Gaza's Deadly Guardians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times
September 30, 2007 - 12:00am

Hamas wants you to believe it has created a benevolent sanctuary where once chaos reigned. At the beginning of the journey into Gaza it’s easy to believe that things are better. There is no longer a Palestinian immigration desk after the long walk from the air-conditioned Erez terminal on the Israeli side, past concrete blast walls, and down a dusty track in the furnace heat. But further down the road, Hamas gunmen have taken over the checkpoints. They are polite and well turned out in blue camouflage trousers, clean black T-shirts, shiny black boots.

»

Saudis Urge Hamas And Fatah To Form New Coalition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - September 28, 2007 - 12:00am

Saudi Arabia – potentially a key player in current diplomatic moves on the Middle East – has warned that Fatah and Hamas will have to form a new coalition if any peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians is going to work. At the same time it has expressed cautious optimism about the international Middle East conference called by George Bush for November – without yet committing itself to attend, as Israel and the United States would like it to.

»

Sense, Nonsense and Strategy in the New Palestinian Political Landscape
Issue Paper by Hussein Ibish - September 6, 2007 - 12:00am

The catastrophic division that has recently developed in Palestine, with the national leadership split between two fiefdoms and in a state of open conflict, has left Palestinians and their allies around the world dismayed, and struggling to reformulate a viable strategy for ending the occupation. As people search for guidance and try to make sense of a shocking turn of events, misleading and overwrought polemics have become more prevalent than sober analysis.

»

The Palestinian Plight
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - June 17, 2007 - 12:00am

Forty years ago this month, Israel stunned the Arab states in six days of war whose consequences are yet to be resolved. Hamas' version of its own six-day war has created new political realities that may be with us for some time to come. Negotiations, conferences and meetings of diplomats and pundits flying around the world will do very little to undo the new realities if we dither and lose the opportunity this crisis presents.

»

Palestinian National Unity: The Question of Hamas
Policy Focus by ATFP - June 16, 2007 - 12:00am

Two months into the Hamas violent takeover of the Gaza Strip (GS), one thing has become clear: for all practical intents and purposes, the West Bank (WB) and GS represent two separate spheres of control for the foreseeable future. While ultimately, for political, economic and geopolitical reasons, the WB and GS must be one territorial unit, the prospects for reunification at the short or even medium term are very slim.   The Buildup

»

ATFP, APN and FMEP Hold Capitol Hill Briefing on Jerusalem and Challenges to a Two-Solution
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 3, 2007 - 12:00am

Washington, D.C., June 4 -- The American Task Force on Palestine, in conjunction with Americans for Peace Now and the Foundation for Middle East Peace, today hosted a congressional briefing featuring two experts on Jerusalem and the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict. The Capitol Hill briefing entitled Jerusalem on the 40th Anniversary of the 6-Day-War: Challenges to the Viability of a Two State Solution explored in detail the complex forces that define the ancient city of Jerusalem in a time of conflict.


Ten Commandments for Mideast Peace
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The American Prospect - June 1, 2007 - 12:00am

  Three Former Peace Negotiators for Israel, the U.S., and Palestine Lay Out a Common Plan for an Israeli-Palestinian Final Settlement   By Daniel Levy, Ghaith al-Omari, New America Foundation   with Robert Malley, Middle East Program Director, International Crisis Group

»

A Paradigm Shift
In Print by Ziad Asali - Common Ground News Service (Opinion) - May 2, 2007 - 12:00am

A recurrent excuse that has acted as an obstacle to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the years is that of either the political weakness of the Israeli leader or the political irrelevance of the Palestinian leader, whomever they may be. The underlying assumption of these excuses is that the Israeli and Palestinian publics would not support the peace overtures of a weak Israeli or Palestinian leader. Such an assumption, however, could not be further from the truth.

»

Educating the Gap
Speech by Ziad Asali at Columbia University - April 20, 2007 - 12:00am

The following speech was given as part of a “Night of Arab-American Culture, Identity, and Solidarity’ at Columbia University. The event was sponsored by the Arab Students Association at Columbia University, the Young Arab Leaders Association at the Columbia Business School, the Rutgers University Palestinian American Organization, and United Arabs at New York University.

»

On Solid Ground
In Print by Ziad Asali - Al-Jazeera English (Opinion) - March 14, 2007 - 12:00am

Guess which is the only Arab government that does not accept the Arab League peace initiative on Palestine? For more than a year now, it has been the government in Palestine. Needless to say, Israel has yet to accept it either.

»


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