Peace Based on Two States | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel is trying to turn Abbas into Arafat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The following story could provide material for a political comedy: About two weeks ago, a delegation from the One Voice peace organization paid a visit to the offices of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Among the guests was Jason Alexander, known to "Seinfeld" devotees as the neurotic George Costanza. They told Ayalon about the organization's extensive activity to prepare young Israeli and Palestinian leaderships who will spread the gospel of peace and reconciliation.

The Last Jew in Zagare
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The last Jew in Zagare, a small Lithuanian town renowned for its cherries, died in September. His name was Aizikas Mendelsonai, born in 1922. He was not buried in either of the two Jewish cemeteries, with their lurching gravestones, faded inscriptions and advancing lichen. Nobody is any more, not even Jews.

Mideast Conflict as Zero-Sum Game
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am

Several readers have written in to protest my last column, which dissected conservative responses to the recent summons to Jewish unity issued by the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee. Reader complaints are nothing unusual, but this time some good points were raised that forced me to rethink. In the process I’ve come across some new information, which I’d like to share.

UN envoy: Israel must take Abbas threats to dismantle PA seriously
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel must take heed of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ threats to resign and dismantle the PA, a UN official who is close to the PA president told Haaretz, adding that the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians could cause violence to erupt in the West Bank, and the rest of the world will not bail out Israel if that happens.

Israel and the Apartheid Slander
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Richard Goldstone - (Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

THE Palestinian Authority’s request for full United Nations membership has put hope for any two-state solution under increasing pressure. The need for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians has never been greater. So it is important to separate legitimate criticism of Israel from assaults that aim to isolate, demonize and delegitimize it.

Abbas must choose to seek peace deal with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) October 28, 2011 - 12:00am

In a manner reminiscent of the popular movie "Free Willy," a new script is being written, tentatively entitled "Free Mahmoud Abbas." As a result of the Hamas "victory," the IDF wants to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas via a series of gestures. Haaretz's editorial page has recommended that Netanyahu listen to the army's recommendation, as though Abbas deserves compensation for the wholesale prisoner release won by Hamas.

Arab Rejection of ’47 Partition Plan Was Error, Palestinian Leader Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
October 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian president said Friday that the Arab world had erred in rejecting the United Nations’ 1947 plan to partition Palestine into a Palestinian and a Jewish state. The Palestinian and Arab refusal set off widespread fighting, then Arab militaries attacked Israel after it declared independence the following year, a war the Arab states lost. “It was our mistake,” the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, above, said in a rare interview on Israeli television. “It was an Arab mistake as a whole.” Referring to Israel, he added, “But do they punish us for this mistake for 64 years?”

It's Either Abbas or Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Ori Nir - (Blog) October 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said this week that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should leave his post soon and that "anyone who replaces (Abbas) will be better than he is." Lieberman called Abbas "an obstacle to peace." The firebrand foreign minister was talking about the same Abbas who Prime Minister Netanyahu called "my partner in peace," the same Abbas who Israel's President Shimon Peres recently characterized as "the best (Palestinian) leader we will work with," the same Abbas who former Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin this week called a "statesman."

A joint proposal on the foundations of a two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Alan Dershowitz, Chibli Mallat - (Opinion) October 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Two professors at Harvard Law School, Chibli Mallat, Custodian of the Two Holy Places Visiting Professor of Islamic Legal Studies, and Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, have adopted what they consider a compromise basis for negotiations on a two-state solution. What follows is their joint statement of principles on what could become a UN Security Council Resolution:

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