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

Israel digging its own grave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Linda Heard - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Israelis exist in a state of low-key fear of obliteration that has become absorbed into their psyche. They’re so used to it that it has become part of who they are. The Jewish state may call itself a democracy but in fact it’s a militarized entity always alert to criticism and attacks from its foes within and without.

Abbas: We will have final word
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Palestinians will have the final word if negotiations with Israel fail, President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday. Speaking at the first Sir Bani Yas Forum on Peace and Global Security in Abu Dhabi, Abbas said Palestinians had complied with a number of international resolutions, while Israel had not complied with any. "We met our obligations, but you [Israel] did not, and so we will be discharged from obligations."

PLO official: Egypt, Palestinians stress to halt Jewish settlement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 8, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian leadership and Egypt have agreed that any initiative to push forward peace talks between Palestinians and Israel should base on halting Jewish settlement in the occupied lands, a Palestinian official said Monday. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) official, denied reports that Egypt's recent efforts could ignore the Palestinian demand on settlement freeze in the West Bank. Egypt "wants a solution to all final-status issues, and not to seek a partial one," Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine Radio.

Abbas: Israel building ferociously in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
November 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that he would not resume direct peace talks with Israel until it freezes construction in the West Bank's settlements. After meeting US envoy Mitchell in Washington, chief negotiator Erekat says, 'Key is in Netanyahu's hands. The choice is his: settlements or peace. He cannot have both' "Our demand to halt settlement construction is not a precondition," Abbas said in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims. "We reached an agreement with the Israelis on this matter when we accepted the road map back in 1995.

Israelis mull leaving settlers in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - November 5, 2010 - 12:00am

It has become an article of faith in the Israeli-Palestinian equation: Israel's withdrawal from occupied lands must be accompanied by a removal of Jewish settlers. But perhaps there's another option. Although it's hardly mainstream thinking, voices on both sides are quietly contemplating an alternative: Perhaps some Jews can live in a future Palestine, even if only in small numbers, the way Arabs live in Israel.

Did Rabin assassination mark decline of Israel's peace camp?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - November 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination 15 years ago at the peak of Israel's pro-peace movement now appears to have heralded the beginning of a long, slow decline for an Israeli left that is in danger of fading into irrelevance.

New Palestinian peace plan may force Israel into action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - November 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted the worn-out tactic of soccer coaches: the best defense is a good offense. Instead of offering reasons for his refusal to freeze construction in the settlements, the prime minister is attacking the Palestinians for deciding to end negotiations. The story goes as follows. A few days ago we reported that Netanyahu's representative to talks with the Palestinians and Americans, Isaac Molho, refused to accept a Palestinian position paper on core issues - including the division of Jerusalem - from the head of the Palestinian delegation, Saeb Erekat.

Let Palestinian police control Area C
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Kieron Monks - November 1, 2010 - 12:00am

When Israeli officials say security is their highest priority, they do not mean in Area C. The 60% of the West Bank placed under their military control since the 1993 Oslo Accords has descended into lawlessness on their watch. Israel could stabilise areas plagued by violence and crime, and further its own interests, by conceding security responsibilities in these areas to the Palestinian Authority.

PM: Settlement freeze issue on hold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - November 1, 2010 - 12:00am

There is no concrete American proposal regarding the renewal of a settlement construction freeze in the West Bank and the issue is on hold for the time being, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Likud faction meeting on Monday. Asked by Knesset Member Tzipi Hotovely about the possibility that the Palestinian Authority would declare statehood without Israel's consent, Netanyahu said such a unilateral measure would "exact a price from both sides" and would not advance a solution to the conflict.

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