July 20th

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.

»

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.

»

'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.

»

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.

»

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.

»

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.

»

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.

»

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.

»

July 17th

U.S. Agrees to Resettle Palestinians Displaced by Iraq War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Miriam Jordan - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am

The U.S. agreed to resettle 1,350 Palestinians displaced by fighting in Iraq, marking the largest resettlement ever of Palestinian refugees in the nation. The decision appears to signal a shift in Washington's previous position against resettling Palestinians out of concern about the potential impact on U.S. relations with Israel and the Arab world. The resettlement, which is slated to begin this fall, is likely to illicit strong reactions from people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

»

Coverage continues of emerging economic growth in parts of the West Bank (1, 12, 17). The Washington Post features an op-ed by former Israeli PM Olmert arguing against a focus on the question of Israeli settlements, and another by crown prince of Bahrain Shaikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa urging Arab states to communicate their desire for peace directly to the Israeli public (2, 3). In the Guardian, an anonymous Israeli writer questions Israel’s housing minister’s stance on keeping Arabs and Jews in separate towns, while Jerusalem's legal adviser has ordered the demolition of settler structures adjacent to the old city (5, 7). In Ha’aretz, Ari Shavit argues that Israel must make progress with the Palestinians before it can push the international community for a harder line on Iran, but Aluf Benn suggests that the Obama administration is still far from presenting a detailed peace plan of its own (8, 6). Two articles consider the state of both the traditional and the more peace-oriented pro-Israel groups in Washington (13, 15).

American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017