October 17th, 2011

Hamas official: Qatar, Turkey to host prisoners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouq said on Monday that three countries are willing to host Palestinian detainees set to be released under a recent exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Marzouq, deputy head of the Hamas politburo, told the London based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that Qatar and Turkey had agreed to host exiled prisoners. Al-Hayat mentioned that Syria could also be among the countries willing to receive released detainees. Turkish media said Friday that Turkey would accept all those exiled abroad.

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Future will reveal true price of Shalit swap deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - October 17, 2011 - 12:00am

In the debate on the prisoner exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, many Israelis identify with the suffering of the Shalit family and feel a duty to return a captive soldier, while others feel anger over the release of murderers who slaughtered hundreds of Israelis. Symbolism has also received a lot of attention, but the issue that has been shoved aside in the debate - and it will surely be raised in Monday's petitions to the High Court of Justice - is the risk posed by the prisoners being set free.

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Poll: Israelis overwhelmingly support lopsided prisoner exchange for captured soldier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Associated Press - (Analysis) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am

Israelis overwhelmingly support a lopsided prisoner swap in which 1,027 Palestinian prisoners will be released for a single captured soldier, a poll showed Monday, one day before the exchange between Israel and Hamas was slated to take place. The poll showed that 79 percent of Israelis support the deal under which the soldier, tank crewman Sgt. Gilad Schalit, will be released by the Hamas militants who have held him in Gaza for more than five years. Only 14 percent said they opposed the deal.

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Israel Releases Names of 477 Prisoners to Be Freed in Trade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Stephen Farrell - (Analysis) October 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel on Sunday released the names of the first 477 Palestinian prisoners that it will exchange for a soldier held by the militant faction Hamas, and the list revealed why the country has found the trade so wrenching: a majority of the inmates were convicted of manslaughter, attempted murder or intentionally causing death.

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October 14th

Freij to be honored for distinguished service in philanthropy
Media Mention of ATFP In The Arab American News - October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Deputy Executive Director of ACCESS Maha Freij will be honored this month in Washington by the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP) for the key role she played in raising funds to create the nation's only Arab American National Museum.

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Freij cited for her philanthropy work
Media Mention of ATFP In ACCESS - October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

ACCESS Deputy Executive Director Maha Freij will be honored this month in Washington by the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP) for the key role she played in raising funds to create the nation’s only Arab American National Museum. Each year, ATFP honors the contributions of Palestinian Americans who have enriched their community and provided great service or unique achievement in the United States. Freij will receive the ATFP Award for Distinguished Service in Philanthropy on Oct. 19 at the organization’s sixth annual gala at the Ritz Carlton in Washington.

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NEWS: The prisoner swap with Israel boosts Hamas' popularity but also reveals weaknesses. Analysts say it does benefit the group. The Jerusalem Post outlines how the deal was made. The transfer of prisoners will begin on Tuesday. The Red Cross has offered to play a role in the exchange. PM Fayyad says the PA will not collapse without foreign aid. Hamas sentences three Palestinians to death. Another senior Israeli commander warns against cutting funds to the PA. Pres. Abbas will meet with French Pres. Sarkozy in Paris. Israel is planning more settlement homes in occupied East Jerusalem. COMMENTARY: Israeli Amb. Michael Oren says Israel is not isolated. Akiva Eldar says Hamas did not win a victory but Fatah did suffer a defeat in the prisoner exchange. Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff say Israel crossed some of its red lines in the agreement. Zeev Sternhell says settlers are taking control of Israeli politics. Herb Keinon says Hamas desperately needed a victory. The National says nonviolence is the Palestinians' strongest weapon. Patrick Seale asks if Israel might attack Iran without notifying the US. The Jordan Times says Israel's legal claims against Palestinian statehood are spurious. Aaron David Miller says the prisoner swap was just that, and has no broader significance. Alon Ben-Meir and Amr Yossef say Israel and Egypt can and should improve their relations.

Egypt and Israel: Within the Realm of Possibilities
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Alon Ben-Meir, Amr Yossef - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Over the past few weeks, Egypt and Israel have reached the lowest point in their relations in thirty years of peace. The attack in Eilat and Israel's killing of eight Egyptian policemen on the Sinai border led to a diplomatic blame game that was only exacerbated by the Egyptian mob attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in early September. Top diplomats managed to prevent a disaster at the embassy, but the Israeli and Egyptian concerns over the episodes remains high.

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Sometimes a Deal Is Just a Deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The five-year saga that will likely lead to the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit -- in one of those bizarrely asymmetrical prisoner exchanges that make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so tragic and intriguing -- has all the hallmarks of a John le Carré thriller.

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Indefensible arguments
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel is busy preparing for a legal battle with the Palestinians over their application for full membership as a sovereign state in the UN. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed his ministry to draw up plans to defeat the Palestinian bid on a legal basis. The Israeli legal grounds against the Palestinians, however, are flawed and cannot withstand a fair legal scrutiny.

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