International Relief Agencies | The American Task Force on Palestine

Red Cross discussing role in Shalit exchange with Hamas, Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Stephanie Nebehay - October 12, 2011 - 11:00pm

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to play a neutral intermediary role in the exchange of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for Palestinian prisoners and is in talks with both Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, an ICRC spokesman said on Thursday. "We are talking to both sides about our offer. We have offered our services as a neutral intermediary to both sides," ICRC spokesman Marcal Izard told Reuters in response to an inquiry.

Gaza NGOs express 'horror' at new Hamas travel restrictions on Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - August 29, 2011 - 11:00pm

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip recently imposed new travel restrictions on Palestinians active in non-governmental organizations in what the Palestinian NGO Network regards as another Hamas attempt to control and hamper them. What do you think about this article? Visit Haaretz.com on Facebook and share your views.

Haniyeh urged to allow students out of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 23, 2011 - 11:00pm

A Palestinian human rights official is urging the leadership in Gaza to reverse a decision blocking eight students from traveling to the United States for university. Rawyeh Ash-Shawwa, member of the legislative council and head of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, called on Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh to personally reverse the decision. She called the decision an explicit violation of human rights.

Outrage after Palestinian camp attacked in Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 15, 2011 - 11:00pm

Syrian forces killed three people on Monday a day after gunboats pounded Latakia, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee a refugee camp in the port city, activists and a UN agency said. The Palestinians condemned Syria over the violence as the UN Relief and Works Agency reported that more than 5,000 refugees had fled Ramel camp in southern Latakia under fire and demanded immediate access to the site.

Divided We Execute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - (Opinion) August 15, 2011 - 11:00pm

The execution of a Palestinian father and son by Hamas security forces in Gaza throws up a sharp difference over the death penalty between Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank a temporary moratorium is in place. The executions were carried out despite pressure from Palestinian and international human rights organisations for the death penalty in the occupied Palestinian territories to be rescinded.

Heavy gunfire as Syrian tanks enter Homs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
August 13, 2011 - 11:00pm

DAMASCUS — Syrian troops backed by tanks clamped down Monday on the flashpoint province of Homs, a day after gunboats joined an assault that killed more than 20 people in Latakia city, activists said. As the country's anti-regime uprising turned five months old, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said snipers shot dead an old man in the provincial town of Hula and reported another killing in Latakia. "The community of Hula is under siege ... The army is carrying out raids and arrests under the cover of heavy gunfire" in Homs province, said the Britain-based rights group.

INTERVIEW-Turkey's saves ire for Israel, concern for Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet
by Tulay Karadeniz - (Interview) May 29, 2011 - 11:00pm

Democratic governments cannot stop their citizens launching another pro-Palestinian flotilla to Gaza, Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday, a year after the storming of an aid ship by Israeli marines. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Friday for activists to be discouraged from again setting sail for Gaza, but Ahmet Davutoglu said it was not within the authority of a democracy to prevent private challenges to an illegal blockade. "No democratic country can think that they have full control over these NGOs (non-government organisations)," he said.

UN met only 52% of target for Palestinian aid in 2010
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - January 20, 2011 - 12:00am

First time such large gap exists between initial aid request, amount of money donated since UN began humanitarian appeal to member states, international organizations in 2003. The UN was only able to fund 52 percent of the humanitarian aid it wanted to provide to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in 2010, according to statistics it released on Wednesday at a press conference in Jerusalem.

Unraveling another myth about the State of the Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - December 6, 2010 - 12:00am

In everything that pertains to locating the source of fires, water shortages, flight safety, earthquakes, etc. - subjects that require long-term planning - our decision makers prefer to use a method of pinpoint handling. It is known as "putting out fires." Yet the disaster in the Carmel has shown that we are also far from being able to be called world champions in putting out fires.

Israel's eased blockade 'still crippling' Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
by Jon Donnison - November 29, 2010 - 12:00am

That is the verdict of a new report by aid agencies and rights groups working inside the Palestinian territory. A ban on most exports from Gaza is "crippling" the economy, they say. The report, "Dashed Hopes: Continuation of the Gaza Blockade", was compiled by 21 different groups, including Oxfam, Amnesty and Save the Children. "Only a fraction of the aid needed has made it to the civilians trapped in Gaza by the blockade," said Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International.