April 28th

Israel won't honor outpost pledge
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Despite a 2002 road map commitment and years of pledges by successive prime ministers including Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel has no intention in the foreseeable future of dismantling any of 23 unauthorized West Bank outposts built after March 2001, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

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President Abbas addresses the Israeli public through their TV sets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sought to soothe Israeli worries about a potential unilateral declaration by the Palestinians of their independence by next year. “We have always opposed unilateralism and we are not going to be the ones who will carry out unilateral steps,” said Abbas in an interview with Israel’s TV Ch 2 on Monday, 25 April 2010.

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April 27th

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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