ATFP Op-ed: Miscalculation In Print by Ziad Asali - The Washington Times (Opinion) - June 17, 2008 - 12:00am Since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza last June, a pattern of tit-for-tat provocation has defined the organization's relationship with Israel. » Read more

ATFP, Secretary Rice, Private Sector Leaders Promote Investment in Palestine Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 28, 2008 - 12:00am Washington DC, April 29 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today convened a meeting of American private sector business leaders and leaders of the US-Palestinian Public-Private Partnership initiative to explore opportunities for investment in Palestine in the run-up to the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem on May 21-23, 2008. Partnership chair Walter Isaacson and co-chairs Jean Case and ATFP President Ziad J. Asali attended the meeting at the State Department along with Secretary Rice and other senior government officials. Read more

Eu Raps Israeli Settlements After Med Union Summit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller, Paul Taylor - July 15, 2008 - 3:09pm The European Union criticised Israel on Monday for what it called continued settlement activity on Palestinian land, while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was still in Paris after a Euro-Mediterranean summit. A statement issued by the French EU presidency said the 27-nation bloc was "deeply concerned" by an Israeli decision to issue a call for tenders for new housing units in Arab East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. "This decision serves to undermine the credibility of the ongoing diplomatic process," the EU statement said. » Read more

ATFP President Named as Member of Presidential Delegation to Palestine Investment Conference Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 14, 2008 - 12:00am President George W. Bush today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Bethlehem to attend the Palestine Investment Conference May 21-23, 2008. The Honorable Robert M. Kimmitt, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Treasury, will lead the delegation. Members of the Presidential Delegation: The Honorable John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce The Honorable Robert Mosbacher, Jr.,President and Chief Executive Officer, Overseas Private Investment Corporation Read more

ATFP Event: Raja Shedadeh Discusses the Vanishing Landscape of Palestine Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 29, 2008 - 12:00am Washington, DC, May 30 – The transformation of the landscape of the occupied territories is inextricably linked to the erosion of Palestinian rights, living conditions and national prospects, according to prominent Palestinian attorney and activist Raja Shehadeh. He spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on Friday, May 30, at a briefing hosted by the Foundation for Middle East Peaceand the American Task Force on Palestine. Read more

Palestinian Court Sentences Collaborators To Death ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Wael Al-ahmed, Mohammed Assadi - July 15, 2008 - 3:06pm A Palestinian military court on Tuesday sentenced two Palestinians to death by firing squad for collaborating with Israel, a court statement said. The three-judge military court in the northern West Bank city of Jenin ruled that Wael Said Saad and Mohammad Saad had "contacted the enemy". They were found guilty of "treason" and sentenced to death by firing squad. However, it is unlikely the men will be put to death because the sentence must be authorised by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has never before taken such a step. » Read more

Palestinians: Idf Arrests Three Hamas Officials In Nablus Raid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press July 15, 2008 - 3:05pm Israel Defense Forces troops early Tuesday arrested three Hamas council members in a raid on the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Over the past year, Israel has arrested Nablus' Hamas mayor and six of the Hamas-controlled municipal council's 14 members in its efforts to crack down on the militant group's activities in the West Bank The IDF did not immediately comment on the raid, which occurred in the early hours of the morning. Witnesses and residents say a total of 24 Hamas members were arrested, including the municipal officials. » Read more

Palestinian-Americans Concerned about New Jerusalem Settlement Plans Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 1, 2008 - 12:00am Washington, DC, June 2 – New Israeli settlement expansions in and around occupied East Jerusalem threaten prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, according to the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP). On Monday ATFP warned that further Israeli construction in and around Jerusalem dangerously prejudiced final status talks and made the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem more difficult. Read more

ADC, AAI, and ATFP meet with State Department Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 18, 2008 - 12:00am On June 19, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the American-Arab Institute (AAI), and the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP) met with State Department officials from the Bureau of Consular affairs, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to discuss the practice of denying entry to US citizens of Palestinian or Arab descent into Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Read more

Hamas-israel Prisoner Swap Remains Elusive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Khaled Moussa Al-omrani, Adam Morrow - July 15, 2008 - 3:01pm Despite intensive mediation efforts by Egyptian officials, a delegation from Palestinian resistance faction Hamas departed Cairo Saturday (Jul. 12) without securing a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. According to local analysts, fresh swap proposals -- featuring the release of long-time Israeli captive Gilaad Shalit -- continue to run up against Israeli obduracy. "The respective positions of Israel and Hamas are still miles apart," Abdel-Halim Kandil, political analyst and editor-in-chief of independent weekly Sout al-Umma, told IPS. » Read more