U.S.-Israel Relations | The American Task Force on Palestine

Obama's draft speech to urge '67 borders, negate PA's state bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama is set to give his next political speech at 6pm Thursday, just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves for Washington and according to a draft of the speech, obtained by Yedioth Ahronoth, the American president's Middle East policy, though unwavering, may not be as discordant as some have feared. Obama is expected to urge Israel to return to the 1967 lines while negating the Palestinian Authority's planned unilateral bid for statehood in September.

Netanyahu and Obama: is this the final showdown?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

This week the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington on a diplomatic mission. His goal is formidable: pre-empting the "diplomatic tsunami" threatening Israel in September, the Palestinians' target date for declaring their internationally sanctioned statehood within the pre-1967 borders. Netanyahu wants to keep the US at his side while preserving the territorial status quo in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Obama says Mideast peace bid needed more than ever
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Matt Spetalnick - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the political upheaval sweeping the Arab world made it "more vital than ever" to revive long-stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah at the start of a week of intense Middle East diplomacy, Obama pledged to keep pressing for a two-state solution to the conflict, despite his failed efforts so far and dim prospects for a renewed peace drive.

Bibi and Barack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Reading the headlines from the Middle East these days — Christians and Muslims clashing in Egypt, Syria attempting to crush its democracy rebellion and Palestinians climbing over fences into Israel — you get the sense of a region where the wheels could really start to come off.

Netanyahu, headed to Washington, is pressed to take initiative in peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Pressed at home and abroad to take the initiative and break the impasse in Middle East peacemaking, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington this week with demands and hints of compromise, while accusing the Palestinians of slamming the door on peace. But with no bold plan of his own to put on the table, Netanyahu has drawn fire from domestic critics who say he risks leaving the field open to the Palestinians, whose drive for recognition of statehood at the United Nations in September is gathering steam.

President 'Yes, I Can' Meets Prime Minister 'No, You Won't'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 17, 2011 - 12:00am

This week at the White House, President "Yes, I can" will sit down with Prime Minister "No, you won't." The main agenda item will be the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, an enterprise that might be best described -- at least for now -- as the walking dead. But no matter. When you're the change president, you must believe even when reality tells another tale. Energized by transformative changes in the Arab world and genuinely worried that no negotiations spells trouble for America, President Barack Obama wants to push for big things on the peace process.

Netanyahu Knesset speech may be precursor to DC visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Rebecca Anna Stoil, Gil Hoffman, Tovah Lazaroff - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binaymin Netanyahu is expected to fire the opening round at the Knesset Monday, in what is expected to be the start of a nine-day diplomatic marathon of key events, stretching from Jerusalem to Washington. Israeli officials advise that those who want to speculate as to the contents of Netanyahu’s much-touted speech in Washington before a special meeting of Congress on May 24th, should pay attention to his words in the Knesset Monday, when the summer session officially opens.

Israel Leader Outlines Points Before U.S. Trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet with President Obama, he laid out his principles Monday for accepting a Palestinian state, showing greater flexibility on territory but still pursuing a far more hawkish approach than any Palestinian leader is likely to accept. He also made clear that if the recent reconciliation accord between Hamas and Fatah, the two main Palestinian parties, led to Hamas becoming part of a Palestinian government, no peace would be negotiated.

Israeli leader's upcoming U.S. trip loses steam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - May 16, 2011 - 12:00am

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to embark on a U.S. trip his aides once said would include a "historic" announcement designed to jump-start the Middle East peace process, there's a growing consensus that neither Israel nor Washington is ready to make any bold moves after all. Some of the pressure Israel was facing from the U.S. and Europe has been at least temporarily lifted by the international unease over a May 4 reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, officials and analysts say.

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