At ATFP Gala, Sec. Clinton Vows Administration “Will Not Turn Our Backs” on Palestinians, Israelis

At ATFP Gala, Sec. Clinton Vows Administration “Will Not Turn Our Backs” on Palestinians, Israelis
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Washington DC, October 21 -- “I promise you this: The Obama administration will not turn our backs on the Palestinian people or the people of Israel,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an audience of over 700 in a major policy address last night. She spoke at the Fifth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) in Washington DC. Expressing the administration's determination to push forward with the peace process, she said, “we will continue working every day to achieve the just, lasting and comprehensive peace that has been a cornerstone of U.S.

Clinton: We promise not to 'turn our backs' on Palestinians or Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Paul Rogin - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

In a rousing 30-minute speech Wednesday night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implored attendees at the annual gala for the American Task Force on Palestine not to give up on the struggling Middle East peace process, despite past, current, and future obstacles.

Clinton Speaks Warmly of Palestinian Statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Tablet Magazine
by Allison Hoffman - October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

If there is one Palestinian outreach event on the Washington calendar that the city’s establishment is likely to attend, a senior Hill staffer told me earlier this week, it’s the annual gala of the American Task Force on Palestine, a seven-year-old group that advocates for a two-state solution.

Clinton Urges Arab Financial Support for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Voice of America
October 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the Fifth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine in Washington, 20 Oct 2010 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Arab countries should provide more financial support to the Palestinian Authority. Speaking Wednesday to pro-Palestinian group the American Task Force on Palestine in Washington, Clinton said it takes more than plans and commitments "to support making the state of Palestine a reality." The U.S. and the European Union are the Palestinian Authority's main donors. 2 state solution

Talks the only way forward for Mideast peace: Clinton
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ottawa Times
by Andrew Quinn - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Israel and the Palestinians on Wednesday there was no "magic formula" to break an impasse over peace talks, but said hard work could still yield a deal. Clinton, speaking to a Palestinian advocacy group that supports a peaceful end to the conflict, said both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remained committed to a two-state solution despite a standoff that threatens to torpedo the U.S.-brokered peace talks less than two months after they were launched.

ATFP President Ziad Asali's Introduction for Sec. Clinton at Fifth Annual ATFP Gala
Speech by Ziad Asali at Washington, D.C. - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Back to Gala 2010 Homepage TRANSCRIPT

Palestinians mull alternatives to peace talks, including UN recognition
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

With Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in limbo over a dispute regarding settlement expansion, Palestinians are starting to think out loud about possible alternatives to peace talks. After investing all of his political capital in talks with Israel, what would President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority (PA) do if he concludes there's no chance for a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

This Peaceful Position Takes Courage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykber - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Yonatan Shapira, 38, was fired from his job, has been verbally abused in public, subjected to death threats in newspaper talk-back comments, called a traitor by many Israelis, falsely charged with assaulting Israeli security forces, and interrogated by Israel's domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet. While Israel often gets a lot of negative publicity for its brutal treatment of Palestinians and the inherent racism within its society, there is a growing core of Israeli human rights activists who are challenging government policy -- and paying a high price for their courage.

A Search for Plan ‘B’ as Hopes Fade for Direct Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - October 20, 2010 - 12:00am

As Israelis and Palestinians continue to reject compromise on the extension of a Jewish settlements freeze on the West Bank, all eyes are turning to Washington to see what happens next. With each side digging in on its demands regarding the settlements before they will agree to resume direct negotiations, diplomats and analysts are increasingly discussing the possibility of the Obama administration issuing its own “terms of reference” for such talks. It is an act that would mark a new phase in American involvement, but would still fall short of a full-fledged Obama peace plan.

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