NEWS: PM Fayyad says he is very concerned about Iran's behavior and nuclear ambitions. The Israeli Supreme Court upholds a law banning Palestinians who marry Israelis from living in Israel. Hamas leader Haniyyeh may go on another regional tour soon including Qatar and Iran. Hamas sentences a Palestinian man to death for alleged collaboration with Israel. The CSM looks at whether Israel was responsible for the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. The rise of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community is creating an identity crisis for the state. A committee on Palestinian national reconciliation will reportedly begin work “immediately.” Palestinians say Sec. Clinton has asked Pres. Abbas to extend the Quartet deadline for resumed negotiations. An EU report says Israel's policies in the occupied territories are endangering the two-state solution and the Palestinians should develop in “Area C.” A makeover for Gaza's beachfront is controversial. Jordan is reportedly working on how to accommodate some Hamas members as residents. COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says Israel must stop stalling on peace. Jihad el-Khazen thinks that if Pres. Obama is reelected, a Palestinian state should be attainable in 2013. Michael Young says it's high time to discard the hoax about a “resistance axis.” Donald Macintyre says the EU is on the brink of abandoning hopes for Palestinian statehood. Natasha Mozgovaya looks at a new fictional book about Middle East peacemaking. Elliott Abrams says 2012 is a year for elections, not diplomacy. Shmuel Rosner says the Supreme Court decision is worthy of indignation but should be respected, while Noam Sheizaf says it just legalizes racial discrimination against Arabs.

High Court Okays Citizenship Law, Legalizing Racial Discrimination of Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from 972 Magazine
by Noam Sheizaf - (Opinion) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi famously said that “Israel is indeed a Jewish-democratic state: it is democratic for Jews and Jewish for all the rest.” This rings truer than ever after Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected yesterday (again) the petitions against the Citizenship Law, one of the first measures to make racial discrimination against the Arab minority not just common practice, but part of Israel’s legal codex.

»

Hate Israel’s Citizenship Law, Accept the Supreme Court Decision
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Journal
by Shmuel Rosner - (Opinion) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

It was an important decision and not a trivial one, when Israel’s Supreme Court upheld a law yesterday that prevents most non-Israeli Arabs who marry Israelis from living in Israel. The court was split almost in half: Six justices sided with the majority ruling and five justices – Chief Justice Dorit Beinish included – opposed the ultimate decision. The numbers reflect the magnitude of the dilemma, they reflect the fact that this cannot be an easy decision for any country, and they reflect the delicate balancing act with which Israel has to live.

»

A Year for Elections, Not Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Elliott Abrams - (Opinion) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Last week Israelis and Palestinians held talks for the first time since September 2010. Back then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met at the White House, under bright lights and with great expectations, along with Jordanian King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In a matter of weeks the talks failed—and Mr. Mubarak didn't last much longer himself. What to expect this time?

»

Washington’s Ultimatum to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Book Review) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

The President of the United States, haunted by troubles home and abroad, finally decides to forge a breakthrough on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict - at any price. He separately summons Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and presents them with an ultimatum: for Israel, lack of agreement means no more aid and no more vetoes at the UN Security Council.

»

EU on Verge of Abandoning All Hope for a Viable Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Editorial) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

The Palestinian presence in the largest part of the occupied West Bank – has been, "continuously undermined" by Israel in ways that are "closing the window" on a two-state solution, according to an internal EU report seen by The Independent.

»

Do Discard the "Resistance Axis" Hoax
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Michael Young - (Opinion) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

This past week several British parliamentarians were in Beirut to learn more about the situation in Lebanon and Syria. They met with politicians, academics and journalists, and an argument they took home with them was particularly intriguing. It pertains to what has become known in the West as the “resistance axis.”

»

Ayoon Wa Azan (A Palestinian State is Attainable After 2013)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Jihad El-Khazen - (Opinion) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am

American policies, both domestic and foreign, are a hostage of the U.S. elections, a stand-alone American industry much like the auto and hi-tech industries. Presidential elections are held every four years, along with elections for the House and a third of the Senate’s seats (in addition to local elections of every kind in the states). Then the winner in the presidential elections in November would have barely entered the White House in January, when he has to begin preparing for the U.S.

»

Israel Must Stop Stalling on Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Just as with previous efforts to advance negotiations on a final-status agreement, the Jordanian attempt to breath new life into the diplomatic process has gotten hung up on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy of dragging his feet. As Barak Ravid reported in yesterday's Haaretz in Hebrew, at this week's meeting in Amman with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, Israeli envoy Isaac Molho refused to present Israel's positions on borders and security.

»

Hamas Members to Reside in Jordan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

AMMAN — The government is examining the best method to allow Hamas members to reside with their families in Jordan, according to Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh. In an interview with Time magazine, excerpts of which were published on Monday, Khasawneh said Hamas members will not be allowed to establish political headquarters for the movement in Jordan or to practise any political activity. "We will be finding modalities to bring back members of Hamas and their families to come," Khasawneh told Time. "We don’t want them to establish another organisation here."

»


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