PA to support olive oil farmers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 25, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Agriculture will not fix olive oil prices ahead of the 2010 harvest season, the minister said, announcing a new mechanism of support for farmers. Minister Isma’il D’eiq told Ma’an on Saturday that rather than fix prices, the ministry would offer loans to organizations with tenders to purchase the oil for less than 20 shekels ($5.41) per kilo.

»

Survey: Palestinians Believe Peace Talks Are Best Strategy
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Voice of America - September 24, 2010 - 12:00am

A new survey shows a majority of Palestinians believe peace negotiations are the best way to achieve their goals. The survey released Thursday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed 53 percent of those polled said peace talks were the best strategy.  That compares with 26 percent who said violent resistance is the best method, and 16 percent who supported non-violent resistance.

»

Poll: Slim majority support peace negotiations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 23, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A public opinion poll released Thursday suggests that just over half of Palestinians support negotiations with Israel. But a larger majority, 59 percent, say Palestinians were coerced into entering the talks, the first since 2008. Only one-third of respondents believe the negotiations will succeed, according to the poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center.

»

Survey: Palestinians Believe Peace Talks Are Best Strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
(Analysis) September 23, 2010 - 12:00am

A new survey shows a majority of Palestinians believe peace negotiations are the best way to achieve their goals. The survey released Thursday by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed 53 percent of those polled said peace talks were the best strategy.  That compares with 26 percent who said violent resistance is the best method, and 16 percent who supported non-violent resistance.

»

Palestinians forced to claw their way to building Israel's dream homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - September 22, 2010 - 12:00am

In Bethlehem, several hundred meters from the separation fence, a vague commotion is audible. Moving closer to the fence, you can see the full, unpleasant scene. It's 4 A.M. and underneath the fence, hundreds of people are cramming into a corridor bounded by iron bars. The corridor is several hundred meters long and a meter and a half wide. Young men in their 20s push their way next to others over 60. They yell, argue, hit and do whatever else they need to in order to get through the crossing as quickly as possible. Almost all work legally in Israel, building Israelis' dream homes.

»

Gazans Want Justice Over Torched Water Park
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Omar Ghraieb - September 20, 2010 - 12:00am

[Gaza City] Gaza is abuzz over the torching on Sunday of the beleaguered strip’s sole water park on Sunday. What would in many other parts of the world be an unnoticed incident of vandalism, the attack on the Crazy Water Park has stirred a media frenzy, driving every local and international human rights organization in Gaza to make statements, followed later by responses from representatives of every Palestinian political faction. According to local police and witnesses, an estimated 25-masked gunman pulled up to The Crazy Water Park on Jeeps at 3 a.m.

»

In West Bank, corruption-busting teenagers shake up local government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant - (Analysis) September 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Ramallah, West Bank — Fatmeh Abu Afifeh doesn't look like someone who could intimidate tough bureaucrats. Demure and only 17, she had never even spent a night away from her family until now. But armed only with fine pearl pins that keep her head scarf firmly in place, Fatmeh is here in Ramallah with dozens of other students who exposed significant corruption across the West Bank.

»

An Assessment of State-Building Efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Progress
by Robert Danin - (Interview) September 14, 2010 - 12:00am

September 14, 2010 Last time we spoke, you were head of the Office of the Quartet Representative, and you just recently returned from that posting. What are the main things that you learned from that experience?

»

Disarming Lebanon's Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ahmed Moor - (Opinion) September 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Lebanon is regenerating. On balance, the country's collective sloughing off of history has been more successful than not. It is only 20 years since the civil war ended, and the memories of internecine atrocities remain; sporadic sectarian violence is a fact of life here. Fortunately, the Lebanese have avoided descending once more into civil war's morass but, despite all the healing, the Palestinian refugee issue still festers.

»

Finding a Steadier Path in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) September 7, 2010 - 12:00am

KHAN YUNIS, Gaza — Tough-looking ambulance drivers in this central Gazan city are drawing images of their fears with crayons. In the northwestern village of El Atatra, in an overheated hall without electricity, 10-year-olds are closing their eyes and imagining a reassuring place. In Gaza City, women who have lost children to political violence are dancing away their tensions, their black abayas shaking and flowing.

»


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