October 10th, 2011

The Israeli government is fooling you
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Did you know that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just welcomed a diplomatic plan that posits the borders of June 4, 1967, as a basis for negotiations with the Palestinians, along with mutual and consensual territorial exchanges? Did you hear that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) welcomed the demand to freeze construction beyond the Green Line entirely, including in East Jerusalem? Were you told that Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) welcomes the demand for the immediate dismantling of all the outposts built in the past decade?

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PA: Quartet must act on Israeli settlement 'provocations'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority said on Sunday Israel's decision to approve new housing units in an East Jerusalem settlement undermined the Middle East Quartet's proposal for talks. "Israel's approval of more settlement housing, this time in Pisgat Zeev, is a clear violation of the Quartet's initiative, which calls for negotiations without pre-conditions and without provocations," the statement said. "The Quartet must tell Israel that it cannot pretend to accept its initiative while flagrantly breaching its terms," it added.

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Open letter to Mahmoud Abbas for Yom Kippur
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Dear Mr. Abbas, Generally I write to my fellow Jews and Israelis for our high holidays. For you Yom Kippur is, of course, not a day of reckoning, but I hope you will accept these words from an Israeli who has sponsored your cause for years with all his heart. I have done so no less for the sake for my country than for your country that has yet to come into being.

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Quartet to ask Israelis, Palestinians to meet within days
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Middle East Quartet will invite Israelis and Palestinians to meet in "coming days," envoys said on Sunday after convening in Brussels to discuss their plan to revive negotiations. Quartet representative Tony Blair said Sunday's meeting "showed the Quartet's commitment to the timetable for talks set out in our September statement," according to a press statement from the group.

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In Jaffa, Israeli racism towards Arabs is routine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Roy Arad - October 10, 2011 - 12:00am

A meeting between the head of the Israel Police and a group of Arab notables is never something that sounds good. I come to the well-kept community center in the Arab Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa where the meeting is to take place. A Christian notable with a huge gold cross comes through the door while a correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian checks with the tall reporter from the Ynet website as to what exactly is going on.

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A Palestinian AIPAC?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, is coming to Washington later this month, a tricky international moment for the PA and amid always-tricky domestic politics, to speak to the gala of the American Task Force on Palestine, a nine-year old group which is roughly aligned with his technocratic, moderate approach to getting statehood.

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October 7th

NEWS: Israeli Arab Bedouins are angered by the torching of a mosque. Pres. Abbas urges more European support for Palestine. Former Pres. Carter says Pres. Obama should earn his Nobel Peace Prize by crafting Israeli-Palestinian peace. There is more cooperation between Israel and Hamas than either admits. The PA accuses Israeli occupation forces of protecting violent settlers, and the Israeli NGO B'Tselem agrees. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says it's only a matter of time before PM Netanyahu looses power. Nehemia Shtrasler says Hanan Porat was the architect of a settlement strategy designed to make it impossible for any Israeli government to withdraw from the occupied territories. Yishai Rosen-Zvi says the near-lynching of leftists in Israel is alarming. Uri Savir says peace is the only way to avoid disaster in a changing Middle East. Larry Derfner says Congress' threat to cut aid to the PA would only reduce US influence. Joseph Dana and Omar Rahman look at what comes next following the Palestinian UN statehood bid. Amir Taheri says Palestine must decide if it wants to be a cause or a state. Ronen Bergman recounts the founding of Israel and the role of the UN. Colum Lynch looks at Congressional threats to defund UNESCO and other UN agencies that upgrade the status of Palestine. Zvika Krieger says Israel does not want the US to defund UN agencies that work with the Palestinians. Israeli reservists are summoned for a surprise drill. Swedish academics call for a boycott of Israeli institutions due to the occupation. Palestinians are already feeling the effect of cuts in US aid.

The long road ahead for Palestine's statehood aspiration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Joseph Dana, Omar Rahman - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

On September 23, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman and PA president, officially submitted Palestine's application for full membership in the United Nations, with a bold speech delivered to the General Assembly. During the address, cities throughout the West Bank were alight with excitement. Young and old celebrated almost as if the UN had already granted Palestine full membership to the international governing body.

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Palestine: A Cause or a State?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Amir Taheri - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Within days, the United Nations’ Security Council is expected to start debating the Palestinian Authority’s demand for recognition as a state. At first glance, this is a straightforward issue. Since its foundation after the Second World War, the UN has admitted as member over 150 countries. There is no reason why the Palestinian demand should pose problems.

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Congress Shows Lack of Leverage With Threat To Cut Off Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

As an Israeli who sees the occupation as a plague both on Palestinians and on Israelis, I think it’s a good thing that Congress just held back $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinians as punishment for their statehood bid at the United Nations. It’s a good thing, because now that the Republican Party (and much of the Democratic Party) is indistinguishable from Likud USA, American involvement only makes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worse, so the less influence America has over here, the better.

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