Israel demands written US guarantees before freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel has demanded the United States provide written security guarantees before it votes on whether to agree to freeze Jewish settlement building in the West Bank, an Israeli political source said on Tuesday. The source added that Palestinian opposition to some of the pledges that Washington has verbally offered Israel was delaying progress towards finalising U.S. proposals for resuming the stalled Middle East peace talks.


In deposition, porn claims made and AIPAC officials admit lack of policy on classified info
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

AIPAC officials acknowledged in depositions that the organization only recently adopted a stated policy forbidding the receipt of classified information. The depositions also produced claims regarding the viewing of pornographic materials on office computers. The depositions are part of a brief filed earlier this month in the District of Columbia Superior Court by lawyers for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee seeking the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit by Steve Rosen, AIPAC’s former foreign policy chief.

»

An Expensive Bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Ali Ibrahim - November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

My initial impression of the price that Israel will receive, in return for agreeing to new U.S. proposals to stop settlement construction for 90 days, is that it is an expensive bill. Modern military aircraft worth $3 billion, for free, political and security pledges to veto any Security Council resolution against Israel, and most importantly, this is a proposal to stop only the latest process of settlement construction.

»

The US cannot continue to enable Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

An enabler is not the same thing as a friend. In its relationship with Israel, the United States has rarely understood the difference.

»

Second squadron of F-35s is ‘an offer hard to refuse’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz - November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Top IDF officers and Defense Ministry officials claimed Sunday that the arrival of a second squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters was of critical importance for the security of the State of Israel. In an effort to convince the Netanyahu government to impose a three-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, the Obama administration offered Israel last week a long list of security and diplomatic benefits, including 20 F-35s for free.

»

What exactly does Obama expect from Netanyahu?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from his journey to the United States with an American dictate: Freeze settlements for three months, during which time speedy negotiations will be held to determine the future border between Israel and Palestine. To soften the impression that this would be seen as giving in to U.S. pressure and to make it easier to gain cabinet approval for the freeze, the dictate was padded with political and security goodies, which can be summed up as such: stealth military aircraft in exchange for an end to Netanyahu's evasive tactics.

»

Netanyahu poised to win razor-thin support for West Bank freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will apparently be able to muster a majority of his diplomatic-security cabinet to approve an additional 90-day freeze on West Bank settlement construction in exchange for an incentive package from the United States. But Netanyahu's majority will be a razor-thin one, made possible only by Shas ministers' agreement to either abstain or absent themselves from the vote.

»

The Palestinians are in the driving seat, their time is now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

"Turkey? Yes," "Russia? Yes," "United Kingdom? Yes," "United States? Abstain," "Israel? No." This is how a vote at the United Nations on the recognition of an independent Palestine may sound. And really, why should the Palestinians not demand international recognition of their state? In such a move it could shake the peace process and extricate it from the strangle hold in which Palestine and Israel are caught.

»

Madam Secretary’s Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

LONDON — I like the look of President Barack Obama’s new Middle East envoy, a person with broad experience, the trust of Israelis, growing support among West Bank Palestinians and a fierce personal conviction that a peace accord is essential not only for the parties but for United States national security. Damon Winter/The New York Times Roger Cohen Go to Columnist Page » Related Times Topic: Hillary Rodham Clinton Readers' Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (17) »

»

The Price of Success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

After 20 months, Barack Obama's administration may be close to injecting some much-needed stability into the on-again, off-again Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The deal concluded last week in New York between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- if it gets through the Israeli cabinet and the Palestinians -- should allow the negotiations to resume in the wake of a three-month moratorium on settlements. But as I've written before, the administration shouldn't pray for anything it really doesn't want and isn't prepared for.

»


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