IDF to dismantle crossing near Jericho ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Elie Leshem - June 17, 2009 - 12:00am The army will remove the Vered Yericho Crossing, south of Jericho in the West Bank, on Wednesday, in order to allow free movement for vehicles and pedestrians from the city to the Jordan Valley, the IDF Spokesman said Wednesday. According to the announcement, the decision was made following an assessment by the IDF's OC Central Command as part of the government's plan to ease travel restrictions for the Palestinians. » Read more

Despite Netanyahu's speech, building in W. Bank settlements continues apace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel - June 17, 2009 - 12:00am On the very day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conditionally recognized a demilitarized Palestinian state, construction continued apace in the West Bank, about 30 kilometers east of Bar-Ilan University, the venue of Netanyahu's speech. At the Nofei Nehemia outpost, construction workers completed four prefabricated homes on Sunday. Nofei Nehemia, about two kilometers east of Ariel, is one of 26 outposts the government of former prime minister Ariel Sharon promised the U.S. to evacuate. » Read more

Israeli minister in Arab slur row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News June 17, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's internal security minister has apologised after being caught on film using the word "Araboosh" - highly offensive Hebrew slang for Arabs. While Yitzhak Aharonovitch was on a tour meeting police, one plain clothes officer apologised to him for his scruffy appearance. "What do you mean dirty? You look like a real Araboosh," the minister was heard to respond. He is a member of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's far right party. Mr Aharonovitch later said he wished to "apologise to anyone who was hurt". » Read more

Old Legal Opinion Raises New Questions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - June 17, 2009 - 12:00am Thirty years ago, the State Department legal adviser issued an opinion in response to an inquiry from Congress: The establishment of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories "is inconsistent with international law." The opinion cited Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that an occupying power "shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." Israel has insisted that the Geneva Convention does not apply to settlers and broadly contests assertions of the settlements' illegality. » Read more

Israel's West Bank phone delay hurts growth: Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Mohammed Assadi - June 17, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's delay in releasing frequencies for a second West Bank mobile phone network is holding up economic development, Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Tuesday. Blair said if Israel released frequencies for Wataniya Palestine mobile, it would create thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. "I hope that we can get this moved satisfactorily in the next few weeks," he told Reuters in an interview. "But again it has been very frustrating because we have an agreement, we secured the agreement. All we need is the frequency released." » Read more

How the Palestinians should respond to Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Hussein Ibish - (Analysis) June 16, 2009 - 12:00am The response from Palestinian and Arab leaders to Benjamin Netanyahu's defiant foreign policy speech last Sunday has so far consisted mainly of throwing up their hands in despair. While understandable given the prime minister's intransigence on Israel's prior commitment to a complete settlement freeze and other key issues, this approach is not likely to accomplish very much. » Read more

How the Palestinians should respond to Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) June 16, 2009 - 12:00am The response from Palestinian and Arab leaders to Benjamin Netanyahu's defiant foreign policy speech last Sunday has so far consisted mainly of throwing up their hands in despair. While understandable given the prime minister's intransigence on Israel's prior commitment to a complete settlement freeze and other key issues, this approach is not likely to accomplish very much. » Read more