July 15th

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

Blair Cancels Gaza Visit After Threats ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Peter Walker - July 15, 2008 - 3:00pm Tony Blair today cancelled a planned visit to Gaza in his role as Middle East peace envoy after what his spokeswoman described as threats made against him. The planned trip would have been the highest-level diplomatic mission to the territory since the militant Hamas group seized control of it a year ago. Ruti Winterstein, Blair's spokeswoman, said the visit had been called off because of "specific threats" against the former prime minister, giving no further details. » Read more

Marwan Muasher Stresses Importance of A Two-State Solution for Arab Reform Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 26, 2008 - 12:00am On Friday, June 27, the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) hosted a discussion the National Press Club in Washington of “The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation” (Yale University Press, 2008) with its author, Dr. Marwan Muasher. Dr. Muasher is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and Information Minister of Jordan, as well as Jordan’s first Ambassador to Israel. Read more

In A Typical Week In Gaza, No News Is Good News ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Quds by Sami Abdel-shafi - (Opinion) July 25, 2008 - 8:00pm ?TAKE A PHOTO of me now, for tomorrow I may be dead,? young Gazans shout as they attend their friends? funerals. Death found the man buried today, for example, while he was at yesterday?s funeral for his friend. Such uncertainty about life, with everyone aware that for them tomorrow may not come, spawns a darkly tragic humor. If an Israeli sniper doesn?t hit his mark, perhaps a tank, F-16 or Hellfire missile will. And God help those who survive. Israel?s ongoing siege of Gaza leaves the hospitals nearly bare of life-saving medicines and bandages. » Read more