March 15th

Even Labor ministers oppose halting east Jerusalem building ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - (Analysis) March 14, 2010 - 1:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received backing from his ministers and the parties in his coalition Sunday as he faced a deepening crisis in Israel’s relations with the American administration. While officials in Washington were quoted as saying that Netanyahu would have to choose between his ties with US President Barack Obama’s government and his coalition partners, ministers and MKs took steps to ensure that he would not have to make such a difficult choice. » Read more

For PA, Ramat Shlomo brouhaha is a godsend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) March 15, 2010 - 12:00am The crisis that erupted last week between the US and Israel over plans to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood has been welcomed by the Palestinian Authority as a “positive development.” PA officials and media outlets have since been highlighting – with a tone full of satisfaction – every single report or statement about the crisis between Jerusalem and Washington. » Read more

Settlements or us ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - (Analysis) March 15, 2010 - 12:00am Binyamin Netanyahu had thought that the crisis was over. » Read more

Estimate: De-facto freeze in J'lem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - March 15, 2010 - 12:00am Israel faces no choice but to enforce a de-facto construction freeze in greater Jerusalem. Netanyahu won't officially announce it, but will quietly execute it, says a senior cabinet source Amidst crisis with the White House, how will Israel respond to the American demands? According to a senior source in the government, "The price for the American insult will be a de-facto construction freeze across greater Jerusalem. There will be no other choice, due to the government's stupidity," the source told Ynet. » Read more

Settlers' call sends Palestinian shepherd to IDF beating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - March 15, 2010 - 12:00am The response from the Israel Defense Forces spokesman came surprisingly quickly; a mere two or three hours after the query had been sent by Haaretz, the spokesman replied orally, and then in writing, that "following the reporter's question and after receiving most of the facts, the chief [military] prosecutor, Col. Jana Modzagbrishvili has instructed the military police to look into the matter." The matter, according to most of the facts, was that soldiers had beaten a civilian, who was bound and blindfolded, for several hours on January 7. » Read more

IDF declares West Bank protest villages a 'closed military area' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - March 15, 2010 - 12:00am The army has declared the West Bank villages of Bil'in and Ni'lin a 'closed military area' until August 17, it emerged Monday. In arresting a demonstrator on Friday, police cited a military edict closing off the two villages, where weekly protests against the barrier Israel is erecting around the West Bank have often turned violent. Bil'in residents told Haaretz that late on Friday night dozens of soldiers, some of them masked, deployed throughout the village to post notices of the order, signed on February 17 by the chief of army Central Command, Gen. Avi Mizrahi. » Read more

Israel envoy: U.S. ties at their lowest ebb in 35 years ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - March 15, 2010 - 12:00am Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, has told the country's diplomats there that U.S.-Israeli relations face their worst crisis in 35 years, despite attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to project a sense of "business as usual." Oren was speaking to the Israeli consuls general in a conference call on Saturday night. » Read more

Israel extends West Bank closure for three days ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 14, 2010 - 1:00am Israeli security forces extended the general closure on the West Bank for three days to Tuesday midnight, an Israeli army statement said on Saturday. The lookdown, which had been expected to be lifted on Saturday midnight, was extended in view of the unrest in the area, according to the statement. » Read more

Israeli apology gets cool reception in Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Josef Federman - March 14, 2010 - 1:00am Israel's prime minister expressed regret Sunday for a crisis with the United States over plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, even as American officials played down the apology and called for bold Israeli action to get peace efforts back on track. With tensions rising, Israel deployed hundreds of police around east Jerusalem's Old City and heavily restricted Palestinian access to the area — the scene of several recent clashes. » Read more

Officials: US wants Israel to cancel building plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - March 15, 2010 - 12:00am The U.S. is pressing Israel to scrap a contentious east Jerusalem building project whose approval has touched off the most serious diplomatic feud with Washington in years, said Israeli officials Monday. Tensions in the city at the center of the spat were high, with police out in large numbers in Jerusalem's volatile Old City in expectation of renewed clashes and Palestinian shopkeepers shuttering their stores for several hours to protest Israel's actions in the city. » Read more