Erekat: Quartet must say which side harms peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) October 25, 2011 - 12:00am

PLO official Saeb Erekat said on Monday that Israel is impeding the peace process and the Middle East Quartet should publicly recognize Israeli intransigence. The former chief negotiator said on Voice of Palestine radio that the Palestinian side remains committed to all international guidelines and terms of the Quartet's roadmap for peace.

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'Israel no longer interested in two-state solution'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
(Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am

King Abdulla II of Jordan said on Monday that the prolonged stalemate on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has made him into a pessimist. Speaking to CNN on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea, King Abdulla said the seemingly unbridgeable gaps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority warrant serious doubts over whether Israel is serious about the peace talks. "I am one of the most optimistic people you'll meet in the Middle East, and for the first time I am very pessimistic about the Israelis and Palestinians moving forward," he said.

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U.S. Looks Increasingly Irrelevant as Mideast Peace Broker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jonathan Guyer - (Opinion) October 22, 2011 - 12:00am

"…[M]oving forward, we want to see progress on the peace talks," State Department spokesman Mark Toner has emphasised repeatedly over the last two weeks, which have seen Washington's special envoy David Hale shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah. "We want to see the two parties, the Palestinians and the Israelis, get back into direct negotiations. And that's where are our focus remains," he said. But there is little reason at this point to believe that Washington's efforts will bear fruit.

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ATFP Gala Featuring PM Fayyad Highlights Quest for Peace, Palestinian-American Achievements
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - October 20, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad delivered the keynote address at the Sixth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine in Washington, DC on Oct. 19 (To view video of his speech click here).


Arabs and Israelis both want peace; the problem is leadership
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by David Pollock - October 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Around half of Israelis, Palestinians, and some other key Arab publics, according to opinion polls taken in the past decade, support something like the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. Its basic concept is peace and Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel’s full withdrawal from the territories captured in the 1967 war. Similarly, around half of each one of these publics would also support other analogous proposals focused more narrowly on “land for peace,” such as the unofficial Palestinian-Israeli Geneva initiative of 2003.

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Israel Is Under Attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gilad Sharon - (Opinion) October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The word “spring” is a symbol of blossoming and renewal. But right now the Arab world is filled with demonstrations, shootings, and the replacement of one dictatorship for another. (Except for Saudi Arabia which has announced it will allow women to “vote” and drive by the year 2015!) And, most significantly for Israel, there is a PLO petition for statehood at the United Nations.

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Dividing the Land of Israel into two states is a moral imperative
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by A.B. Yehoshua - October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

There is no more problematic concept in regard to Jewish identity than that of homeland (moledet ). Yet, a primal and natural connection to a homeland is a cornerstone on which every national identity is constructed. The connection to territory overrides in importance both shared national language, shared religion and, certainly, a shared historical context. Without a primal connection to a homeland - which is often compared to the primal maternal bond - national identity is shaky and hollow.

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Open letter to Mahmoud Abbas for Yom Kippur
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Dear Mr. Abbas, Generally I write to my fellow Jews and Israelis for our high holidays. For you Yom Kippur is, of course, not a day of reckoning, but I hope you will accept these words from an Israeli who has sponsored your cause for years with all his heart. I have done so no less for the sake for my country than for your country that has yet to come into being.

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Israel and Palestinians must accept the other's legitimacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 3, 2011 - 12:00am

The response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his flock of spokesmen to international criticism regarding the approval of construction plans for Gilo recalls the joke about the servant who pinched the king's behind. En route to the gallows, the servant apologized: He thought it was the queen's behind.

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The raison d'être of the American Task Force on Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from American Task Force on Palestine
by Ziad Asali - September 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The raison d'être of the American Task Force on Palestine

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