Playing with fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The controversy surrounding the plan to create a Jewish enclave in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem is not another routine expression of the U.S.-Israel dispute over the settlements. The timing of the decision to build dozens of housing units in the Shepherd Hotel complex, at the height of efforts to reach an agreement on limited construction in the settlements, casts doubt over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to enter serious negotiations on a final-status agreement. » Read more

What Netanyahu wants from Obama's 'self-hating Jews' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Who is to blame for the latest dispute with the United States over the new neighborhood going up in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah area? Mayor Nir Barkat? Certainly not. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stood behind him? Ridiculous. Any child knows that everything is the fault of other Jews: Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, two American administration officials who are inciting President Barack Obama against their own people. » Read more

'No difference to U.S. between outpost, East Jerusalem construction' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar, Barak Ravid - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The United States views East Jerusalem as no different than an illegal West Bank outpost with regard to its demand for a freeze on settlement construction, American sources have informed both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

Israeli PM defiant on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a reported US request that a building project in Jerusalem be halted. The project involves building 20 apartments in the mainly Arab East Jerusalem area, which was captured by Israel in 1967. Last week US officials told the Israeli ambassador that the project should be suspended, Israeli media said. But Mr Netanyahu rejected this in comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting. "We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy (homes) anywhere in Jerusalem," he said. » Read more

Israel backs East Jerusalem housing construction despite U.S. opposition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Calling Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem indisputable, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected U.S. demands to stop plans to build 20 Jewish-owned apartments in the eastern part of the city that Palestinians regard as key to their future state. » Read more

Netanyahu Upholds Plan To Build in E. Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended plans for a new Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem, rebuffing the Obama administration's opposition to Israeli construction in the mostly Palestinian area. » Read more

Israel Rejects U.S. Call to Hold Off on Development ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Sunday an American call to hold off on a planned Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem, saying Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed city could not be challenged. » Read more

Netanyahu’s Talk of Peace Finds Few True Believers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am In the weeks since Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, finally accepted the principle of a Palestinian state, with qualifications, there has been deep skepticism about his sincerity. On the Palestinian side, aides to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, have called Mr. Netanyahu’s grudging endorsement of Palestinian statehood, under international pressure, a disingenuous public relations exercise. » Read more