June 25th

Netanyahu - a slow learner
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Paul Woodward - June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

During his historic speech in Cairo earlier this month, the US president Barack Obama said: "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop." On Tuesday, The Guardian reported: "Israel's defence ministry has proposed legalising 60 existing homes at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, and building another 240 homes at the site, despite US calls for a halt to settlement growth.

»

Palestinian groups round up rivals
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK // On June 14, Fatah and Hamas, the estranged main Palestinian factions, seemingly moved a step closer to reconciliation when representatives met in Ramallah and Gaza City and agreed to begin releasing prisoners held by both sides. But 10 days later, with a security sweep in the West Bank that netted more than 100 Hamas members, and the closing of a Gaza newspaper and the arrest of its editor, the rivals appear instead to have taken two strides backward.

»

Netanyahu's demand on Israel's 'Jewishness' is arbitrary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Abraham Yehoshua - (Opinion) June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Ever since the 1967 Middle East war, a small number of Israelis, not all on the left, supported the idea of two states as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most of their compatriots rejected it, as did the Palestinians. Israelis justified their stance with this question: Just when did the Palestinians become a nation deserving of statehood? The Palestinians were asking in return: Why should the Jews, a religious community dispersed around the world, have their own state?

»

Obama opened "window of hope" says Arab League
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Cynthia Johnston - June 24, 2009 - 12:00am

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League said on Wednesday it saw a "window of hope" for Middle East peace and Arab states would respond positively to U.S. President Barack Obama's vision for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. But the league likened negotiating with Israel while settlements were continuing to expand as tantamount to surrendering on "matters over which we cannot surrender."

»

Israel army to curtail operations in four West Bank cities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it would curtail its military activities in four West Bank cities to help a U.S.-backed move to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The announcement, that will give Palestinian security forces a free hand to operate in the cities, coincided with efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease tensions with U.S. President Barack Obama over stalled peacemaking with the Palestinians.

»

Israeli settlements vs.Tuscan towers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 25 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says constructing towers like those in a Tuscan village would solve the natural growth needs in West Bank settlements. A reporter from the Maariv newspaper who accompanied Netanyahu on his European trip, said Thursday Netanyahu revealed his vision to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, citing the Tuscan village of San Geminano as an example. The report said Berlusconi told Netanyahu the towers in the village are empty, to which Netanyahu retorted, "With us they will be full."

»

Hillary Is Wrong About the Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Elliott Abrams - June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Despite fervent denials by Obama administration officials, there were indeed agreements between Israel and the United States regarding the growth of Israeli settlements on the West Bank. As the Obama administration has made the settlements issue a major bone of contention between Israel and the U.S., it is necessary that we review the recent history.

»

Landmark Fatah leadership conference set for 4 August in Bethlehem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Ramallah – Ma’an - After 37 rounds of talks Fatah leaders pegged 4 August as the date for the sixth Revolutionary Council meeting to be held in Bethlehem. It will be the first Fatah leadership meeting in twenty years. The decision was made at the government headquarters in Ramallah on Wednesday, in a two-day long meeting that set out the final details for the conference. There will be 1,550 active Fatah members attending the conference, and organizers asked Palestinian President and Fatah’s leader Mahmoud Abbas to ensure that members from abroad were included in the conference.

»

The Price of Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service
by Carlo Strenger - (Analysis) June 18, 2009 - 12:00am

TEL AVIV - Israel has very real reasons to be afraid. But the Netanyahu-Lieberman politics of fear that is supposed to justify occupation of the West Bank has catastrophic consequences, and the world no longer wants to listen to the cries, “The wolf, the wolf.” Here is how the dynamics works:

»

June 24th

Middle East Progress discusses the issue of Jerusalem with former Canadian Ambassador Michael Bell (1). A Paris meeting between Mideast Envoy George Mitchell and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is cancelled, as tensions continue over a settlement freeze (3) (4) (16). The Associated Press finds that more than a third of “natural” growth in existing settlements is due to Israelis migrating into the West Bank (5). Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s recent speech draws a strong reaction from within the Palestinian government (6). Russia announces that it will try to hold a Mideast Peace conference before the end of the year (9). The Israeli military removes several roadblocks in the West Bank (13).

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