The Palestinian Authority's state-first mistake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Samih Khalidi - (Opinion) October 28, 2009 - 12:00am

As President Obama seeks to jumpstart the Middle East peace process with increasingly disappointing results, a new approach has begun to emerge from within the upper circles of the Palestinian Authority. In essence, this approach puts "statehood first" – without waiting for negotiations to resume, or for a full final status agreement with Israel. From this point of view, and in a kind of Zionism in reverse, unilateral actions on the ground can lay the foundations for an independent Palestinian state, irrespective of Israel's demands or strategy.

»

Abbas Says Might Not Run In Poll
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama he would not run for re-election unless Israel dropped its refusal to freeze settlements, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. "Abu Mazen (Abbas) told him that he would not be a candidate in the presidential election (in January) unless Israel abided by the peace requirement," said one of the officials, who are briefed regularly by Abbas and spoke on condition of anonymity.

»

Obama's welcome approach to Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Maen Areikat - (Opinion) October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's election and the shift in the U.S. attitude toward the Arab and Muslim worlds have given new hope to those seeking a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. This new approach is a welcome departure from the previous eight years of misguided policies - most notably toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

»

'Conditions for talks have worsened'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

The US will continue pressing for a deal to get Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table, despite concerns in Jerusalem that Friday's announcement of PA elections in January makes the likelihood of starting negotiations now even more remote. US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected back in the region by the end of the week, to continue, as one diplomatic official said, "pushing the rock." The US, he said, has made clear that it will do so until - perhaps because of a change of conditions - the rock actually moves.

»

PA negotiator: Israel painting us as 'untrustworthy bastards'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

The chief Palestinian negotiator lashed out at Israel's stance toward peace talks on Tuesday, after a report that his president, Mahmoud Abbas, had threatened to step down due to the lack of progress in the peace process. "You're presenting us as 'untrustworthy bastards,' while the fact of the matter is that you're the ones foot-dragging and refusing to end the occupation," Saeb Erekat told Army Radio.

»

Does J Street arrival signal a split in America's Israel lobby?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Since the 1950s the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been the mainstream voice of the Jewish-American community and its efforts to strengthen support for Israel in Washington. Along comes J Street, a young upstart founded last year, in part as an answer to AIPAC – perceived by many progressive American Jews to have a clear right-wing tilt, and hardly representative of those want to see a much more aggressive push towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

»

J Street confab shows generational divide on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Eric Fingerhut - October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

After all the arguing in recent weeks over J Street, one thing was clear at the inaugural conference of the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group: Even among the 1,500 delegates who attended the parley, there are crucial disagreements over what’s best for Middle East peace.

»

Jones Signals White House Support for J-Street Cause
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Independent
by Spencer Ackerman - October 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Granting recognition to a new American Jewish lobby group pressing for peace between Israel and the Arab world, ret. Gen. James Jones, President Obama’s national security adviser, said that resolving the 60-year conflict was the crisis that the Obama administration would prioritize if it could “solve any one problem.”

»

Palestinian reconciliation and the peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Walid Salem - (Opinion) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

With the current paralysis in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process--which is due to the Israeli government's refusal to abide by its obligations under previously signed agreements, notably the roadmap--it might at first glance seem strange to ask what are the ramifications of Palestinian unity for Palestinian-Israeli relations.

»

'In spite of everything, there will be peace'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Lally Weymouth - (Interview) October 26, 2009 - 12:00am

In Israel, the office of the president is meant to be ceremonial. But at 86, President Shimon Peres, the last founder of the Jewish state to remain active in Israeli politics and a frequent counselor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, hardly stays on the sidelines. Although Israelis are feeling pressured by a recent U.N.

»


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