PLO condemns U.S. congress resolution against Palestinian state recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 16, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Thursday condemned a United States congress resolution opposing the Palestinian quest to gain international recognition of their future state. The resolution of the U.S. house of representatives "is unjustified and doesn't help the U.S. administration's role as a sponsor of the peace process in the Middle East," said Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee.

»

U.S. can't make Mideast leaders want peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) December 16, 2010 - 1:00am

The Obama administration needs to chill — and stop being so hard on itself when it comes to Arab-Israeli peace making. No sooner has one approach to the peace process failed than the administration gets busy launching another. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week outlined one more new approach to broker an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement — by tackling borders and security first. And the tenacious Amb. George Mitchell is now in the region promoting it.

»

Untenable status quo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Now it is out in the open that the US has given up trying to convince Israel to stop its settlement activities on Palestinian lands, including East Jerusalem. It is either because Israel is not listening or that the US administration does not want to be forceful enough. The end result is that the euphoria generated earlier by the resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is short-lived.

»

Dropping Goal of Direct Talks, U.S. Will Now Test Both Sides on Core Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised that he will “surprise the critics and the skeptics” with his willingness to demonstrate flexibility and to compromise in order to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. Now, with Washington adopting a new approach toward Middle East peacemaking, Netanyahu’s willingness is about to be put to the test.

»

Congress: PA funding could hinge on state declaration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - December 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Members of Congress are warning that American funding of the Palestinian Authority could be threatened by efforts to advance a unilateral declaration of statehood. “Pursuing a non-negotiated path to statehood is a fool’s errand. Palestinians want a state, not a declaration. Their only way to achieve that is through direct negotiations with Israel,” California Democrat Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

»

After setback, US resumes Mideast peace push
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - December 13, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — The U.S. Mideast envoy returned to the region on Monday, seeking to revive troubled peace efforts after a major setback in which Washington abandoned efforts to coax Israel to freeze Jewish settlement in areas Palestinians want for a future state. The envoy, George Mitchell, was expected to push the Israelis and Palestinians for progress on key issues at the heart of their conflict. But in a reflection of the difficulties ahead, Mitchell was being forced to meet separately with the sides during the two-day visit, and expectations for a breakthrough were low.

»

Abbas Don’t Go
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Shifts in US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, prove that it is the making of amateurs, who do not hesitate to back down every time they are confronted with a problem, and who do not refrain from 180 degrees turnarounds every time difficulties appear before the ideas they have put forward to resolve any issue or crisis. Such frivolity was revealed by the WikiLeaks documents, which showed that most US diplomats all over the world were like eavesdropping workers who report what they hear here and there superficially and without any analysis, mixing up rumors and facts.

»

U.S. to hold separate peace talks with Israel, Palestinians: official
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

A senior Palestinian official revealed on Wednesday that the United States informed the Palestinian leadership that it wants to hold separate peace talks with Israel and the Palestinians. "We received an oral letter from the American Administration expressing its desire to hold separate talks with Israel and the Palestinians over the peace process," Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee told Voice of Palestine Radio.

»

Giving up is not an option
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Introduction The Administration has mercifully, and honestly, admitted that the time has come to abandon its policy of seeking a settlement freeze as a path to negotiations.  It will pay a political price and will be blamed and endure the gloating of its critics. However, at the end of the day, the US government will be the one that everyone else will look to for providing answers and driving policy.  The two-state solution is the unchanging American policy because it is in our own national strategic interest.

»

U.S. official: Obama does not and will not condone Israel's settlement activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The United States does not and will not accept Israel's continued West Bank settlement activity, a top U.S. official said on Monday, stating that the fact that Washington no longer supports a temporary settlement freeze did not mean it condones continued building. The comment by State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley came as U.S. officials had confirmed that negotiations between Jerusalem and Washington over a new partial moratorium on settlement construction and on the terms of the guarantees proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama have hit a dead end.

»


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