The New York Times covers evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Israel's announcement of 1600 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem disrupts VP Biden's trip. Israeli officials say no slight was intended. PM Fayyad, Biden and the White House condemn the move, and the Vice President says Palestinians deserve a viable state and that the US supports state and institution building efforts. Two commentaries and a report from Human Rights Watch highlight Israel's crackdown on nonviolent Palestinian protests. The PA postpones commemoration of the death of a militant. Gaza hairdressers protest Hamas' ban. Palestinians say Arab states have withdrawn their support for proximity talks. Ha'aretz says Israeli policy allows settlers to rampage unchecked. Daoud Kuttab says complaints about New York Times coverage of Palestine has only produced the loss of its Palestinian correspondent in Gaza.

Biden: Palestinians deserve 'viable' state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Vice President Joe Biden's displeasure over an Israeli plan to enlarge an east Jerusalem settlement was on display Wednesday as he warned against actions that "inflame tensions" and reassured his Palestinian hosts that they deserve a sustainable, independent state.

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An Eviction Stirs Old Ghosts in a Contested City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

ERUSALEM — Having been removed in favor of Israeli nationalist Jews, members of the Palestinian Ghawi family have been sheltering this winter in a tent on the sidewalk opposite their home of more than five decades in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. For those who want to see a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the eviction of the Ghawis has touched on two sensitive nerves: the fate of East Jerusalem, where Israel and the Palestinians vie for control, and the abiding grievances of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war.

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With Biden in West Bank, Settlements Cloud Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank— Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. arrived here on Wednesday to meet with Palestinian leaders as the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, expressed dismay at Israel’s announcement a day earlier that it planned to build 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem

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Palestinian leader joins Biden in condemning Israeli housing decision
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, meeting with Vice President Biden on Wednesday, said Israel's decision to approve 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem would undercut U.S. efforts to revive a dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "It's damaging for sure," Fayyad said in his office in Ramallah after greeting Biden. "This is a moment of great challenge to the effort led by the United States to get the political process going again."

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Biden's Israel visit takes a rocky turn
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Reporting from Jerusalem - In the midst of a high-profile trip by Vice President Joe Biden, Israel unveiled plans for new housing in disputed Jerusalem on Tuesday, a surprise step that embarrassed and angered the highest ranking Obama administration official yet to visit the country. Biden, who had come to try to smooth relations with a longtime ally and promote new peace talks, denounced Israel's plans to build 1,600 housing units in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem as a threat to the search for peace.

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Why Israel jailed me for 'talking too much'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Jamal Juma' - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

East Jerusalem The Palestinian elected leadership is weak. And even with Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this week, the renewed Middle East peace process appears to be little more than a charade. Israel has taken this opportunity to crack down on Palestinians who advocate nonviolent protests against the Israeli West Bank segregation barrier and charged them based on questionable or false evidence. I know: I was arrested for talking too much. All we Palestinians want is a life free from racial discrimination.

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Peaceful protest in Israel can lead to arrest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New Haven Register
by Mazin Qumsiyeh - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

THIS week, when I return to my village in the occupied West Bank, I face possible arrest by Israel for engaging in nonviolent protests against abusive Israeli policies opposed by our own government. This prospect is difficult after 29 years of living in the United States, where such activities are fully protected. It was this openness that attracted me to the U.S. I became a proud citizen and pursued work not only in my profession but also as a human rights advocate.

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Israel: End Crackdown on Anti-Wall Activists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Human Rights Watch
March 5, 2010 - 1:00am

(Jerusalem) - Israel should immediately end its arbitrary detention of Palestinians protesting the separation barrier, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is building most of the barrier inside the West Bank rather than along the Green Line, in violation of international humanitarian law. In recent months, Israeli military authorities have arbitrarily arrested and denied due process rights to several dozen Palestinian anti-wall protesters.

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Palestinians postpone commemoration of militant
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Sawafta - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 10 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority ordered on Wednesday the cancellation of a ceremony to honour a woman who led a 1978 hijacking of a civilian bus in Israel in which 35 people were killed. The cancellation of Thursday's ceremony coincided with a visit to the occupied West Bank by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who met with Palestinian leaders as part of Washington's efforts to revive the moribund Middle East peace process.

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