Letter to Associated Press

From: mberenhaus@comcast.net To: info@ap.org Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:07:26 AM Subject: Please make correction in "Official: Israel presents Mideast peace outline" by Daniel Estrin posted by AP 7 hours ago. Dear Editor, Daniel Estrin gives his opinion, in "Official: Israel presents Mideast peace outline" 1/10/12, that "the issue of settlement construction persists as the heart of the current impasse in peace efforts." His proof: "The Palestinians say they will not resume negotiations as long as Israel continues to build in its settlements in the West Bank ". But as the article says, Israel agreed to a 10 month moratorium on building. In the ninth month, the Palestinians finally agreed to talk knowing full well that such a contentious conflict could not be solved in one month. Further, the Palestinians have said lots of things and they have negotiated before without this pre-condition of settlement building. As a matter of fact, this was the first time that the pre-condition of a halt of settlement building was ever given by the Palestinians further showing that the settlements, which make up only 2% of the West Bank, are not the main issue. The settlements are merely a convenient excuse given by the Palestinians for not sitting down at the table. Articles should state facts, not inject opinions - especially biased opinions. Please correct this. Thank you, Michael Berenhaus Potomac, MD http://news.yahoo.com/official-israel-presents-mideast-peace-outline-210750959.html

Published in Washington Post

Missing pages from the Palestinian history book. ● In an effort to counter Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s claim that the Palestinians are an invented people, Maen Rashid Areikat said his home town of Jericho “goes as far back as 10,000 B.C., making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.” But he neglected to say who inhabited it, given that there is no evidence, archaeological or otherwise, that it was inhabited by Palestinians. Would the vast majority of the Americans living in say, Sioux City, Iowa, have a right to claim that their ancestors have been in Sioux City for thousands of years? Hardly. Michael Berenhaus, Potomac