Palestinian Authority’s Future Is in Question
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The New York Times - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

The collapse of the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s negotiating partner, was raised as a possibility on Monday, as several aides to its president, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he intended to resign and forecast that others would follow.

»

Yesh Din: Settlers build fences to keep Palestinian landowners off their own land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Dan Izenberg - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Settlers have prevented Palestinians from cultivating almost 400 dunams of their farmland by fencing off the area and the authorities have done nothing to stop them, two Palestinian farmers charged Wednesday in a High Court petition filed by the Yesh Din human rights organization.

»

In Paris, Benjamin Netanyahu finds growing European doubt on Middle East peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Robert Marquand - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

Paris - Europeans, and the French in particular, strong backers of Washington's efforts to broker a Mideast deal, are starting to register frustration with the White House's handling of Israel-Palestinian relations.

»

Abbas may quit Fatah, PLO posts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas is considering resigning from his roles on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. The sources, who spoke on the condition that their names be withheld, also said that Abbas’ announcement last week that he will not seek reelection as president was a serious decision and not a political maneuver as analysts have said. Abbas is also waiting for the appropriate moment to announce his resignation from the PLO and Fatah governing bodies, the sources added.

»

Abbas: Peace deal was close under Olmert
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were close to reaching a peace deal in the last round of formal negotiations, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday. Abbas claimed that the two sides were nearing a breakthrough in talks that were broken off last year when Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip. The present Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said, is simply uninterested he peace, he said.

»

Obama reaffirms 'strong commitment' to Israel's security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama held a private meeting on Monday night, during which the two discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as stalled Middle East peace talks. "The president reaffirmed our strong commitment to Israel's security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues," said a statement issued by the White House after the one hour and forty minute closed-door session concluded.

»

Obama shifts to Israel’s corner, but tries not to show it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Uriel Heilman - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

When the White House chief of staff took to the podium at the federations’ General Assembly to call for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without preconditions, he sounded almost exactly like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier. "All issues should be resolved through negotiations," Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday to delegates at the Jewish Federations of North America's annual meeting. "No one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the overarching goal of lasting peace."

»

Weisglass: Something happened during White House meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Edelson - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Attorney Dov Weisglass said the fact that reporters were not allowed in the Oval Office during Monday night's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, as well as cancellation of a briefing the Israeli leader intended to hold for reporters, was indicative of either a crisis or far-reaching understandings regarding the Mideast peace process.

»

US and Israeli leaders hold talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

President Barack Obama has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House as the US struggles to revive the Middle East peace process. The talks in Washington came amid heightened tension over Mr Netanyahu's refusal to freeze settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the meeting was unusual. There were no photos, no press calls, and none of the public warmth Israeli leaders usually get from US presidents.

»

Abbas is playing a bluff with few cards
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Craig Nelson - November 10, 2009 - 1:00am

The year was 1990, and the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir, was dragging his feet yet again on committing his government to talks with the Palestinians aimed at setting a date for a peace conference. In a fit of frustration, James Baker, who was the US secretary of state, turned to Israeli officials and uttered those now famous and – as it turns out – tragically rare words from the mouth of a top US official: “When you’re serious about peace, give us a call.”

»


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