Internal Israeli Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

It took a village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Rona Sela - May 20, 2011 - 12:00am

This story begins as a clandestine affair of espionage marked by daring, adventurism, improvisation and imagination as embedded in the official Israeli narrative. In the 1940s, squads of young scouts from the Haganah, the pre-state army and forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces, collected information about the Arab towns and villages in Palestine for intelligence purposes: in preparation for a future conflict and as part of a more general project of creating files of target sites.

Israel's Barak says Netanyahu must take 'daring' steps toward peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that a "daring" peace initiative by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vital to his country's security and international standing, and that without one, Israel could face increased isolation and mass popular protests. His comments came as Netanyahu embarks on a diplomatic mission Thursday to the United States, though American and Israeli officials alike have sought to lower expectations that the visit would lead to a breakthrough restarting of U.S.-brokered peace talks.

Netanyahu must move forward and accept 1967 borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Knesset speech on Monday was a good one. He told the truth. He described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as it is. He set down six principles for Israel as it seeks peace: recognition of Israel as the Jewish national home, a demilitarized Palestine that does not control the Jordan Valley, a solution outside Israel to the refugee problem, retention of settlement blocs, a united Jerusalem and a declaration of an end to the conflict with no further demands.

Two Narratives for Two Peoples
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Many Jewish Israelis and their supporters have reacted with outrage to a New York Times Op-Ed on May 17 by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, particularly its invocation of the Palestinian historical narrative. Most troubling to them was Abbas’s description of how his family was “forced” to flee their home in what became Israel in 1948 — a word choice they feel implies that Abbas and his family were evicted by Jewish troops.

Netanyahu is preparing for battle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign-policy address to the Knesset on Monday made one thing clear: He is preparing for a confrontation with the Palestinians. On the eve of his trip to the United States, Netanyahu sought to muster public opinion and create internal unity. The purpose of his trip to Washington is to maintain U.S. support for Israel ahead of the third intifada.

Israeli policy will end up isolating it to the point of sanctions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

In an op-ed piece in yesterday's New York Times, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrote that the Palestinian initiative to obtain international recognition for an independent state along the 1967 borders is not a stunt. Approaching the United Nations, he wrote, was aimed at assuring the basic right of the Palestinian people to live freely in an independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders, i.e., in 22% of Mandatory Palestine.

Why Israel should welcome Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by David Avital - (Opinion) May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday about the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s impending visit and Special Envoy George Mitchell’s recent resignation, makes this a unique moment for Washington to set a new Mideast policy direction focused on one goal: a borders agreement. Rather than view the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a threat to derail Middle East peace, Obama could use the opportunity to move both sides forward and promote a return to negotiations on the border before the U.N. vote.

Making the Land of Israel Whole
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Danny Danon - (Opinion) May 18, 2011 - 12:00am

OVER the past few months, analysts in Israel and abroad have warned that Israel will face what Defense Minister Ehud Barak has termed a “diplomatic tsunami.” In September, the Palestinian Authority plans to bring the recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 boundary to the United Nations General Assembly for a vote. The Palestinians’ request will almost certainly be approved.

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