March 13th

ATFP Welcomes Political, Verbal and Financial Support Extended President Abbas by President Bush
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 26, 2005 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, May 26 –- The American Task Force on Palestine welcomed the remarks made today by President Bush in a White House Rose Garden press conference held with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. The press conference followed a meeting between President Bush and President Abbas, the first meeting for a Palestinian president at the White House since 2000. Commenting on the President’s statements, ATFP president Dr. Ziad Asali said: “The Palestinians came to Washington seeking clear U.S.


New Settlements Could Scuttle Diplomatic Progress, Undermine Roadmap
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 21, 2005 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Mar. 21 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed grave concerns about reports that the Israeli government has confirmed plans to build 3,500 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank in order to deepen its hold on Jerusalem.


ATFP Briefs House Committee: 'Timely US Participation in Palestinian, Israeli Security Essential'
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 10, 2005 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Feb. 10 -- American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) testified today at a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations briefing on “The Way Forward in the Mideast Peace Process.” The committee heard testimony from Henry A. Kissinger, former Secretary of State; Dennis A. Ross, former chief Middle East peace negotiator; Ziad Asali, President of ATFP; and Danielle Pletka, Vice President Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.


ATFP Briefing at Middle East Institute 'A President Without a State'
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 24, 2005 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Jan. 24 -- American Task Force on Palestine President Ziad Asali gave a briefing today at the Middle East Institute on the prospects for the future following the recent Palestinian presidential elections. Asali had observed the Palestinian presidential elections as part of the official delegation from the United States. He characterized Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected president by 62 percent of voters, as “a president without a state.”


ATFP Voices Extreme Concern at Israeli Cabinet Decision to Confiscate Palestinian Land in East Jerusalem
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 24, 2005 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Jan. 24 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), voiced its extreme concern at the revelation that the Israeli cabinet decided in July 2004 to apply the Absentee Property Law to East Jerusalem. This decision in effect means that thousands of Palestinians who live in the West Bank will lose ownership of hundreds of acres of their property in East Jerusalem, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with no hope of compensation or appeal. The law was originally passed in secret, the public was not made aware of it and it was not published in the official government gazette.


Fledgling Palestinian Democracy Needs Support of Palestinians, World
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - January 12, 2005 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Jan 12. -- The American Task Force on Palestine hosted a briefing at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace by Ziad Asali, MD and George Salem, Esq., who returned Monday from observing the Palestinian elections as part of the official U.S. delegation. The delegation was headed by Senators Joseph Biden and John Sununu.


ATFP Offers Condolences to the Palestinian People on the Death of Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - November 11, 2004 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Nov. 11 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) offered its condolences today on the passing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, to his family and to the Palestinian people. Chairman Arafat passed away today at a hospital in Paris, France.


Beyond Revenge: Support Peace, Tolerance, & Reconciliation
Speech by Ziad Asali at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - October 21, 2004 - 12:00am

We are here today to pay respect to members of the families whose lives have been shattered by the untimely and violent and death of their relatives. They are here today, not just to share their grief, but also to share it publicly so other parents will be spared this unspeakable pain.

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Three right-wing Israeli parties vie for the important housing portfolio under Prime-Minister designate Netanyahu (1), while concern continues to mount about the rightward shift of a new Israeli government (10) (13). Israel has reportedly agreed to free all 450 prisoner demanded by Hamas in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit (2). Officials from Hamas and Fatah report that there are still major obstacles to be overcome as national accord government talks continue in Cairo (4). The Palestinian Center for Human Rights releases their statistics on the Gaza war (7). A Palestinian youth is killed in the West Bank after allegedly throwing explosives at an Israeli military vehicle (8).

Comprehensive Solution to Conflict Necessary to Salvage Two-State Solution
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - October 18, 2004 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Oct. 18 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) hosted a briefing today by Yasser Abed Rabbo, on strategies for salvaging the two-state solution. Abed Rabbo is an author of the Geneva Accords, a leader of the Palestine Peace Coalition and a member of the PLO’s executive committee. ‘Partial’ or ‘unilateral’ solutions such as Israel’s Gaza withdrawal plan will invariably fail with tragic consequences, Abed Rabbo stressed.



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