January 22nd

'Construction continues despite freeze' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Construction is continuing in the Samaria community of Kiryat Netafim despite the government's ten-month building moratorium in West Bank settlements, Army Radio reported Friday morning. According to the report, development has continued on some 15 illegal structures. The report said the ongoing construction appeared to be in defiance not only of the freeze, but of a High Court of Justice ruling of a year ago. » Read more

Clinton: Peace up to Israel, Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am WASHINGTON - "With respect to the Middle East, I think that you know we're absolutely committed. It doesn't matter whether it's round two or round 20," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in reference to the stalled peace process. During a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Clinton said, "We believe that this is a situation that deserves constant, persistent attention; that the absence of such attention perhaps created some of the difficulties that we are now encountering. » Read more

Akiva Eldar / Whose failure is the Mideast peace process? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Exactly a year after trumpeting the appointment of former senator George Mitchell as his special envoy to the Middle East, U.S. President Barack Obama is holding Israel and the Palestinians equally responsible for the stalemate in the peace process. In an interview with Time magazine marking his first year in the White House, Obama said neither side has been willing to make the bold gestures necessary to move the process forward. » Read more

Mayor defies court order to evacuate Jews from East Jerusalem home ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has gone on the offensive against the municipal legal system, state prosecutor and outgoing Attorney General Menachem Mazuz following Mazuz's order to the police to immediately evict the Jews living in a building in East Jerusalem's predominantly Arab Silwan neighborhood. Mazuz's order, which follows a court decision, came in a letter directing Police Commissioner David Cohen to evacuate the residents of Beit Yonatan, but Jerusalem city manager Yair Ma'ayan has announced that the municipality does not intend to have the order enforced. » Read more

UN Chief: Mideast conflict worsening amid stalled talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz January 22, 2010 - 1:00am United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations, declaring that failure to do so could destroy any chances of progress. "In the absence of talks, confidence between the parties has diminished," the UN chief said at a meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in New York. » Read more

Erekat: Israel imposing 1-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem - Ma'an - Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday blasted statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would never withdraw from eastern areas of the occupied West Bank. Erekat termed the statements a direct challenge to the international community, casting Israel’s readiness for peace further into doubt, by imposing further conditions on negotiations and announcing Israel's intention to continue its occupation irrespective of the outcome. » Read more

Dweik: Hamas doesn't recognize Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Dweik on Thursday denied reports by Israeli news outlets that he said on Wednesday Israel has a right to exist. "The media reports in question were inaccurate," he said in a statement, adding that since his release from an Israeli prison last year, Israeli news outlets have repeatedly misrepresented his views. » Read more

Hamas government: Don`t call us `deposed` ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency January 22, 2010 - 1:00am Gaza – Ma'an – The Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip issued an appeal to the media on Thursday, asking editors not to describe it as the al-muqalah government, translated as "dismissed" or "deposed." While Ma'an English describes the government in Gaza as the "de facto government," most local and international Arabic news agencies use the "dismissed" or "deposed" to describe the technical position of the Hamas-lead authority. » Read more

In Israel, Mitchell presses on with patience honed in N. Ireland ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ilene Prusher - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am US Middle East envoy George Mitchell arrived here Thursday for a new round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian talks, amid President Obama’s admission that he had been too optimistic about the prospects for peace. Mr. Mitchell, here for the first time since last November, met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv and was scheduled to hold talks later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

For Israelis, Mixed Feelings on Aid Effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — The editorial cartoon in Thursday’s mass-circulation Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot showed American soldiers digging among the ruins of Haiti. From within the rubble, a voice calls out, “Would you mind checking to see if the Israelis are available?” » Read more