March 24th

Netanyahu's reluctant gift to Palestine
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Guardian - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not being honest with his fellow Israelis by insisting that settlement building is compatible with a peaceful future between Israelis and Palestinians, or that the colonisation of occupied East Jerusalem "in no way harms" Palestinians and is not in any sense different from building in Tel Aviv.

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Netanyahu meets Obama as new housing controversy emerges
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is supposed to meet with President Obama at the White House at 5:30pm. The meeting comes shortly after Israeli media reported that late last week, the Jerusalem municipality gave final approval to a group of settlers to construct 20 apartments at the Shepherd Hotel site in the contested Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

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Netanyahu meets Obama as new housing controversy emerges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - (Blog) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is supposed to meet with President Obama at the White House at 5:30pm. The meeting comes shortly after Israeli media reported that late last week, the Jerusalem municipality gave final approval to a group of settlers to construct 20 apartments at the Shepherd Hotel site in the contested Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

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PM Netanyahu concludes a tense visit to Washington with two lengthy and highly confidential meetings with Pres. Obama, but insists settlement building will go forward. The Washington Post says the confrontation has demonstrated the limits of American power. Britain expels an Israeli diplomat over the misuse of UK passports in the Dubai assassination. Robert Wright says the term "anti-Israel" is being abused. Gen. Petraeus has reportedly asked for the West Bank and Gaza to be included in CENTCOM's remit. The PA says there will be no negotiations if Israel is building settlements, and Israel threatens to delay talks for up to a year. Israel is investigating the killing of two Palestinian youths. An Israeli court rules that settlers may fire into the air to disperse unarmed Palestinians. All discussions in Israel's Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Committee on settlement activity have been frozen. Hussein Ibish says Palestinians benefited from the US-Israel confrontation. Rami Khouri says more than rhetoric is needed from Washington. Mel Frykberg questions the morality of the Israeli military.

J'lem building c'tee meetings frozen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Since the furor when plans to build 1,600 new housing units in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo were announced during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, all discussions by the Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Committee over new construction in the capital have been frozen, it was announced Wednesday. Jerusalem Municipality official Yair Gabai made the statement in an interview with Army Radio, and it was later confirmed by the Interior Ministry. "Unfortunately, since Biden's visit, all committee meetings have been frozen until further notice," said Gabai.

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Court ruling lets settlers shoot in air to repel Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

A recent Jerusalem Magistrate's Court verdict indicates that settlers may fire in the air to repel unarmed Palestinians, a ruling that a Palestinian rights advocate called a dangerous precedent. Magistrate's Court Judge Hagit Kalmanovitch ruled last month that Abraham Hofi, of the settlement of Halamish, was not guilty of issuing threats or mishandling a weapon when he fired in the air from his father's balcony on May 6, 2005, after observing three Palestinians shepherding a herd some 100 meters from the settlement fence.

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No sign of breakthrough in Netanyahu-Obama meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama met twice during a dramatic evening in the White House, but no signs emerged of a breakthrough in a row over Jewish settlements. Obama hosted Netanyahu in the Oval Office late Tuesday for 90 minutes, but with the two sides embroiled in their most testy disagreement in years, unusually did not appear before the cameras with his visitor. As an evening of intense diplomacy developed, Netanyahu then asked to consult privately with his staff, a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

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Israel, undeterred, to build in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Undeterred by turbulence in its ties with the United States and Britain, Israel on Wednesday confirmed further plans to expand the Jewish presence in occupied East Jerusalem, with more building freshly approved. In a move sure to anger Palestinians and frustrate Western proponents of a freeze on settlement construction, a city official said approval was given to develop a flashpoint neighbourhood from which Palestinians were evicted last year.

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Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The UK is to expel an Israeli diplomat over 12 forged British passports used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January. David Miliband said there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the forgeries. The foreign secretary said the misuse of British passports was "intolerable". Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, said he was "disappointed", but Israel confirmed there would be no tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion.

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Israel investigates shooting of Palestinian youths
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli army is investigating the shooting deaths of two Palestinian teenagers at the weekend in the occupied West Bank, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The incident in the village of Iraq Burin was one of two fatal clashes in which four died, worsening tension between the sides and further complicating U.S.-led efforts to restart stalled peace talks.

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