ATFP Senior Fellow Gives Graduate Seminar at Georgetown
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 22, 2010 - 1:00am

ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish lectured at a graduate seminar at Georgetown University on Islam, perceptions of Islam and Islamophobia in the United States on February 16, 2010. Ibish gave the Georgetown graduate students a brief rundown on the essential elements of the Islamic faith, but concentrated most of his talk on the evolution of Western perceptions of Islam and Muslims.


Clinton: US can't force Israel, PA into peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 15, 2010 - 1:00am

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday made an unusual acknowledgement of frustrations with the long-frozen Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process. Speaking at the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, on the first day of a trip to the Middle East, Clinton said, know people are disappointed that we have not yet achieved a breakthrough.”

»

Congressman says US should break Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
February 15, 2010 - 1:00am

The United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver badly needed supplies by sea, a U.S. congressman told Gaza students. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, also urged President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy to visit the Hamas-ruled territory to get a firsthand look at the destruction caused by Israeli's military offensive last year. The Obama administration, like its predecessor, shuns Hamas because the Islamic militant group refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence.

»

Erekat to hold talks with Hillary Clinton in Qatar late Sunday
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat revealed that he will hold talks on Sunday night with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Qatar. "I will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Doha, Qatar to receive U.S. answers to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas questions related to holding indirect peace talks with Israel," Erekat told Xinhua on telephone from Qatar.

»

Palestinians question US on reviving peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Maamoun Youssef - February 6, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinians have asked the Obama administration to clarify a U.S. envoy's proposal to restart long-stalled peace talks with Israel indirectly by shuttling between the two sides, the Palestinian president said Saturday. The talks collapsed a year ago during Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Efforts by President Barack Obama since then to revive them have failed in large part over the issue of Israel's settlement construction in areas the Palestinians want for a future state.

»

Jordan king urges more peace efforts from Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
February 2, 2010 - 1:00am

US President Barack Obama telephoned Jordan's King Abdullah II to discuss efforts to "overcome obstacles" facing the launch of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, the palace said. "The two leaders discussed Middle East developments, mainly efforts aimed at overcoming obstacles facing the launch of serious and effective Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in line with a two-state solution," a palace statement said.

»

Obama: US backs Israel, sympathizes with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 29, 2010 - 1:00am

US President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the United States would always ensure Israel's security but that Washington must also pay attention to the plight of the Palestinians. The president, speaking at a town-hall meeting on various issues, was responding to a question about why, if the US truly supports human rights, it has not called out Israel and Egypt for abuses against Palestinians, apparently in reference to the blockade of Gaza.

»

Mitchell’s futile diplomacy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

The long-awaited tour of American envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell consisted of much fanfare but yielded no tangible results to speak of. Both parties to the conflict refused to budge: the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, refuses to join the peace process until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to freeze settlement activity, and the Israeli government refuses to meet this Palestinian demand, considering it an unacceptable precondition.

»

U.S. Pressures Abbas on Peace Talks, Official Says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Saud Abu Ramadan, Gwen Ackerman - January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

The U.S. is putting pressure on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resume peace talks with Israel while avoiding confrontation with the Jewish state, a senior Palestinian official said. “Washington, along with the international community, is pressuring the Palestinians without obliging Israel to stop settlement construction,” Nabil Shaath, a member of the decision-making Central Committee of Abbas’s Fatah party, said today in an e-mailed statement.

»

The Arabs and the American Guarantees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Abdullah Iskandar - (Opinion) January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

All what the Palestinian cause, its tragedies and deadlocks needed was the virtual battle between Qatar and Egypt, with what each one of them represents in Arab politics, a battle over what the Arabs ask President Barack Obama's administration for, and who was entrusted with conveying these demands. While this virtual battle comes in the framework of role competition and media attention, it reveals at the same time the Arab predicament before the Arab diplomatic movement. In every Arab capital, the US presidential envoy George Mitchell will hear a different talk.

»


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