Americans for Peace Now is shocked and deeply saddened by the mass-casualty attack on worshipers at a mosque in Sinai, Egypt. Our condolences to the families and the people of Egypt, and wishes of full recovery to those injured.
Update: this action, now closed, ran in November 2017.
President Trump says he wants to broker the “ultimate deal,” a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. But since taking office in January, he and his aides have failed to offer a framework for negotiations, have failed to assert positions that are vital for securing a peace deal, such as sternly opposing settlement construction, and have refused to endorse the only viable formula for a deal: the two-state solution.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday November 22, 2017
You Must Be
Kidding:
"I say with sincere regret, I have not yet come across the Palestinian Sadat who will declare his desire to end the conflict, who will recognize the State of Israel inside borders, whatever they may be, and support our right to live in peace and security.”
--In a speech at the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ignored the numerous statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in support for a two-state solution and the Israelis' and Palestinians' rights to live in peace and security.*
"I say with sincere regret, I have not yet come across the Palestinian Sadat who will declare his desire to end the conflict, who will recognize the State of Israel inside borders, whatever they may be, and support our right to live in peace and security.”
--In a speech at the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ignored the numerous statements by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in support for a two-state solution and the Israelis' and Palestinians' rights to live in peace and security.*
Alarmed by the prospects of the Trump administration ordering the closure of the Palestinian mission in Washington, Americans for Peace Now (APN) is calling on the administration and Congress to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to keep its office open.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday November 21, 2017
Quote of the day:
"These days, when government ministers no longer view morality, reason or the public's needs as
determining factors and are motivated solely by the quest for power, the president was wise to draw this line
and define a moral bar, one which an enlightened society must strive to meet."
--Peace Now Secretary-General Avi Buskila explains in an Op-Ed in Israel Hayom why President Reuven Rivlin's decision not to pardon the 'Shooting Soldier from Hebron,' Elor Azaria, was wise.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Israel is now seeking to retroactively legalize the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, even though in 2016 it admitted that the land was expropriated by mistake and it said it would return it. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit approved the new decision.**
--Peace Now Secretary-General Avi Buskila explains in an Op-Ed in Israel Hayom why President Reuven Rivlin's decision not to pardon the 'Shooting Soldier from Hebron,' Elor Azaria, was wise.*
You Must Be Kidding:
Israel is now seeking to retroactively legalize the expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, even though in 2016 it admitted that the land was expropriated by mistake and it said it would return it. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit approved the new decision.**
Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
This week, Alpher discusses the 40 year anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's visit to Israel and the launch of the Middle East peace process; additional grand strategies from that era; indications of an emerging US-Israeli-Saudi grand strategy; the publication of protocols from Israeli government deliberations held in the months immediately following the Six-Day War of 1967; and whether we are witnessing the emergence of an Iran-Russia grand strategic axis for controlling at least the northern tier of the Middle East.
2017
Like many activists in the peace camp, I’m occasionally afflicted with “hope fatigue” as I watch the Israeli government give up on the pursuit of peace.
When I think back to the high hopes we had for the Oslo Accords, the Camp David Summit, the Clinton Parameters, and
the Quartet’s Road Map, a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems more remote today than ever
before.
I can’t help feeling distressed that both the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority have permitted the extremists on both sides to dominate the political agenda. My despair deepens as I watch Israelis gobble up land in the West Bank and take over Palestinian property in East Jerusalem that’s supposed to be subject to negotiation in a future peace agreement between the two parties.
But the staff and supporters of Americans for Peace Now—and the young leaders and volunteers at Shalom Achshav, our sister organization in Israel—refuse to succumb to hopelessness and fatigue. They just keep plugging away. And because of them and their work, I keep getting reenergized and recommitted to the struggle to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday, November 20, 2017
Quote of the day:
"It is doubtful that there was such a clear confrontation between the Chief of Staff and the
Defense Minister in the history of the state, and on such an important issue as the purity of arms and the
values of the IDF."
--Maariv analyst Yossi Melman comments on how Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded to the decision of President Reuven Rivlin not to pardon the 'Shooting Soldier from Hebron.'*
--Maariv analyst Yossi Melman comments on how Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded to the decision of President Reuven Rivlin not to pardon the 'Shooting Soldier from Hebron.'*