In Media | The American Task Force on Palestine

Arabs Deserve a Party of the Citizen
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

As the Arab uprisings enter their second year, a new political movement based on the concept and values of citizenship is needed. A lacuna now exists on the Arab political scene. The Arab uprisings shattered the old order but have yet to coalesce into a clear model for the future. A movement of citizens, expressed in organized political parties with clearly articulated programs, would tap into the patriotic and ecumenical grassroots protest movements and ensure that a historic opportunity for progress is not squandered.

Arabs deserve a party of the citizen
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star (Opinion) - January 16, 2012 - 1:00am

As the Arab uprisings enter their second year, a new political movement based on the concept and values of citizenship is needed. A lacuna now exists on the Arab political scene. The Arab uprisings shattered the old order but have yet to coalesce into a clear model for the future. A movement of citizens, expressed in organized political parties with clearly articulated programs, would tap into the patriotic and ecumenical grassroots protest movements and ensure that a historic opportunity for progress is not squandered.

Gingrich calls Palestinians an ‘invented’ people
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Washington Post - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said in a cable TV interview that Palestinians are an “invented” people with no apparent right to their own state, a rejection of a decade of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy. In the interview, which was taped Wednesday in Washington and will be broadcast Monday on The Jewish Channel, Gingrich spoke about his mistrust of Palestinian leaders, his admiration for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his view that the Obama administration is “favoring the terrorists” with its foreign policy.

Gingrich: Palestinians 'invented,' promises Netanyahu-style foreign policy
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich dismissed the Palestinian bid for statehood as the effort of an "invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community." Gingrich also said the Palestinian Authority, which has typically represented the moderate wing of Palestinian leadership and formally accepts Israel's right to exist, is motivated by "an enormous desire to destroy Israel."

Ghaith al-Omari on Al Arabiya-March 15, 2010
Video on November 28, 2011

Ghaith al-Omari on Al Arabiya-March 15, 2010

'Price Tag' Attacks Pose Test for Israel
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) - November 21, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli society has been confronted recently by a troubling new trend: vigilante attacks by some settlers and their supporters against Palestinians in the occupied territories, Arab citizens of Israel and, increasingly, Israeli peace groups. These began as the settlers’ own form of retaliation — exacting a “price” for any Palestinian violence — but have devolved into a campaign of terror. Marauding bands of armed settlers have uprooted olive trees, burned mosques and schools, shot at cars, run over children.

Palestinians Rethink Statehood Bid
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Jewish Daily Forward - November 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Israelis warned of a “diplomatic tsunami,” Palestinians promised a game changer that would reshape Middle East peacemaking, and the White House and Congress geared up for an all-out battle inside and beyond the United Nations. But on November 11, the Palestinians’ initiative to gain statehood recognition from the U.N. Security Council ended finally not with a bang, but with a whimper.

The Great Debate: Middle East Peace
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Boston University - November 16, 2011 - 1:00am

Achieving meaningful peace in the Middle East has become one of the most contentious issues facing the international community. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, centered largely on issues of borders, control of Israeli settlements, and freedom of movement for Palestinians, remains a stalemate, despite efforts by the Obama administration to bring both sides back to the table for revived peace talks earlier this year.

Despite UNESCO victory, Palestinian statehood push running aground
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In - November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

They may have scored a victory at UNESCO, but the Palestinians are running into new obstacles on their push for statehood recognition at the United Nations. The effort to pursue the issue at the U.N. Security Council has encountered a stumbling block in Bosnia, where the country’s Serbian co-president appears to have helped cost the Palestinians a crucial ninth vote. Meanwhile, U.N. officials are sending a strong message regarding any further efforts to get U.N. agencies to follow UNESCO’s lead in granting the Palestinians membership: Please stop.

Palestinian Leader Says Time ‘Not Ripe’ for Mideast Peace Talks
Media Mention of ATFP In Bloomberg - October 21, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said there is little chance for a prompt renewal of peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis that the Obama administration seeks. “My own assessment” is that “conditions are not ripe at this juncture for a meaningful resumption of talks,” Fayyad told a Washington audience yesterday. He made his remarks as the U.S. and its allies in the so- called Quartet -- the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- are trying to restart talks between the two sides to head off a Palestinian push for statehood recognition at the UN.

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