Goldberg: Why Palestinians Have Time on Their Side
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

If I were a Palestinian (and, should there be any confusion on this point, I am not), and if I were the sort of Palestinian who believed that Israel should be wiped off the map, then I would be quite pleased with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s performance before Congress this morning. I would applaud Netanyahu for including no bold initiatives that would have suggested to the world that Israel is alive to the threat posed by its seemingly eternal occupation of the West Bank.

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Lessons From Tahrir Sq.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Being back in Cairo reminds me that there are two parties in this region that have been untouched by the Arab Spring: the Israelis and the Palestinians. Too bad, because when it comes to ossified, unimaginative, oxygen-deprived governments, the Israelis and Palestinians are right up there with pre-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia. I mean, is there anything less relevant than the prime minister of Israel going to the U.S. Congress for applause and the leader of the Palestinians going to the U.N. — instead of to each other?

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FACT CHECK: Netanyahu speech ignores rival claims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Josef Federman - May 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an impassioned defense of his approach to peace during a speech to Congress on Tuesday. But the address reflected the world view of Israel's nationalistic right wing, one of several conflicting narratives that divide Israelis and Palestinians. Here is a sampling of Netanyahu's claims along with what he did not mention. ___ NETANYAHU: "You don't need to send American troops to Israel. We defend ourselves." THE FACTS: Israel is a leading recipient of American foreign aid, including more than $1 billion in military assistance each year.

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ATFP Urges Support for President Obama
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 23, 2011 - 12:00am

ATFP expresses its support for President Obama’s call for the establishment of two states, Palestine and Israel with borders based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed upon swaps. ATFP has always advocated a negotiated two-state solution as an American national interest. ATFP urges Members of Congress and all Americans to work intensively with the President to achieve this goal. ATFP also calls upon the Palestinians and Israelis to engage with the President in reaching peace for the benefit of their peoples and the region.


Mashaal: Israel has 1 year to recognize Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said that he gives the Israeli government a one-year deadline to recognize an independent Palestinian state founded on lands occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem as its capital, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.

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Israel's obstacles to peace hurt U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Richard North Patterson - (Opinion) May 8, 2011 - 12:00am

Once again, we read, the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are dead. So it is imperative that, at last, Americans and Israelis alike face some very hard truths about this impasse - including the fact that the current policies of Israel damage the national interests and moral stature of both countries.

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Israel must choose between peace and a racist state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The slogan that brought Benjamin Netanyahu to power was "making a secure peace." That is no accident. "Peace" has maintained the right-wing government to a much greater extent than the right-wing government has maintained peace.

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A cautionary tale for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

As Washington buzzes about yet another restart for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, I have been reading a book that summarizes the past 44 years of botched peacemaking, blown opportunities and, sometimes, sheer folly. The book is a posthumous memoir by Jack O’Connell, a former CIA operative who was for many years King Hussein’s “case officer” in Jordan. Yes, you read that right: When O’Connell was station chief in Amman from 1963 to 1971, he dropped off monthly envelopes of cash at the palace as part of a long-running CIA covert action code-named “NOBEEF.”

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A Plea for Peace From a Palestinian Doctor Who Embodies Human Tragedy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
April 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Gazan doctor who lost four members of his family when an Israeli rocket destroyed his house during Operation Cast Lead, used a medical analogy to warn against hating those who cause us great harm. “Hatred is a chronic disease,” Abuelaish told a group of 60 people who had gathered at Central Connecticut State University to hear him speak about the tragedy and his new memoir, “I Shall Not Hate.”

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Fayyad: We’ll soon celebrate Easter in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

The prime minister in Ramallah gave holiday greetings at an event with Christian clergymen and other officials Saturday, the day before Easter. "This holiday brings with it joy and the promise of a better future," Salam Fayyad said. "It is a religious and national holiday for Muslim and Christian Palestinians," he said. "We will celebrate this holiday at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Palestinian state, at a time when our aspirations for freedom and independence are realized."

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