July 23rd

Fatah reascendant? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Wafa Amr - July 23, 2009 - 12:00am Ten days before the Nov. 27, 2007 Annapolis peace conference, the Palestinians sent a letter to the Bush administration insisting they would accept no less than a total freeze on settlement building in the West Bank. Arab countries were also pushing for a settlement freeze to agree to attend the conference. But the Palestinians and many Arab officials attended without their precondition being fulfilled. In fact, negotiations were carried out at a slower pace than the construction of homes in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem. » Read more

Israel envoy: No crisis with U.S. over settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz July 23, 2009 - 12:00am There is no crisis in relations between Israel and the United States, despite a lingering dispute - which will be settled "soon" - over settlement construction in the West Bank, Israel's new ambassador to Washington said Wednesday. But a highly respected Tel Aviv think tank said the two countries could be on a "collision course" unless Israel undertook practical measures to back up its statements that it wanted peace with the Palestinians. » Read more

Israel circulates photo of Hitler greeting late Palestinian mufti ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters July 23, 2009 - 12:00am Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered diplomats to use an old photograph of a former Palestinian religious leader meeting Adolf Hitler to counter world criticism of a Jewish building plan for East Jerusalem. Israeli officials said on Wednesday that Lieberman told Israeli ambassadors to circulate the 1941 shot in Berlin of the Nazi leader seated next to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the late mufti or top Muslim religious leader in Jerusalem. » Read more

Israel's other Israel: the Tel Aviv 'bubble' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am The Israeli relationship with this city is captured in a hit song about a 20-something who moves here from Jerusalem: "I mix in with the scene. Everything is fresh, and that's good," goes the hip-hop verse by Dag HaNahash. "After two years of Sodom and Gomorrah, I don't recognize myself in the mirror." Welcome to The Bubble, as Israelis call it. Here, residents forgo news about Hamas rocket fire for an espresso, then mosey down to the beach. While Jewish settlers spar with Palestinians in the West Bank, "Tel Avivis" make merry at disco clubs. » Read more

Don't Go There ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by George Fletcher - (Opinion) July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo deserves great credit for having led the International Criminal Court from its birth pangs to its present position, where it commands global respect. » Read more

July 22nd

'Gov't spent 22.3% more on settlements' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - July 22, 2009 - 12:00am In past years, the government has spent 22.3 percent more on municipal budgets in the settlements than it has on such budgets within the Green Line, according to a new report issued Tuesday by the Israel European Policy Network. It explained how in 2002, the state provided 34.7% of the municipality budget for communities within the Green Line, and 57% of settlements' municipal budgets. Roby Nathanson, who coauthored the report for the policy forum, told The Jerusalem Post that the breakdown was similar in 2007. The Finance Ministry could not be reached for comment. » Read more

U.S. Pressure On Jewish Settlements Spurs Sales ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR) by Peter Kenyon - July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Relations between the Obama administration and the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue to worsen over Israel's refusal to halt new construction in Jewish settlements. But as the Obama administration continues to press for a freeze to all new units, real estate agents are reporting a rush to buy apartments both in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Real Estate Boom » Read more

'US, Israel rift on settlement issue to be resolved soon' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post July 22, 2009 - 12:00am Israel's Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said that the disagreement between America and Israel on the settlement issue would be resolved soon. In an interview with Israel radio Wednesday, Oren claimed that there was no confrontation and no tension between the two countries. This was Oren's first interview since he presented his credentials on Monday to US President Barack Obama. » Read more

Israel's barrier to progress ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Seth Freedman - (Opinion) July 22, 2009 - 12:00am In many parts of the West Bank, Israel's much-vaunted separation wall is conspicuous by its absence; Ha'aretz reports that only around 60% of the barrier has been completed will come as no surprise to those who spend time in the area around the project's proposed route. » Read more

Anti-colonialism, the Barack Obama way ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) July 22, 2009 - 12:00am One of the most important political dynamics in the Middle East these days is the escalating war of words between the United States and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the international demand to freeze Jewish settlements and colonies in Arab lands occupied in 1967. It is surprising yet heartening that the Obama team has come out strongly demanding that Israel freeze the expansion of all settlements, with no exceptions for natural growth, pre-approved projects or anything else. » Read more