January 11th, 2011

Bulldozers begin work for Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Bulldozers began tearing down a former hotel building Sunday to make way for a Jewish housing development in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, pushing ahead with a contentious project that has raised concerns in Washington. The work drew a rebuke from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and sharp condemnation from Palestinian officials, further souring the diplomatic atmosphere as the Obama administration works to sustain peace efforts despite a breakdown of direct talks in a dispute over Israeli building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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Clinton asks Arabs to oppose Iran nukes, support Palestinian government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lobbied Arab governments on Monday to help tighten the screws on their Iranian neighbors, saying that sanctions and other measures are hurting Tehran and undermining its ability to acquire components for its nuclear program. Clinton, in the Middle East for four days of talks, also pushed oil-rich Persian Gulf states to do more to back fragile governments in the West Bank and Iraq to create stability in a region that has so frequently veered into war.

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Netanyahu rejects Clinton criticism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Rebuffing U.S. criticism of a new housing project for Jews in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office said Monday that the project was a private initiative in which the government "was not involved." Bulldozers tore down a wing of the former Shepherd Hotel on Sunday to make way for the project. That drew a rebuke from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said the action undermined peace efforts.

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Gazan Reported Killed by Israeli Forces
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinians accused Israeli forces on Monday of shooting a 65-year-old Gazan on his farm near the border with Israel. The Israeli military said it had no knowledge of the shooting. The farmer’s son said that three gunshots were fired from an Israeli watchtower overlooking the family’s property, which is close to the security fence that marks the border, and that one of the bullets hit his father in the neck. Israeli forces, wary of Palestinian militants’ trying to come into Israel, have warned people in Gaza not to approach the fence.

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January 10th

Honesty and Hypocrisy in Facing Terrorism Appears in Arabic in An-Nahar
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Two days after the despicable bombing attack on the Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt, and four days before the recent outrage in Arizona targeting Rep. Giffords and others, ATFP President Dr. Ziad J. Asali and Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish published the following commentary, “Honesty and Hypocrisy in Facing Terrorism,” which was published in English in the Huffington Post and elsewhere and in Arabic in the well-known Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper.


Honesty and hypocrisy in facing terrorism
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Blog) - January 3, 2011 - 1:00am

The murderous bomb attacks against Christian communities in Egypt and Iraq have been roundly condemned by most political and religious leaders, commentators and public opinion in the Arab world. They have also been met with an outpouring of passionate condemnation by ordinary people who have taken to the streets to express anger and demand justice. People have sensed the danger to their whole society inherent in such atrocities.

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Israel begins to demolish the famous Shepherd Hotel in occupied East Jerusalem to make room for a new settlement. Sec. Clinton, the EU and other international leaders condemn the action, and the PA says it is destroying chances for peace. Palestinian-American business interests are trying to take over an Israeli real estate company. Israel bombs Gaza, with no injuries. Hamas urges militants in Gaza to stop attacking Israel. Israeli officials will travel to Washington for talks. Palestinians may ask for UN recognition. Israeli academics call for boycotting settlement universities. Hamas denies its leaders meet with Israeli officials. Akiva Eldar says PM Netanyahu's policies are creating a Palestinian state. The EU says East Jerusalem should be regarded as the Palestinian capital. A Knesset committee approves a draft bill to revoke citizenship from those accused of terror or espionage. Occupation forces kill a Palestinian man at a checkpoint. The BBC looks at the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Tony Karon says the death of Palestinian protesters has reawakened the Israeli left. Ian Buruma says Israel is acquiring inappropriate friends on the European extreme right.

ATFP Expresses Grave Concerns over Demolition of Shepherd Hotel
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Washington DC, Jan. 10 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today expressed grave concerns about the effects of Israel's demolition of the historic Shepherd Hotel in occupied East Jerusalem on prospects for peace.


Israel's wrong friends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Ian Buruma - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel has been welcoming some rather peculiar visitors of late. The Dutch populist, Geert Wilders, is a frequent caller, telling sympathetic audiences that Israel is on the front line of the Western war against Islam. And, in December, a delegation of European far-right politicians toured Jewish settlements on the occupied West Bank, pleasing their hosts by reassuring them that this was “Jewish land”.

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Israeli left reawakens after death of Palestinian protestors
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - January 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The security forces had set up roadblocks to stop us from reaching the black township to attend a funeral for one of the thousands they had killed to protect our "security". So we had to take backroads and cross open ground. Some were intercepted and turned back, but hundreds of us white activists still made it in, to stand side by side with a mourning community rededicating itself to the fight for justice - and to make clear to them, and to our own communities, that we would resist the crimes committed in our name.

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