March 18th

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.

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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.

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March 17th

Parsing Mitchell's statement
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Middle East Peace Envoy George Mitchell issued a statement from Israel today which on its face seemed a quiet victory wave on achieving agreement for Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks over the weekend. But a former Israeli official reading the statement interprets it differently, to suggest they haven't agreed on what they are going to be talking about indirectly. While an American Palestinian expert says the indirect proximity talks provide a bridging mechanism to potentially get the parties back to direct negotiations.

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US-Israel crisis — this time it's serious
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Arab News - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Tension between the United States and Israel went up a notch on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said construction in occupied East Jerusalem would continue as usual. "Construction will continue in Jerusalem as has been the case over the past 42 years," Netanyahu told members of his Likud party.

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The ongoing controversy between the US and Israel continues to dominate coverage: the New York Times sees an opportunity for the United States; Israel continues to refuse to reign in settlements; Tom Friedman says the US should support the PA state building agenda; Maureen Dowd says Iran is benefiting from the controversy; Sec. Clinton tones down administration rhetoric; the Quartet is meeting to discuss the matter; a Ha'aretz commentary asks whether Pres. Obama will seek to unseat PM Netanyahu and an editorial says he should agree to American demands; Netanyahu's brother-in-law calls Obama an "anti-Semite." More than 100 Palestinians are injured in West Bank violence, and the Christian Science Monitor says Iran sees an opportunity in the chaos. Israel lifts the closure of the West Bank. PLO secretary-general Yasser Abed Rabbo announces a major Palestinian conference on Jerusalem. General David Petraeus expresses concern that Israel's policies may be endangering US troops. The OIC accuses Israel of promoting a religious war. 13 human rights organizations petition on behalf of Palestinian mobility. Tensions emerge between US Jewish and Presbyterian leaders.

Pentagon eyes impact of Israel-Palestinian tension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have an "enormous" effect where U.S. military forces operate in the Muslim world and are closely monitored, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The comments by General David Petraeus, who heads U.S. Central Command, put a spotlight on the concerns among senior officers as they are drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq, carrying out a major troop surge in Afghanistan and preparing for a possible showdown with Iran over its nuclear program.

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Fateful choice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

In still another sign of the rapidly deteriorating relations between Israel and the US – a function of the Obama administration’s unwarranted and shocking overreaction to the Ramat Shlomo dispute – special Mideast envoy George Mitchell postponed his arrival here, originally slated for Tuesday.

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'Report demonizing Israel risks Presbyterian-Jewish ties'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by E.B. Solomont - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

American Jewish leaders are slamming a report by the Presbyterian Church USA that blames Israel for the “Palestinian resistance” and denounces companies doing business with Israel. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which circulated a memo to its member agencies and board of directors Monday, said the biased report reduced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a caricature, demonizing Israel and delegitimizing its right to exist as a Jewish state.

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Groups petition court for Gaza to W. Bank movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Dan Izenberg - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Thirteen human rights organizations spearheaded by Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual and Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday against a new Defense Ministry regulation severely restricting the right of Palestinians living in Gaza to move to the West Bank.

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Netanyahu's brother-in-law: Obama is an anti-Semite
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's brother-in-law Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi on Wednesday called U.S. President Barack Obama an anti-Semite in an interview with Army Radio. "It's not that Obama doesn't like Bibi," he referring to Netanyahu using his nickname. "He doesn't like the nation of Israel." Netanyahu was quick to distance himself from Ben-Artzi's remarks, saying he completely disagrees with his brother-in-law.

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