February 17th

A new enemy for Gaza smugglers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Ashraf Khalil - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Reporting from Rafah, Gaza Strip -- The tunnel owners sit around the fire, passing cups of sweet tea and talking bitterly about the siege. But on this early February morning they're not talking about the Israeli jets and their occasional airstrikes on the hundreds of tunnels that worm their way from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, slipping in supplies and, some say, weapons. Instead, the Palestinians' fury is directed at the Egyptian government, which in the wake of this winter's Israeli offensive has cracked down on the Gaza tunnel trade, choking the flow of goods.

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West Bank Land Seized As Israel Looks to Build
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Karin Laub - February 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Plans to expand a West Bank settlement by up to 2,500 homes drew Palestinian condemnation Monday and presented an early test for President Obama, whose Middle East envoy is well known for opposing such construction. Israel opened the way for possible expansion of the Efrat settlement by taking control of a nearby West Bank hill of 423 acres. The rocky plot was recently designated state land and is part of a master plan that envisions the settlement growing from 9,000 to 30,000 residents, Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi said.

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Report: Ahmed Qureia dismissed as PA negotiator in Israel talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jackie Khoury - February 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed Ahmed Qureia from his position as the PA's senior negotiator in talks with Israel, the pan-Arab paper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported Tuesday. Abbas has shifted responsibility for the peace negotiations from Qureia, a veteran PA official, to Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Liberation Organization's representative for the negotiations, the London-based paper said.

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Why has Israel backtracked on Shalit deal?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - (Analysis) February 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's behavior in the past few days in the discussions for the Shalit deal and the cease-fire agreement has put the Egyptian mediators off balance.

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A ‘second life’ for public diplomacy in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Muhammad Ayish - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Last month’s inauguration of US President Barack Obama has sent a gripping sense of anticipation throughout the Arab region where a potential shift in how America sees its image around the world is being received with optimism. We have come to learn that improving the United States’s image among Muslim populations in particular has topped the list of urgent issues requiring the attention of President Obama and Congress.

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Israel Takes Control of More West Bank Land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel has taken control of a large chunk of land near a prominent West Bank settlement, paving the way for the possible construction of 2,500 settlement homes, officials said Monday, in a new challenge to Mideast peacemaking.

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Transitional Palestinian Government by April
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Salaah Jum'ah - February 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian sources said that Egypt informed all the Palestinian factions, which have been invited to attend inter-Palestinian dialogue in Cairo on 22 February, of the need to form a transitional Palestinian government by no later than April. The sources said that this government's task will be to run the PNA affairs, prepare for presidential and legislative elections to be held in January next year, and to coordinate with the donor parties to rebuild what the Israeli war machine destroyed until a new government takes office.

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Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
by Mehdi Khalaji - February 12, 2009 - 1:00am

During a February trip to Iran, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal praised Iranian leaders for their support during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, a further indication of the strengthening ties between the Sunni Islamist group, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, and the Shiite regime in Tehran. Mashal's statements come on the heels of the U.S. Treasury Department's terrorist designations of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives sheltered in Iran.

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February 16th

ATFP Urges US Government to Take Action on New Planned Israeli Settlement
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - February 16, 2009 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Feb. 16 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today urged the United States government to use its influence to work with the Israeli government to stop announced plans for a major expansion of the Givat Ha'eytam settlement in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli occupation Civil Administration has reportedly declared 1,700 dunams (approximately 370 acres) of land in the northern part of the Efrat settlement, south of Jerusalem between Bethlehem and Hebron, to be “state land,” which sets the stage for the potential construction of 2,500 new settlement housing units.


February 13th

MJ Rosenberg reviews yesterday’s congressional hearing on Gaza at which ATFP testified (1). Numerous analyses examined the results of Israel’s election (2), (3), (4), (5), (9), (11), (15). Speculation continues on a Hamas-Israel truce including the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (6), (7), while violence continues to flare up (10), (13). The Daily Star analyzes the future of the Palestinian Authority after the Gaza war and the Israeli elections (8), while Hamad Al-Majid it considers what a process of “Somalization” would look like for the Palestinian political scene (12). Raghida Dergham argues that President Obama’s commitment to “justice and moderation” does not bode well for Middle Eastern figures hoping to evade tribunals and trials (14).

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