ATFP Deplores Attacks on Israelis near Hebron
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Washington DC, Aug. 31 - ATFP strongly deplores the attack near Hebron in which four Israelis were killed. Such terrorist attacks are morally repugnant and should be vigorously combated and condemned. ATFP urges the parties to cooperate in identifying and punishing the perpetrators and planners of this crime. ATFP also calls upon the parties to thwart the objectives of the terrorists through renewing their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution that will put a permanent end to the conflict.


The outlines of a Palestinian state are emerging in the West Bank. The New York Times says direct talks are another serious chance for peace, and the LA Times says they are better than the alternative. Richard Cohen says both sides must make compromises. PM Fayyad apologizes for the disruption of anti-negotiation activities in the West Bank and says a self-sufficient economy is the next PA goal. Two thirds of Palestinians back negotiations with Israel. The PA issues a new document outlining the second year of state building. Israel is considering “goodwill” gestures to the Palestinians. Fayyad says PM Netanyahu must explain his understanding of a Palestinian “state” and that negotiations are at a make or break moment. The prominent rabbi who wished death on all Palestinians now says he understands the need for extending the settlement freeze. Israelis anticipate US military aid in the event of an agreement. Gershon Baskin looks at lessons from previous negotiations. The Forward looks at the new “Emergency Committee for Israel.” Ghassan Khatib warns that a pragmatic two state solution may become impossible. Yossi Alpher mocks the right wing Israeli version of a “one-state solution."

Panic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

he idea of a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seemingly never ceases to surprise and even entertain. It used to be official PLO policy, before the PNC adopted the two-state solution over 20 years ago. In recent years, with the two-state solution going nowhere, there has been a revival of interest in the one-state idea in Palestinian intellectual circles and even among some Palestinian citizens of Israel.

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The pragmatic solution may become practically impossible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The idea of the one-state solution keeps popping up, particularly when the two-state solution is undergoing difficulties. Maybe this is because people in the region are unable to imagine anything other than one- or two-state solutions. Recently, and in view of the serious difficulties facing the peace process as well as the evident drift toward radicalization and the political right in both Israel and Palestine, we have again begun hearing the idea of a one-state solution.

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New Conservative Group Targets Democrats Working With J Street
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

With two months left before the midterm elections, a hawkish group is targeting several congressional Democrats who last January signed a letter sponsored by J Street, the dovish Israel lobby, pressing the administration to get Israel to loosen its blockade of Gaza. As the newly founded Emergency Committee for Israel airs attack ads against these congressional candidates, J Street is responding with a campaign of its own seeking to discredit the group as extreme and out of sync with the mainstream Jewish community.

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Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad signals make or break for two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, warned today that a "moment of reckoning" was approaching as Israel and the Palestinian Authority prepare to embark this week on their first direct negotiations for 20 months. Setting out his second-year plans to build the institutions and framework of a Palestinian state, due to be completed in 12 months, Fayyad said the talks "can and must" succeed or the chances of a two-state solution to the conflict would fade.

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Encountering Peace: The indefatigable peacemaker’s advice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

There won’t be many more opportunities to make it work. That is the growing consensus. Even if the public does not sense it, there is a real urgency; we must move toward reaching an agreement. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolvable. There are solutions to all problems. In addition to the multiple rounds of Track I negotiations that have taken place since Madrid in 1991, there have also been thousands of hours of informal Track II negotiations in which a couple of hundred Israeli and Palestinian experts have participated and have reached understandings and “shelf agreements.”

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US may give Israel arms in exchange for concessions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon - August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel is looking into the possibility that it will receive an arms package as compensation from the United States in the event that it reaches a peace agreement with the Palestinians that entails significant concessions, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Israel’s argument is that there is a need to compensate for security assets that would be lost under a deal that would necessitate a withdrawal from almost all of the West Bank.

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Rabbi Yosef gives PM breathing space on building freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Atilla Somfalvi - August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

Just hours before he takes off for the US for the start of direct talks with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received surprising political reinforcement from Shas even as it remains unclear how he will maneuver around the continuation of the West Bank settlement building moratorium demanded by the US and the Palestinians. Ynet learned that Shas is prepared to allow Netanyahu "breathing space" after the building freeze expires not to stick to his original promise to renew construction throughout the West Bank.

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Fayyad: Netanyahu must explain his definition of 'Palestinian state'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - August 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday forecast a "moment of reckoning" in the coming weeks when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to explain what kind of state he has in mind for the Palestinians. The Palestinians are set to resume direct negotiations with Israel in Washington on Thursday. They will be the first direct talks in 20 months and are the result of painstaking U.S. diplomacy aimed at reviving the peace process. Fayyad has expressed doubt about whether Netanyahu is ready to offer the Palestinians a state on terms they could accept.

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