ATFP Hosts Gen. Dayton, Rep. Ellison
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 30, 2009 - 12:00am

On Tuesday, June 30, the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted another installment of its Distinguished Guest Forum, an off-the-record panel discussion with US Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Keith Dayton and US Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN). The event was held at ATFP’s offices in Washington, DC. Lt. Gen. Dayton and Rep. Ellison discussed recent developments and prospects for future progress in the Middle East and answered questions from members of ATFP’s Board of Directors and supporters.


US-trained Palestinian force is keen for action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - June 28, 2009 - 12:00am

In the live-fire exercise, everything was carefully choreographed — Palestinian commandos, faces blackened, stormed a hide-out in an abandoned building, "wounded" one gunman and "arrested" a second. But is this corps, American-trained and steadily growing, ready for the real thing? President Barack Obama's hopes for a Middle East peace breakthrough may rest heavily on that question.

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Hamas West Bank Terror Plot Exposed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority said it has exposed a plot by Hamas to carry out a string of terror attacks against the Authority's officials and institutions in the West Bank city of Nablus and the surrounding area. PA officials said Monday evening that a Hamas member who was recently detained admitted to receiving 1.5 million euros from the Islamist group's leadership in Gaza in order to establish infrastructure aimed of undermining President Mahmoud Abbas' regime. He said that among the targets were headquarters of the Palestinian security services in Nablus.

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West Bank Palestinian Police force boosted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
June 8, 2009 - 12:00am

A U.S. general training Palestinian police in the West Bank said more officers are needed to prevent Hamas from gaining strength. Lt.Gen. Keith Dayton plans to increase the number of Palestinian police battalions operating in West Bank cities from three to 10, media reports said Monday. Israel, satisfied with the way the Palestinian police force operates in Palestinian villages and cities, has already approved sending additional recruits to undergo training in Jordan.

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Anti-Hamas crackdown sign of renewed PA confidence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - June 1, 2009 - 12:00am

The Hamas leader who was killed in a shootout with Palestinian policemen in Qalqilyah on Sunday had been on the Shin Bet security service's most wanted list for a long time. His terror network is believed to be responsible for the failed attempt to detonate an explosives-laden truck in the Dan region two years ago. It was the Palestinian Authority that finished the job - dealing Hamas in the West Bank a second blow, after last week's killing of another Hamas leader by an Israeli SWAT team near Hebron.

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Abbas vows to crack down on Hamas violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 31, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said following clashes between Fatah and Hamas in the West Bank Sunday that the Palestinian Authority would "strike with an iron fist" against anyone attempting to harm Palestinian interests. A Palestinian Authority (PA) official said that Sunday's fierce clashes in Qalqilya, which left six people dead, were part of the Authority's efforts to curb Hamas' increased activity in the West Bank, which includes resuming the activity of its military cells and obtaining arms and explosives.

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US General Builds A Palestinian Army
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Robert Dreyfuss - (Blog) May 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Last Thursday, in what was billed as his very first on-the-record address, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, spoke to the 2009 Soref Symposium organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. WINEP, of course, is the chief thinktank for the Washington-based Israel lobby. And in his talk, Gen. Dayton delivered an important warning.

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PA working to root out Hamas, Hezbollah secret agents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority has established a special counter-intelligence squad in its security services to uncover agents working for Hamas and Hezbollah. To date the Palestinian Authority security services have arrested dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the two radical Islamic groups. Israeli security sources said that the PA has made a focused effort to uncover foreign agents, noting that the new unit involves a large contingent of officers.

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Israeli-run zones shield West Bank criminals
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
May 4, 2009 - 12:00am

When Nasser Qaout went to investigate strange sounds in his sheep pen late at night, a gang of armed thieves shot him in the leg and made off with half his flock. He and Palestinian police know who the thieves are - and even where they are - but a year and half later, they’re still in their homes about five kilometers (three miles) down the road.

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Security forces find bomb lab under mosque
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
April 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Security forces in Palestine said Tuesday they uncovered an explosives lab hidden under a mosque in Qalqilya. The Jerusalem Post reported police arrested eight people in connection with the West Bank lab, which was found several days ago. Two bombs were found in the lab, a police spokesman said, adding that the facility was aimed at destabilizing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's administration. A Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip said the arrests were politically motivated, the newspaper reported.



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