Editor's Notes: Playing poker over ‘Palestine’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Horovitz - (Opinion) April 8, 2011 - 12:00am

“The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3,500 years... Our right to build our sovereign state here, in the Land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: This is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged... “But we must also tell the truth in its entirety: Within this homeland lives a large Palestinian community. We do not want to rule over them, we do not want to govern their lives, we do not want to impose either our flag or our culture on them.

»

World Bank praises Palestinian state building drive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Crispian Balmer - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The World Bank gave a strong endorsement on Thursday to Palestinian efforts to set up an independent state, saying core Palestinian institutions compared favourably with those in established nations. The World Bank report followed a similar vote of confidence this week from the International Monetary Fund, with both Washington-based bodies praising the Palestinian Authority for creating the structures needed to maintain a sovereign state.

»

Poll: Majority of Egyptians support maintaining Israel peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

A poll conducted by The International Peace Institute published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday shows that a majority of Egyptians would like to see a continuation of the peace treaty with Israel. "Maintaining and advancing peace with Israel has far wider appeal than a rupture in relations," reads the report on the poll, citing 60 percent of those polled as supporting maintaining the peace treaty with Israel. Those polled added, however, that they are also vying for the creation of an independent Palestinian State.

»

Warning by Israeli on U.N. Nod to Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Dan Bilefsky - April 7, 2011 - 12:00am

President Shimon Peres of Israel warned Thursday against potential attempts by the United Nations to impose a Palestinian state on Israel and said that the recent recanting of the harshest conclusions by the author of a United Nations report accusing Israel of war crimes was insufficient to undo the “libels” caused to Israel’s reputation.

»

IMF: Palestinian institutions ready for state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian financial institutions are ready for statehood, an International Monetary Fund report praising Palestinian fiscal reform said Tuesday. "The PA is now able to conduct the sound economic policies expected of a future well-functioning Palestinian state,'' the report said. Acting Prime Minister in Ramallah, Salam Fayyad, has embarked on a program of institutional reform since his appointment in 2007, building the confidence of the international community and preparing for the establishment of a Palestinian state, to be announced in September 2011, according to his latest plan.

»

IMF gives thumbs up to Palestinian financial policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Mohammed Assadi - April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The International Monetary Fund has given the Palestinian Authority a strong vote of confidence, saying it is capable of running a national economy just as it pushes for U.N. recognition. The Washington-based body said the Western-backed PA, which governs in the occupied West Bank, had a solid track record of financial reforms enabling it to be less dependent on donor aid. "(It) is now able to conduct the sound economic policies expected of a future well-functioning Palestinian state," said the IMF staff report released this week.

»

Israel to lobby Germany against Palestinian plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Josef Federman - April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ask Germany's leader to drop her support for a proposal endorsing a Palestinian state in virtually all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem when he meets with her this week, Israeli officials said Wednesday.

»

Bid for State of Palestine Gets Support From I.M.F.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority, which is working toward global recognition of its statehood in September, got an endorsement on Wednesday from the International Monetary Fund, which said that the authority was fully capable of running the economy of an independent state.

»

The wages of Palestinian ambiguity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am

"I'll speak in vague sentences," stated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week at a meeting in Ramallah when asked to discuss Palestinian plans for the period beginning September 2011. That is when the United Nations General Assembly reconvenes, with a request to recognize a Palestinian state probably high on its agenda.

»

Returning to our references
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 4, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinians look at the approaching September deadline as a very critical and decisive crossroads. It is the end of the one-year time-frame for the bilateral negotiations that started upon the initiative of the United States last September. It is also the end of the two-year plan of the Palestinian government for achieving national readiness for statehood.

»


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