Haaretz | The American Task Force on Palestine

Yishai: Sorry for distress over East Jerusalem Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson, Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer, Barak Ravid - March 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Interior Minister Eli Yishai apologized on Wednesday for causing domestic and international distress as a result of Israel's recent decision to approve 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem. Yishai was responding to the recent wave of condemnations, particularly on the part of the United States and visiting Vice President Joe Biden, surrounding the recent plan to build 1,600 more housing units in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Israel using strong arm tactics against young Palestinian stone-throwers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - March 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Several children in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan were arrested and taken from their homes in handcuffs in the middle of the night over the past few months, as part of a police crackdown on suspected stone-throwers, several teenage residents told B'Tselem and Haaretz. Haaretz and B'Tselem, the Israel Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, collected testimonies from several teens that suggest the police are treating them violently and violating their rights.

U.S. vows to assign blame if Israel-PA talks fail
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 5, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States government has committed to playing a role in indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and promised that if the talks were to fail, the U.S. will assign blame and take action, according to a document sent by the U.S. to the Palestinian Authority, which Haaretz obtained on Friday. The U.S. government sent the document to the Palestinians responding to their inquires regarding the U.S. initiative to launch indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Supreme Court abetting, not curbing, illegal settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - March 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Next week will be five years since the publication of the report on the outposts by former top prosecutor attorney Talia Sasson at the request of prime minister Ariel Sharon. That report was released in the wake of the government's decision to adopt the road map for peace, according to which it undertook to "immediately dismantle" all the illegal outposts established after March of 2001. The document listed 24 such outposts and noted that the vast majority of them are located, at least in part, on private Palestinian land.

Son of Hamas founder says he served Israel as an informant
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The son of one of Hamas's founders says in a new book that he served as a top informant for Israel for more than a decade, providing top-secret intelligence that helped prevent dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis.

Report: Australia already warned Israel against faking its passports
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
February 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Australian authorities had already warned Israeli intelligence against using doctored passports in its clandestine activities around the world, the Australian newspaper The Australian reported on Thursday. The Australian report came as Canberra warned Israel earlier Thursday that if it was involved in the alleged use of three forged Australian passports in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, it would not be considered the act of a friend.

Why does Israel continue to dismiss Obama's Mideast peace efforts?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gabi Sheffer - (Analysis) February 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Most Israelis, including the heads of the defense establishment and politicians led by the prime minister and the foreign minister, categorically state that U.S. President Barack Obama will never solve the Israeli-Arab conflict. This lack of confidence in and sympathy for Obama have accompanied him, unjustifiably, since the day he began campaigning for the presidency - and has only intensified following his election. The disrespect toward him and his administration is unwarranted; there is no doubt that it is connected to Obama's ethnic background.

Dubai hit can't distract from need for Palestinian talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Okay, it was a successful operation. Maybe here and there a bit clumsy. Amos Biderman's cartoon in Haaretz in which "our fine young men" were all wearing the same glasses because there was a sale at Opticana reflects our preoccupation with the killing of one Arab, dangerous and wicked as he may be. But it doesn't solve any of the really serious problems facing the country.

Hamas founder's son worked for Shin Bet for years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - February 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The son of a leading Hamas figure, who famously converted to Christianity, served for over a decade as the Shin Bet security service's most valuable source in the militant organization's leadership, Haaretz has learned. Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a Hamas founder and one of its leaders in the West Bank. The intelligence he supplied Israel led to the exposure of a number of terrorist cells, and to the prevention of dozens of suicide bombings and assassination attempts on Israeli figures.

Is Israel severing East Jerusalem from the West Bank?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Analysis) February 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Blocked roads and asphalt that has been ripped open like a zipper can be seen everywhere in Ramallah these days. And whether or not the municipality bothers posting explanatory signs, people know what is being done - a new road, sewage pipes, a sidewalk.