September 1st

Hamas targets Israeli-Palestinian talks by killing four Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

As Middle Eastern leaders gathered in Washington to inaugurate a new round of Israeli-Palestinian talks, Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli settlers in their car outside the West Bank city of Hebron. The attack appeared to be an attempt to spark violence that could undermine the peace negotiations and was a stark reminder that the Islamist Hamas movement remains an important force in Palestinian politics, no matter how much either the Israelis or the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas wish they would go away.

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A Peace Plan Within Our Grasp
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Hosni Mubarak - (Opinion) August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

IT’S been 10 long years since the Palestinians and Israelis last came close to establishing a permanent peace, in January 2001 at Taba in Egypt. During my career in the Egyptian Air Force, I saw the tragic toll of war between the Arabs and Israel. As president of Egypt, I have endured many ups and downs in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Egypt’s decision to be the first Arab state to make peace with Israel claimed the life of my predecessor, Anwar el-Sadat.

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You Ain’t Seen This Before
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama is embarking on something I’ve never seen before — taking on two Missions Impossible at the same time. That is, a simultaneous effort to heal the two most bitter divides in the Middle East: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Shiite-Sunni conflict centered in Iraq. Give him his due. The guy’s got audacity. I’ll provide the hope. But kids, don’t try this at home.

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Killing of Israeli Settlers Rattles Leaders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - August 31, 2010 - 12:00am

The killing of four Israeli settlers, including a pregnant woman, in the West Bank on Tuesday evening rattled Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the eve of peace talks in Washington and underscored the disruptive role that the issue of Jewish settlements could play in the already fragile negotiations. The military wing of Hamas, the Islamic group, claimed responsibility for the attack — in which gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying two men and two women at a junction near the city of Hebron — and described it on its Arabic Web site as a “heroic operation.”

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Barak to Haaretz: Israel ready to cede parts of Jerusalem in peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Ari Shavit - (Interview) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Ehud Barak has always vacillated between peace and security, dovishness and hawkishness, left wing and right wing. Even when he left south Lebanon, offered the Golan Heights to Hafez Assad and the Temple Mount to Yasser Arafat, he didn't do this as a bleeding heart. He always spoke forcefully, talked about the importance of sobriety. He always spoke about how Israel must survive in a jungle. It must do so even now, on the eve of the peace summit in Washington.

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Abbas: We're committed to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Interview) September 1, 2010 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (Ma'an) -- The PLO's decision to return to direct negotiations with Israel reflects its commitment to peace, not fear of pressure from the international community, President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday. Speaking with Ma'an aboard the presidential jet en route to Washington, Abbas said the Obama administration appeared committed to resolving the Palestinian struggle for self-determination by implementing the two-state solution.

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August 31st

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