Pressure Israel by acting first
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
August 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Salam Fayyad is certainly doing his best to dominate the headlines ahead of his Israeli counterpart’s visit to Europe. As Benjamin Netanyahu met with Gordon Brown to discuss faltering peace talks yesterday, the world was atwitter over the Palestinian prime minister’s stated intention to declare a “de facto” Palestinian state within two years. For an Israeli premier under pressure from both the United States and at home and attempting to overcome a resurgence of anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe, Mr Fayyad’s announcement could not have come at a worse time. That, of course, is the point.

»

Pro-Israel group: Obama settlements policy backs 'ethnic cleansing' of Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gilad Halpern - August 23, 2009 - 12:00am

A pro-Israel lobby group in the U.S. has launched a project intent on shifting the focus of the Obama administration away from West Bank settlements, claiming they are not an obstacle to peace and that their evacuation would amount to "ethnic cleansing." A manual called Global Language Dictionary, circulated among supporters of the right-wing Israel Project group, seeks to develop a strategy to downplay the centrality of settlement freeze in the American efforts to press on with the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

»

US raps Israel over limit on Palestinian-Americans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Gavin Rabinowitz - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The United States has complained to Israel over rules that keep Palestinian-Americans from entering Israel, officials said Thursday. A travel update posted by the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem says that for some time, Israel has not permitted Palestinians who also hold American passports to enter through Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport, requiring that they use the Allenby Bridge land crossing from Jordan directly into the West Bank.

»

U.S. finalizing groundwork for resuming talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration will "finalize the steps" for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks in the next few weeks, the White House spokesman said. "The president said that Special Envoy (George) Mitchell would follow up with the parties in the next few weeks to finalize the steps they would take and lay the groundwork for resumption of negotiations," Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

»

Obama urges renewed Mideast peace talks as soon as possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama wants Israel and the Palestinians to restart stalled peace talks as soon as possible and urged both sides and the Arab states to take steps to advance the process, the White House said on Thursday. "Obama spoke by phone to Jordan's King Abdullah and agreed on the need to move forward on Middle East peace," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. The president has promised sustained engagement in the elusive quest for an Israeli-Palestian peace deal but has had trouble getting the sides to make conciliatory gestures.

»

Poll: Only 12 percent of Israelis believe Obama supports Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Only 12 percent of Israelis believe U.S. President Barack Obama's policies are supportive of Israel, according to a poll released on Thursday. The poll was conducted jointly by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Police and Survey Research and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was conducted between August 9 and 15. The poll also found that 64 per cent of Palestinians still feel Obama's policy is more supportive of Israel, while 40 per cent of Israelis think it is more support of the Palestinians.

»

Obama urges simultanous moves toward Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama, making a fresh bid to break the deadlock on Middle East peace, called on Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states on Thursday to act simultaneously to help kick-start negotiations. Obama's proposal seeks to overcome deep disagreement between Israelis and Arabs on which side should go first in conciliatory gestures to revive a peace process the president has promised to relaunch since taking office in January.

»

U.S. blasts Israeli restrictions on American travelers in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass, Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - August 20, 2009 - 12:00am

The United States has harshly criticized new Israeli restrictions placed on foreign nationals entering the West Bank via the Allenby Bridge, calling the new regulations 'unacceptable'. A report on the restrictions appeared in Haaretz last week. Earlier this week, a senior official at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv met with the head of the Foreign Ministry's consular division, Yigal Tzarfati, for clarifications on the new procedure, by which passports are stamped at the bridge with a directive limiting the bearer to areas of the Palestinian Authority only.

»

Netanyahu's Defiance of U.S. Resonates at Home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - August 19, 2009 - 12:00am

For five months, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been fending off U.S. pressure to halt the expansion of West Bank settlements. Now he is reaping dividends for his defiance. Although Israeli leaders have historically been reluctant to publicly break with the United States for fear of paying a price in domestic support, polls show that Netanyahu's strategy is working. And that means that after months of diplomacy, the quick breakthrough that President Obama had hoped would restart peace talks has instead turned into a familiar stalemate.

»

Israel agrees to freeze settlement construction as gesture to US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - August 18, 2009 - 12:00am

In a subtle overture to the US, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed upon a de facto moratorium on new building in the settlements. According to the estimates of officials involved, the freeze will be in effect until the beginning of 2010. The objective is to provide an opportunity for a Mideast peace process to gain momentum in hopes that the new "waiting" tactic will allow international recognition of Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem and the large settlement blocs.

»


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