Biden says Palestinians deserve 'viable' state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Karin Laub - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Palestinians deserve a "viable" independent state with contiguous territory, seeking to reassure them of U.S. support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem. The Israeli move has overshadowed Biden's visit, meant to promote a new round of U.S.-led negotiations, and drawn Palestinian accusations that Israel is not serious about peace. Israel apologized for embarrassing Biden with the timing of its announcement, but made clear it has no intention of reversing its plan. » Read more

Gazan hairdressers protest Hamas restrictions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman March 10, 2010 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza's male hairdressers have filed a complaint with a human rights group over a Hamas edict banning them from cutting women's hair. Gaza's Islamic militant rulers announced the ban last week. It affects only five coiffeurs but highlights Hamas' increasing attempts to impose a strict version of Islam in the already conservative Palestinian territory. » Read more

U.S. supports Palestinian state-building efforts: Biden ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Editorial) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday said Washington supports Palestinians in building their institutions for a "viable" Palestinian state. The United States "strongly supports the Palestinian (National) Authority's efforts to build its institutions and the develop the economy of the state," Biden told a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, referring to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's two-year state building plan. » Read more

Arabs withdraw support to proximity talks: PLO official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua (Editorial) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am Arab states have withdrawn their support to indirect proximity talks between the Palestinians and Israel after the latter approved plans to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said Wednesday. "Some Arab countries told the U.S. administration that the Arab League (AL)'s decision regarding the indirect talks is no longer existed," Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Voice of Palestine radio. » Read more

Israel policy allows settlers to rampage unchecked ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am From a Palestinian perspective, it's hard to imagine better timing for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won't have speak at great length nor lay on the charm to persuade Biden, White House staff or the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem that Netanyahu government is not serious when it says it wants peace. One must admit that the current diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians is not about reaching a peace deal - each side is convinced that the other is either not serious or incapable. » Read more

When Israelis degrade Israel by humiliating Joe Biden ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am Why would Israeli officials degrade Israel by humiliating the vice-president of the United States? What conceivable advantage is there in the Interior Ministry choosing the occasion of a high-profile visit by Joseph R. Biden, Jr., a mission aimed at soothing strained relations between Israel and the Obama administration, to announce the approval of 1,600 new homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem? Or to add, in insult to injury, that construction on the new homes could begin as soon as early May. » Read more

Yishai: Sorry for distress over East Jerusalem Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson, Avi Issacharoff, Anshel Pfeffer, Barak Ravid - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am Interior Minister Eli Yishai apologized on Wednesday for causing domestic and international distress as a result of Israel's recent decision to approve 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem. Yishai was responding to the recent wave of condemnations, particularly on the part of the United States and visiting Vice President Joe Biden, surrounding the recent plan to build 1,600 more housing units in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in East Jerusalem. » Read more

Bibi's snub to Biden may backfire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Simon Tisdall - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am It's not the first time that Israel has stiffed Barack Obama over his attempts to kick-start Middle East peace negotiations. But the sudden, highly inflammatory announcement of plans to build an additional 1,600 homes in occupied East Jerusalem, in the midst of a visit to Israel of US vice-president Joe Biden, was certainly the most brutally contemptuous rebuff so far to American peacemaking. » Read more

The People of Gaza and a Reporter: Victims of the NY Times' Subbornness ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) March 8, 2010 - 1:00am The people of Gaza appear to have been the recent victims of the arrogance (or what some believe to be the bias) of the NY Times. The stubbornness of Bill Keller, the executive editor of the NY Times, in refusing to relocate his Jerusalem reporter has caused a considerable drop in the paper's coverage of Gaza. The Times has refused to relocate their reporter covering Israel and Palestine after the appearance of a conflict of interest surfaced. The Electronic Intifada and the US media watchdog FAIR first reported the conflict of interest case in January 25th and 27th respectively. » Read more

ATFP Senior Fellow joins Boston College panel on US-Israel Relations Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am An audience of more than a hundred students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Corcoran Commons Heights Room at Boston College on February 22, 2010 to hear a panel discussion on relations between Israel and the United States. Speaking were ATFP senior fellow Hussein Ibish; Shai Feldman, director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University; and Aaron David Miller, a former state department analyst and negotiator, now a public policy fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Read more