Israel’s Settlement Expansion Plans Seriously Threaten All Hopes for Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from ATFP
February 27, 2009 - 1:00am


Washington DC, Feb. 27 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today warned that a series of planned major expansions in Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank constitute an exceptionally dangerous threat to the prospects of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.


Gaza gloom darkens West Bank springtime
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Douglas Hamilton - February 26, 2009 - 1:00am


This Palestinian village is about as far as you can get from the Gaza Strip without leaving the West Bank and crossing the river into Jordan -- which is forbidden. But the fallout from Israel's January blitz on the enclave is widespread. Along with the prospect of a hardline Israeli government that may order further action, it has all but drowned hopes of a peace deal to end four decades of occupation. Unlike Gaza, Palestinians here have not been bombed. They endure smaller prohibitions and injustices which, they say, remind them daily that they are not free in their own land.


27 Feb. '09: Settlement expansion plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from B'Tselem
February 27, 2009 - 1:00am


Following the Oslo agreement, Israel made a commitment to the United States that it would not build new settlements or expand existing ones, except to meet “natural growth.” This narrow allowance, never defined, was utilized by Israel to greatly expand settlements and build new settlements, such as Modi’in Ilit.


Israel’s Settlement Expansion Plans Seriously Threaten All Hopes for Peace
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Feb. 27 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today warned that a series of planned major expansions in Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank constitute an exceptionally dangerous threat to the prospects of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.


Israel planning mass expansion of West Bank settlement bloc
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am


Despite the state's formal commitment not to expand West Bank settlements, a government agency has been promoting plans over the past two years to construct thousands of housing units east of the Green Line, Haaretz has learned. The plans, which have not yet been approved by the government, were drawn up by the Civil Administration, the government agency responsible for nonmilitary matters in the West Bank. Details of the plans appear in the minutes of the agency's environmental subcommittee, which were obtained by the B'Tselem organization under the Freedom of Information Act.


Zero tolerance now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Lara Friedman, Hagit Ofran - (Opinion) February 27, 2009 - 1:00am


Media reports that Israel has approved the massive expansion of the West Bank settlement of Efrat represent the first lesson for the Obama administration as to why it must establish a policy of zero tolerance for settlement expansion before it is too late.


ATFP Board Member Participates in Kennedy Center Festival
Press Release - Contact Information: Alison Becker - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am

Mr. Farah Munayyer, Board member of the American Task Force on Palestine, and his wife Mrs. Hanan Munayyer, co-founders of the Palestinian Heritage Foundation, participated in Arabesque: Arts from the Arab World, at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The Festival that celebrates the culture of the Arab world was dedicated on Monday, February 23, 2009 will remain open to the public through March 15, 2009.


Is Obama ready for a Middle East Change?
Media Mention of ATFP In - February 20, 2009 - 1:00am

On Saturday, the Arab Student Association will host Dr. Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow of the American Task Force for Palestine in an event titled “Is Obama Ready for a Middle East Change?” via video conference from Washington, D.C. The event will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. in 2520-D University Capitol Centre, in the UI Core Conference Facility on the second floor.


CHF International Announces New Partnership with the American Charities for Palestine and the Sheikh Mohammad Shami Foundation
Media Mention of ATFP In - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am

CHF International is pleased to announce that in partnership with the American Charities for Palestine, with funding from the Sheikh Mohammed Shami Foundation, we have commenced a Three Hundred Thousand Dollar ($300,000) development project in the West Bank village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta. ACP, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a sister organization of ATFP dedicated to help build the education and health sectors in Palestine.


Obama Empowers Jewish Insurgency
Media Mention of ATFP In The Huffington Post - February 21, 2009 - 1:00am

The other day I was asked if the existence of Israel Policy Forum "really makes a difference." My interlocutor went on: "I would not expect you to have ended the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is not something Americans can do. But I would think you and your allies would have cut into the power of the right-wingers by now. But they still seem to own Capitol Hill, almost as if you guys didn't exist." It's a good question, but it is also one that I had no problem answering.



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