


As Obama takes office, Mideast needs his attention
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Philadelphia Inquirer (Opinion) - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

By Ziad Asali and Tom Dine Joe Biden predicted that Barack Obama would be tested by a foreign-policy crisis early in his term. The recent surge of violence in Gaza came even sooner than that. How Obama approaches Gaza will be critical not only for the immediate security of Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the resolution of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. relations with the world's Muslims.

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ATFP Welcomes Reaffirmation of US Commitment to Palestinian Statehood by Secretary of State-designate Clinton
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Jan. 13 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) welcomed explicit and strongly worded support for peace in the Middle East based on the creation of a Palestinian state to live alongside Israel from Secretary of State-designate Clinton at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today.  


ATFP Reiterates call for Ceasefire, Settlement Freeze at Major USIP Conference
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 8, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, Jan. 8 -- ATFP reiterated its calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and a settlement freeze in the occupied territories at a major United States Institute of Peace conference at the Washington Convention Center. ATFP President Dr. Ziad Asali spoke on a panel about "Reinvigorating Prospects for Arab-Israeli Peacemaking" with fellow panelists Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer and David Makovsky, director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process. The Honorable Samuel W. Lewis moderated the panel.



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