Obama: No crisis in U.S. ties with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am United States President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there was no crisis in ties with Israel, despite a high-profile diplomatic feud over the Netanyahu administration's plans to build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem. "Israel is one of our closest allies, and we and the Israeli people have a special bond that's not going to go away," Obama said in an interview with Fox News. "But friends are going to disagree sometimes," Obama said. » Read more

Qaeda-labelled group claims fatal Gaza rocket ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 18, 2010 - 12:00am GAZA, March 18 (Reuters) - A previously unknown group in the Gaza Strip calling itself Ansar al-Sunna (Followers of the Sunnis) send out an SMS message to media claiming to have fired a rocket that killed a man in Israel on Thursday. The name, which is also used by al Qaeda allies in Iraq and elsewhere, indicated that the group belongs to hardline Salafist tendencies in the Palestinian enclave which have challenged the ruling Hamas Islamist movement. Hamas has been trying to enforce an informal ceasefire between Israel and the territory.

First planned Palestinian city receives US grant ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 15, 2010 - 12:00am Bethlehem - Ma'an - The US government signed two grant agreements on Monday in support of Rawabi, the first Palestinian planned city outside Ramallah, and to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance. The grants, offered by the US Trade and Development Agency (TDA) Awards Grants, will go toward two projects for technical assistance to develop an IT master plan for the new city, and a tertiary waste water treatment feasibility study for Rawabi and surrounding communities, a statement said. » Read more

Israel crisis: US must keep up the pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The Obama administration appears to be turning down the rhetoric in its heated exchange with Israel over last week’s surprise announcement of 1,600 more Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem. It should not, however, relieve pressure on Israel to show that it is ready to compromise in making peace with the Palestinians. » Read more

Rocket fired by Gaza militants kills man in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times March 18, 2010 - 12:00am A rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip killed a man inside Israel Thursday, Israeli medics said, in the first death from a rocket attack since Israel's Gaza offensive last year. Magen David Adom of Israel's emergency service said the man killed was about 30 years old and appeared to be a farm worker from Thailand employed in an agricultural community just north of Gaza. Such rocket fire was once common but has become rare since the Israeli military's Gaza campaign, which brought about a steep drop in the number of attacks launched from the Palestinian territory. » Read more

Palestinians must not stay on the sidelines, official says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - (Interview) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Almost overshadowed in the recent days of diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and Israel is the Palestinian Authority, whose leaders have been watching with concern -- and perhaps a little amusement. It's not often Palestinians get to see the U.S. and Israel clash so publicly. » Read more

For Israel and America, a Disagreement, Not a Crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am ISRAEL and America enjoy a deep and multi-layered friendship, but even the closest allies can sometimes disagree. Such a disagreement began last week during Vice President Joseph Biden’s visit to Israel, when a mid-level official in the Interior Ministry announced an interim planning phase in the expansion of Ramat Shlomo, a northern Jerusalem neighborhood. While this discord was unfortunate, it was not a historic low point in United States-Israel relations; nor did I ever say that it was, contrary to some reports. » Read more

Israel Objects to U.S. Construction Demands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 16, 2010 - 12:00am The discord between the United States and Israel over Jewish building in East Jerusalem deepened Tuesday with Israeli officials saying they would reject demands by Washington and expressing anger over the public upbraiding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Obama administration. Multimedia Palestinians wearing masks took part Tuesday in disturbances in East Jerusalem, which they view as the capital of a future state. Enlarge This Image Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times » Read more

Opportunity in a Fight With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am For President Obama, getting into a serious fight with Israel carries obvious domestic and foreign political risks. But it may offer the administration a payoff it sees as worthwhile: shoring up Mr. Obama’s credibility as a Middle East peacemaker by showing doubtful Israelis and Palestinians that he has the fortitude to push the two sides toward an agreement. Yuri Gripas/Reuters Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said ties between the United States and Israel were still strong. » Read more

U.S. Mulls Own Plan for Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David E. Sanger - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The angry exchanges between the United States and the Israeli government have rekindled a White House debate over whether — and when — President Obama should propose an American plan to form the basis of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, senior administration officials said Wednesday. The move would be a risky one for Mr. Obama at a time that the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fragile and the Palestinians are deeply divided. Until now Mr. Obama has deflected calls to put his own plan, with territorial maps, on the table. » Read more