ATFP Senior Fellow Describes New US-Israel Arrangement, Predicts Proximity Talks
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

ATFP Senior Hussein Ibish addressed a group of student activists at American University on April 24, 2010, telling them that the US-Israel standoff on settlements in Jerusalem open important, but limited, new opportunities to promote peace and an end to the occupation.


Pres. Abbas signals willingness on proximity talks. Roger Cohen sees reasons for hope. Lara Friedman and Daniel Seidemann list the top 10 myths on settlement activity promoted by Israel's Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who is interviewed by the LA Times. Two Palestinian children are being tried in a military court for stonethrowing. Abbas issues a decree banning settlement goods. Israel reprimands soldiers in "avoidable" deaths of four Palestinians. Palestinian girls participate in Intel's youth science fair. AP profiles PM Fayyad's new brand of politics. More reports suggest Israel has instituted a de facto settlement freeze in Jerusalem, and has demolished 10 settler houses. Palestinians agree to reshuffle the cabinet. Bradley Burston says hating Pres. Obama is becoming a religion in Israel. Haggai Alon says the siege of Gaza spurs Muslim anger.

Top 10 Myths Likely to be Heard from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in Washington this week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Lara Friedman - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

This week Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat will be in Washington. He will be holding meetings with Members of Congress, Administration officials, think tanks, and the press. These interactions offer an excellent opportunity to hear the mayor's views about the Jerusalem-related issues of contention right now between his government and the Obama Administration. While Mayor Barkat has a right to hold any opinions he wishes, the facts are important and, when and if he deviates from them, he should be challenged.

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A new style of politics in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is quietly changing the rules of the Arab-Israeli conflict with a simple credo: Palestinians have to build their state now and cannot wait for an elusive peace deal with Israel. He is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to get the Palestinians ready for statehood by August 2011 by trying to build it from the ground up: paving roads, reforming the judiciary, planning new cities.

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Gaza is the fuel for Muslim world's anti-Israel struggle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Haggai Alon - (Opinion) April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

The events of the past few days have created two illusions. One is that Israel and the United States are equal; the other is that the problem is Jerusalem. These illusions are dangerous for Israel, in that they create a dangerous diplomatic perception and self-image.

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Is there a de facto east Jerusalem construction freeze?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Abe Selig - April 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The government has imposed a de facto freeze on new Jewish construction projects in east Jerusalem despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s public insistence to the contrary, Jerusalem Municipality officials said on Monday. While whether the slowdown actually constitutes a moratorium, or how long it will last, remains unclear, the apparent freeze likely reflects Netanyahu’s need to mend the current rift with the US regarding construction over the Green Line, on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state, and to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

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Abbas 'ready' for proximity talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - April 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s readiness to enter proximity talks with Israel, which he announced during an interview with Channel 2 Monday evening, follows assurances the Palestinians received from US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell that the Israeli government would effectively freeze construction of new homes in some of Jerusalem’s neighborhoods, a PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post.

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Ritual terrorism: Hating Obama as a new form of religion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) April 26, 2010 - 12:00am

When I was young, I was taught that the purpose of religion was to foster compassion through lovingkindness, to seek peace by example, to perform with human hands the work of angels. Then I moved to the Holy Land.

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Israel razes 10 settlement houses built after freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson, Chaim Levinson - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel Defense Forces troops on Tuesday destroyed at least 10 structures built by Israeli nationalists in the West Bank following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration of a temporary settlement freeze last year. As security forces and Civil Administration officials arrived in the various outposts - which included East Ba'al Hatzor, Maoz Esther and Ramat Migron - settlers youths barricaded themselves in the structures to protest their demolition. Some of the teenagers also hurled burning tires at the security forces, leading to two arrests.

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Fatah okays cabinet reshuffle in exchange for more key portfolios
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party agreed that Prime Minister Salam Fayyad reshuffles his government but said that Fatah should enjoy more presentation in the cabinet, an official said on Tuesday. Fatah's Revolutionary Council, which convened for three days in Ramallah, "agreed that amendments should be applied on the structure of the government in a way giving the movement (Fatah) more sovereign roles," Ameen Maqboul, a council member, told Voice of Palestine radio.

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