Arab Spring and the Israeli enemy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim - (Opinion) October 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Thirty-nine years ago, on Oct. 6, 1973, the third major war between the Arabs and Israel broke out. The war lasted only 20 days. The two sides were engaged in two other major wars, in 1948 and 1967.

»

Time is running out for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 4, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Question has been temporarily shelved — hopefully only till November — much to the disappointment of many a Palestinian who was expecting the ball to start rolling this month.

»

Palestinian UN status likely to be debated in November
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 4, 2012 - 12:00am

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- The United Nations is likely to hold a debate on whether to upgrade the Palestinians' UN status to a sovereign country in mid-November -- after the US election, the president of the 193-member UN General Assembly said Wednesday. Having failed last year to win recognition of full statehood at the United Nations, President Mahmoud Abbas said last week he would seek a less-ambitious status upgrade at the world body to make it a "non-member state" like the Vatican.

»

Prime Minister in Gaza Likely To Become Hamas Leader
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by Fathi Sabbah - October 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian sources told Al-Hayat that "[the Prime Minister in Gaza] Ismail Haniyeh is likely to be elected as chairman of the executive committee of the Hamas movement in the next few days or weeks, thus succeeding the current head of the movement’s political bureau, Khaled Meshaal.” The sources said that the name of the new chairman of the executive committee will likely remain a secret.

»

Two states for two peoples
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 2, 2012 - 12:00am

In his United Nations speech, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Security Council to “to urgently adopt a resolution comprising the basis and foundations for a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that would serve as a binding reference and guide for all if the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, is to survive and if peace is to prevail in the land of peace.” In November 2009 I drafted a proposal for a Security Council resolution which I shared with the leaders of

»

Commitments Not Reaffirmed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gil Troy - (Opinion) October 2, 2012 - 12:00am

Are there any progressives out there sufficiently committed to the peace process and the two-state solution to criticize Mahmoud Abbas’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly?

»

US warns European governments against supporting Palestinians at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - October 1, 2012 - 12:00am

  The United States has warned European governments against supporting a Palestinian bid for enhanced status at the United Nations, saying such a move "would be extremely counterproductive" and threatening "significant negative consequences" for the Palestinian Authority, including financial sanctions.

»

Palestinian official says Obama didn't ask to resume Mideast talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 1, 2012 - 12:00am

  RAMALLAH, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States President Barack Obama didn't ask the Palestinian side for resuming the peace talks with Israel, a senior Palestinian official said Monday. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua on telephone that the Palestinian side hasn't received any official offer or proposal from anybody to resume peace negotiations with Israel.

»

Vote on UN bid of recognizing Palestinian as non-member state to be "very soon": official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
September 30, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official on Sunday said that the vote on the bid of recognizing Palestinian as a non-member state by the United Nations will be "very soon." Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, told Xinhua that the Palestinian delegation in New York began its contacts and consultations with Arab and foreign countries.

»

Palestinians shrug off Abbas bid for statehood at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jihan Abdalla, Noah Browning - September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- Palestinians who were galvanized a year ago by the launch of a campaign for statehood in the United Nations were left cold on Thursday by a watered-down bid from their leader President Mahmoud Abbas. In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Abbas sought so-called "non-member state" status in the world body, a grade below the full recognition that eluded the Palestinians at the UN Security Council last year, due to insufficient backing.

»


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