The decision by the Israeli Ministry of Interior to approve 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem drew sharp reactions, including a strongly-worded condemnation by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is currently visiting Israel. ATFP believes that “advocates of violence, confrontation and escalation of conflict can only be gratified at this announcement.” Following is a special ATFP news roundup about this development.

US slams new J'lem homes approval
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israel's approval of 1,600 new housing units for young haredi families in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, saying that the timing of the decision undermines the peace process the United States is attempting to revive. Biden, visiting in Israel, issued a harshly worded statement criticizing the Israeli move, saying its timing was especially troubling by coming on the eve of a new round of US-mediated peace talks.

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Biden: East Jerusalem plan undermines peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson, Avi Issacharoff, Natasha Mozgovaya - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel's decision to approve 1,600 new homes in an ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood is undermining Middle East peace talks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, the Interior Ministry approved the building of 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, with a ministry official saying the plan will expand the ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood to the east and to the south. "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem," Biden said.

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Tel Aviv OKs new settler homes as Biden talks peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts. The controversial move infuriated the Palestinians who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state. “This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations,” Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

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Israel approves new settler homes as Biden talks peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts. The move infuriated the Palestinians, who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

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White House condemns Israel for latest illegal settlement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // Israel announced yesterday that it was to build 1,600 new homes in an illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, hours after the visiting US vice president, Joe Biden, had described renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians as “a moment of real opportunity”.

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As Biden Visits, Israel Unveils Plan for New Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Hours after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. vowed unyielding American support for Israel’s security here on Tuesday, Israel’s interior ministry announced 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem, prompting Mr. Biden to condemn the move as “precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clearly embarrassed at the move by his interior minister, Eli Yishai, head of the right-wing Shas party who has made Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem one of his central causes.

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Statement by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

"I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel. We must build an atmosphere to support negotiations, not complicate them. This announcement underscores the need to get negotiations under way that can resolve all the outstanding issues of the conflict.

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New talks may be Mitchell's moment
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

For much of the past year as he has shuttled dozens of times to the Middle East and Europe quietly trying to persuade Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace table, U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell has borne the brunt of criticism of both those offended by the Obama administration’s early pressure on Israel to halt new settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and others disappointed that Obama failed to follow through when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to stop the new construction as a precondition for negotiations.

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From proximity to peace?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

THE OBAMA administration appears near to a diplomatic achievement it expected long ago: the relaunch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It will be a modest start -- not a big conference or a convocation to Camp David but "proximity talks," in which envoy George J. Mitchell will shuttle between the two camps. This is, in one sense, a step backward for Israeli-Palestinian relations, since the two sides have been talking directly to each other, off and on, since 1991. But Mr.

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