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.
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Ha'aretz Opinion: "Kushner rejects calls to delay release of Mideast peace plan" (May 3, 2019)Ori Nir, a former Israeli journalist with Americans for Peace Now, which supports a two-state solution, said he also has urged the Trump administration to hold off on presenting its peace plan. The concern, he explained, is that when it is likely rejected by the Palestinian Authority, it could lead the right-wing Israeli government to declare they have no peace partner and to possibly annex territory in the West Bank. Read >> |
Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived
NOTE: Congress continues (reportedly) to wrestle with a “fix” for ATCA but related life goes on - as seen notably this week in 2 distinct developments: (1) As noted in yesterday’s summary of the House FY2020 SFOPS, House appropriators appear to have come up with an elegant workaround for ATCA, by funding Palestinian humanitarian needs via accounts not sanctioned under ATCA. Given the insistence of ATCA supporters that ATCA was never intended to prevent such funding, perhaps this approach will be allowed to go forward. And (2) On 5/17 Grassley (R-IA), who was the moving force behind ATCA, put a hold on the Trump Administration’s nominee for Ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield. He explained in a floor speech his reason: “...the State Department's, through Ambassador Satterfield, consistent efforts to protect the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization from liability and thereby undermine the rights of American victims of Palestinian terrorism. This stands in sharp contrast to the intent of Congress.” Read the full statement to get a full sense of Grassley’s determination to see ATCA’s core purpose - enabling US citizens to sue the PLO and PA out of existence - be implemented.
Developments are emerging fast and furiously indicating that
Trump’s War Cabinet, helmed by John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, is moving the US to the precipice of an unnecessary
and devastating war against Iran.
On May 23, APN hosted a briefing call with two experts on US-Iran relations and the embattled Iran nuclear deal: Mary Kaszynski, Deputy Director of Policy at the Ploughshares Fund, and Barbara Slavin, Director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council and renowned diplomatic reporter.
This week, the Trump administration undertook yet another move to
delegitimize the Palestinian national movement and sever contacts with Palestinian leaders. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a
high-ranking member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Department of Public Diplomacy and Policy for
the Palestinian Authority, announced on May 13th that the US had denied her a visa without providing an
explanation. Ashrawi, who earned a doctorate from the University of Virginia and has negotiated with every US
administration from Reagan to Obama, was slated to speak at several think tanks and universities and planned to
visit family. Ashrawi has been fiercely critical of the Trump administration.
As the latest of a set of hostile actions by the Trump administration against high-ranking and influential Palestinians, the denial of a visa to Hanan Ashrawi should be of great concern to advocates of a two-state solution.
