Security | The American Task Force on Palestine

Google Earth, IPhone trouble Israeli security chief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 1, 2010 - 12:00am

TEL AVIV, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Civilian Internet applications now offer militant groups access to intelligence that rivals what government spies can get, Israel's domestic security chief said on Monday. Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin, in a rare public address, identified cyber technologies as an ascendant international security threat.

As stonethrowing escalates, Israeli police round up Arab children in E. Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - October 29, 2010 - 12:00am

Jerusalem — Amid rising Israeli-Arab tensions, Israeli police are waging a crackdown on Palestinian youths – many not yet teenagers – in East Jerusalem’s most volatile neighborhood, Silwan. In a recent incident, M., a slightly chubby 10-year-old with dark eyes, was harmed by a group of plainclothes forces who sprang out of an unmarked car and grabbed him off the street, according to his father's account, which was backed up by other residents. (M.'s full name could not be used because of an Israeli law protecting juveniles.)

IDF planning for potential PA ban on West Bank raids
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - October 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for the possibility that soldiers may not be able to enter Palestinian cities at will, something the Palestinian Authority has been requesting for some time. Military sources told Haaretz they believe such a change would not significantly impact the security situation.

Wrong path
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Opinion) October 24, 2010 - 12:00am

It is high time Israel and Jews realized that the path they continue to tread is not calculated to achieve a Middle East settlement that is just and durable. Though the world community, the peace brokers and the parties involved have repeatedly called on Israel to be more flexible and settle for an acceptable and just peace in the region, the Jewish state’s intransigence and unbridled quest to change the demographics of the region with new settlements dashes all hopes for peace.

Minister: Israel seeks to retain PA market
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 16, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) – Israeli policy aims to retain the Palestinian Authority as a market for Israeli goods, PA Planning Minister Ali Jarbawi said Friday. Speaking at a meeting with former Canadian Finance Minister Greg Selinger, Jarbawi said Israel was obstructing the development of the Palestinian private sector. Meanwhile, the PA was working hard to develop the sector as the core of a future Palestinian state, Jarbawi said.

Israel could reconsider presence in Jordan Valley
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Karin Laub - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

JERICHO, WEST BANK — Israel's insistence on maintaining a presence on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state could be reviewed over time, a government spokesman said Wednesday. Israel's demand for such a presence is one of the potential obstacles to a Mideast peace deal. The Palestinians say they will not accept any Israeli deployment in their future state, arguing that the presence of international forces during a transition period — an idea they support — should be sufficient to address Israeli security concerns.

Is Fayyadism working?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Raja Khalidi - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Donor nations and the Middle East Quartet met in New York last week to renew commitments to the beleaguered Palestinian economy and budget support to the insolvent Palestinian Authority. Paving the way, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad presented a midterm report on his government's program. He has coined the forthcoming second and final year of the program as the "Homestretch to Freedom." In tune with Fayyad, the Quartet reaffirmed support for the PA's plan and commended its significant progress toward the statehood goal.

Transcripts on ’73 War, Now Public, Grip Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — For many Israelis, the 1973 Arab-Israeli war was their single most terrifying moment, when a woefully unprepared nation, deluded into believing that its neighbors regarded it as impregnable, suffered a devastating attack and struggled back to victory at enormous cost with last-minute American help. Last week, the confidential discussions of Israel’s top leaders in the first days of that war, known here as the Yom Kippur War because the attack began on that Jewish holy day, were declassified and gripped the public.

PA: Latest Israeli soldier video 'deeply offensive'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 5, 2010 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A personal film showing an Israeli soldier dancing around a Palestinian woman uploaded to YouTube on Monday "is a disgusting illustration of the sick mentality of the occupier," a Palestinian Authority statement said. The video, showing an Israeli soldier belly-dancing next to a woman who is a blindfolded and handcuffed, head leaning against a concrete wall, sparked outrage for Palestinians and embarrassment for the Israeli military, as Tel Aviv papers branded the incident "Another YouTube embarrassment for IDF."

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