New negotiations will test Netanyahu's commitment
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star (Opinion) - October 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Yasser Arafat was enticed to attend a meeting with Ehud Barak at Camp David during the summer of 2000 with the promise that he would not be blamed if it turned out to be a failure. It did, and he was. Last month the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was invited to attend a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York without any such promise. He was not blamed and the meeting was not a failure.

»

Netanyahu and Obama Prepare for First Round
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
by Mel Frykberg - April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The new U.S. administration and the new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are preparing for a possible confrontation on the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as well as several other issues. A collision course between the two countries seems inevitable as U.S. President Barack Obama reiterates his support for a two-state solution to the protracted conflict while Netanyahu's new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman states that Israel is no longer obliged to honor previous peace agreements with the Palestinians.

»

Borderline outcast?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Tobias Buck, Roula Khalaf - (Analysis) April 13, 2009 - 12:00am

It has been a tough few months for Israel's diplomatic corps. At the start of the year, diplomats were fending off accusations that Israel was using excessive force in its offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. After that conflict they faced a torrent of allegations that their actions had amounted to war crimes, claims that they deny.

»

Washington Watch: Might Lieberman be the Arab world's best friend?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) April 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Even those who expected friction between the Obama and Netanyahu governments over pursuing Israeli-Arab peace were surprised that it came so quickly. About 20 minutes, by one count. Tzhat's how long it took Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, to scrap the US-led Annapolis peace talks on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, take the Golan Heights off the negotiating table with Syria, and reject the long-standing concept of land for peace, threatening a US-Israel rift if his government turns that rhetoric into policy.

»

No Peace between Israel and the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Randa Takieddine - (Opinion) April 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli press has announced that US President Barack Obama will visit Israel in June. In Strasbourg, French President Nicholas Sarkozy raised with Obama the necessity of pushing peace forward in the Middle East and not being deterred by Benjamin Netanyahu's becoming prime minister of Israel. Sarkozy told Obama that he should deal with the reality of Netanyahu's election and push the peace process forward under all conditions, quickly and immediately.

»

Deceptive unity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) March 4, 2009 - 1:00am

Talks on forming a united Palestinian Authority government between West Bank-based Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas commenced in Cairo last week. Egypt is sponsoring the talks, with the tacit blessings of the international community. This is a mistake. The Obama administration should take a close look at the likely consequences of such an arrangement.

»

Clinton's Mideast mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
March 2, 2009 - 1:00am

AS HILLARY CLINTON begins her first diplomatic visit to the Middle East today in Egypt, the obstacles to peace in the region are daunting. But Palestinians and Israelis need a two-state peace agreement more desperately than ever. And America's need to forge such a peace is more acute than ever. If Clinton and the Obama administration's special envoy for the Mideast, George Mitchell, are to succeed at peacemaking, they will have to be patient but tough, aware of complexity but willing to cut through the excuses and sophistry of leaders in both camps.

»

Obama Empowers Jewish Insurgency
Media Mention of ATFP In The Huffington Post - February 21, 2009 - 1:00am

The other day I was asked if the existence of Israel Policy Forum "really makes a difference." My interlocutor went on: "I would not expect you to have ended the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is not something Americans can do. But I would think you and your allies would have cut into the power of the right-wingers by now. But they still seem to own Capitol Hill, almost as if you guys didn't exist." It's a good question, but it is also one that I had no problem answering.

»

Bill Clinton says he's still hopeful for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
February 18, 2009 - 1:00am

Despite the political impasse in Israel and the uncertain future of the Middle East peace process, former U.S. president Bill Clinton says he is still hopeful that Israel and the Palestinians can come to a two-state solution. "Palestinians are having more babies than the Israelis," Clinton told CNN's Larry King Live on Tuesday. "The Israelis have to decide whether they want to share the future in a positive way with a constructive Palestinian state, so that they have a Jewish democracy, which is what Israel was set up to be," he said.

»

A Wake-Up Call for Arabs and Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Middle East Times
(Analysis) February 2, 2009 - 1:00am

There is good news and there is bad news associated with U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East peace initiative. The good news is that there is a president in the White House who is truly dedicated to forge ahead with the peace process. And for several reasons.

»


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