March 15th

Netanyahu faces 'moment of truth' after US slams Israel 'insult'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - March 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found himself on the defensive after an unprecedented public assault by US officials over the weekend, as the diplomatic furor over new building in Jerusalem escalated.

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Questions abound after Biden's Israel visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

You come for a hug. You leave with a slap. It happens in the Middle East. Vice President Joe Biden's trip this week was supposed to highlight U.S.-Israeli cooperation to counter a perceived nuclear threat from Iran and kick off U.S.-brokered indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, talk about Iran was sidetracked and the outlook for peace may be murkier than it was before. Even here, people are not quite sure how that happened.

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Clinton Rebukes Israel on Housing Announcement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

In a tense, 43-minute phone call on Friday morning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s plan for new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem sent a “deeply negative signal” about Israeli-American relations, and not just because it spoiled a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

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Driving Drunk in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) March 13, 2010 - 1:00am

I am a big Joe Biden fan. The vice president is an indefatigable defender of U.S. interests abroad. So it pains me to say that on his recent trip to Israel, when Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government rubbed his nose in some new housing plans for contested East Jerusalem, the vice president missed a chance to send a powerful public signal: He should have snapped his notebook shut, gotten right back on Air Force Two, flown home and left the following scribbled note behind: “Message from America to the Israeli government: Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.

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Netanyahu Offers Apology, but No Shift in Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told his cabinet on Sunday that the ill-timed announcement of new housing plans for a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem during a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. last week had been “regrettable” and “hurtful.” Mr. Netanyahu also said that the government had set up a committee to “examine the chain of events and to ensure procedures” to prevent such an episode from happening again.

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March 12th

Joe Biden delivers 'hardest truth' in Israel
Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Joe Biden departed from Israel Thursday leaving behind a raging controversy over the consequences of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists was the unintentional embarrassment of the highest-ranking member of the Obama administration to visit his country.

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Washington is the indespensible partner for a settlement
Media Mention of Ziad Asali In The Daily Star - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

The situation facing Israel, the Palestinians and all other interested parties, especially the United States, is difficult, but it also presents important new opportunities. Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians may resume soon, although continued disagreements over Israeli settlement building may yet derail this.

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Israel imposes a 48-hour closure on the entire West Bank. VP Biden ends his Middle East trip amid controversy and uncertainty. Multiple commentaries analyze his trip and his speech to Israelis. Israel may amend its law to prevent similar miscalculations in future. Two Israeli soldiers are indicted for using Palestinian civilians as human shields. The LA Times asks what Pres. Obama can do to restore confidence in the peace process, and Amjad Atallah says there are lessons from health-care reform. Egypt expels hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza. Israeli warplanes bomb southern Gaza. The 1,000th day of the Gaza blockade is marked, and the UN reiterates serious concerns. Pres. Abbas is asking the US to ensure Israel cancels East Jerusalem settlement plans. Larry Derfner says PM Fayyad is now the leader of the peace movement. ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says Washington is the indispensable partner for peace.

Joe Biden delivers 'hardest truth' in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Joe Biden departed from Israel Thursday leaving behind a raging controversy over the consequences of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists was the unintentional embarrassment of the highest-ranking member of the Obama administration to visit his country.

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Israel Seals off West Bank to Prevent Unrest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel has sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, preventing Palestinians from entering Israel because of fears of unrest. There have been clashes after Friday prayers at mosques in Jerusalem and elsewhere in recent weeks, sparked by deadlock in peace talks and Israel's inclusion of two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites. Several Palestinians have been badly wounded and dozens of protesters and Israeli policemen have suffered light injuries.

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