May 29th

Obama: ‘time of the essence’ on peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


Israel and the Palestinians don't have "a moment to lose" in pursuing peace, President Barack Obama said, while recognizing political obstacles on both sides. Obama spoke Thursday after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, just over a week after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


AIPAC-backed letter gets 329 House signatures
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
May 28, 2009 - 12:00am


More than three-quarters of the House of Representatives signed an AIPAC-backed letter to President Obama on Middle East peace. The document, signed by 329 members of Congress, calls for "every effort" to be made to realize an Arab-Israeli peace while laying out certain "basic principles" to achieve it. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) spearheaded the letter since its introduction earlier this month. A similar letter in the U.S. Senate garnered 76 signatures.


PA official: Abbas expects US pressure to push out Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not resume negotiations with Israel unless the Netanyahu government agrees to a complete settlement freeze and publicly accepts a two-state solution, Abbas has told The Washington Post in an interview. And since he does not believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will lift his opposition on these issues, Abbas and his leadership expect American pressure to gradually force Netanyahu out of office, the paper reported on Friday. "It will take a couple of years," it quoted one of Abbas's officials as saying.


Misery Hangs Over Gaza Despite Pledges of Help
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - May 28, 2009 - 12:00am


Dozens of families still live in tents amid collapsed buildings and rusting pipes. With construction materials barred, a few are building mud-brick homes. Everything but food and medicine has to be smuggled through desert tunnels from Egypt. Among the items that people seek is an addictive pain reliever used to fight depression.


Misery Hangs Over Gaza Despite Pledges of Help
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - May 28, 2009 - 12:00am


Dozens of families still live in tents amid collapsed buildings and rusting pipes. With construction materials barred, a few are building mud-brick homes. Everything but food and medicine has to be smuggled through desert tunnels from Egypt. Among the items that people seek is an addictive pain reliever used to fight depression.


Obama Calls for Swift Move Toward Mideast Peace Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


President Obama called on Israelis and Palestinians on Thursday to move swiftly toward peace talks, as his administration embarked on its first public dispute with Israel. Speaking to reporters at the White House after talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Obama said that the absence of peace between Israelis and Palestinians was clogging up other critical issues in the Middle East.


Obama Pushes Israel On Settlement Issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


President Obama yesterday continued to press his administration's tough stance on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, telling reporters after a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that Israel must halt all settlement activity to build momentum for peace.


U.S.-Israel rift becomes an unusually public one
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - May 29, 2009 - 12:00am


Reporting from Jerusalem and Washington Richard Boudreaux -- President Obama and top Israeli officials staked out sharply opposing positions over the explosive issue of Jewish settlements Thursday, propelling a rare dispute between the two close allies into full public view just days before the U.S. leader is due to deliver a long-awaited address in Egypt to the world's Muslims.


May 28th

The politics behind the West Bank settlement fight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Globe and Mail
by Patrick Martin - May 28, 2009 - 12:00am


Hoping to satisfy the demands of Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war this week on two dozen Jewish settler outposts he considers illegal in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This already battered hillside trailer park is one of them. Givat Assaf (“the hill of Assaf”) is situated a few kilometres northeast of the Palestinian town of Ramallah. The small cluster of about 18 caravans was erected in April, 2001. Its synagogue, paved lanes and quaint road signs lend the community an aura of permanence.


Closer to statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram
May 27, 2009 - 12:00am


It used to be that the first visit by a new Israeli prime minister to Washington was a walkover. The Americans would swear their support and tell those concerned in the region that Israel would always be top dog. The message was clear: anyone wanting to stay on Washington's good side must be nice to Israel too.



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