Camp David | The American Task Force on Palestine

The Syrian-Israeli courtship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq al-Homayed - (Opinion) July 19, 2011 - 11:00pm

Confirming what was exclusively reported by Asharq al-Awsat last Friday, the Syrian regime announced the day before yesterday its formal recognition of the Palestinian state. It comes as one of the last Arab states to grant this recognition, and state number 118 internationally. So why has the Syrian regime recognized the Palestinian state now?

The Geneva Accord: a breakthrough model
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Yossi Beilin - April 20, 2011 - 11:00pm

Just over a decade ago, Israelis and Palestinians met at Camp David. The weeks leading to the summit were full of expectation. There was a sense that an agreement was within reach. It was the last summer of the Clinton administration, and everyone thought that the president of the United States would not convene a summit that would lead to anything short of a historic triumph. So determined, it seemed, was everyone to succeed, that success almost seemed predetermined. And indeed, some even believed that an agreement had already been secretly reached – that it was a done deal.

Encountering Peace: What does Netanyahu want?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - January 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Understanding what has been leaked, the PM should move forward with current Palestinian leadership as soon as possible.

A popular but problematic position
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) October 24, 2010 - 11:00pm

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's "Jewish state" or "nation state of the Jewish people" demand is popular with the Israeli public. The right wing likes it because it is patriotic and seemingly "anti-Arab". The left and center cannot easily oppose it because it dovetails with their emphasis on ending the occupation in order to maintain Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in view of the demographic threat. Netanyahu can even take credit for getting US President Barack Obama to endorse the Jewish state demand.

Plan B for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) September 15, 2010 - 11:00pm

On October 5, 1995, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin presented the Oslo 2 accord to the Knesset. In the speech he made on that momentous occasion, Rabin pledged that in the final-status agreement, Jerusalem would remain united, the settlement blocs would remain part of Israel and the security border would be the Jordan Valley. He also said Israel would not return to the June 4, 1967 lines and that the Palestinians would run their own lives in the framework of an entity that would be less than a state.

Why I doubt Binyamin Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Gilead Sher - (Opinion) September 14, 2010 - 11:00pm

Eleven years ago, on September 4 1999, the government of Israel, under Ehud Barak, and the PLO, under Yasser Arafat, signed an agreement called the Sharm-el-Sheikh Memorandum. It provided that accelerated permanent status negotiations would commence shortly, and that their goal was to reach a framework agreement on permanent status in five months and a comprehensive agreement in one year.

Camp David Redux: A Look Back At Lessons Learned
Media Mention of ATFP In National Public Radio (NPR) - September 2, 2010 - 11:00pm

MELISSA BLOCK, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Im Melissa Block. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: And Im Robert Siegel. The resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington this week, reminded us of the last time the parties aimed at settling their differences with an American president as mediator. Ten summers ago, there were two weeks of talks at Camp David. President Bill Clinton hoped to settle the conflict once and for all.

Wishing President Abbas Success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - September 1, 2010 - 11:00pm

During the preparations for the historic [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations due to commence today, Israeli Rabbi Ovadia Yosef called for the damnation of Mahmoud Abbas, so as to relieve the Israelis of him. And in Gaza, a group of Hamas imams have prayed that the call of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef be answered, and that Mahmoud Abbas and his negotiating team be killed.

Camp David Redux: A Look Back At Lessons Learned
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
(Interview) September 1, 2010 - 11:00pm

MELISSA BLOCK, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Im Melissa Block. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: And Im Robert Siegel. The resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington this week, reminded us of the last time the parties aimed at settling their differences with an American president as mediator. Ten summers ago, there were two weeks of talks at Camp David. President Bill Clinton hoped to settle the conflict once and for all.

Middle East talks: no real desire for change spells little hope of success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - August 31, 2010 - 11:00pm

No previous round of Middle East peace negotiations has begun with such rock-bottom expectations as the one being launched in Washington tonight. Neither side expects to be able to reach an agreement unless the US tries to impose one. And few believe that if Barack Obama does attempt that, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will be able to live with it – the Israeli premier because of his fractious rightwing coalition and the Palestinian president because of Hamas opposition and wider despair over years of peace "process" without change.