July 20th

'Limits on settlement freeze being set' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Jerusalem's decision to leak to the media US displeasure with a plan to build a small housing complex in east Jerusalem was designed to clarify to the Americans that construction in the capital should not be lumped together with any limitations Israel may agree to on building in the settlements, senior diplomatic officials told The Jerusalem Post Sunday. Moskowitz's critics: building in sensitive areas is a strategy to undermine the peace process » Read more

Israel presses on with settlement plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am JERUSALEM // Israel yesterday refused to halt a settlement project in East Jerusalem, rejecting US pressure to include such construction in the eastern part of the city as part of a general freeze on settlement building in occupied territory. Washington’s public challenge to Israel on settlement construction in East Jerusalem has set the two sides firmly at opposite poles, and analysts describe the issue as a crucial test of the Obama administration’s intentions vis-à-vis the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. » Read more

Hamas, Fatah delay unity talks again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by HIsham Abu Taha - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am GAZA/RAMALLAH:Egyptian-mediated Palestinian reconciliation talks between rivals Fatah and Hamas set for next Saturday have been delayed for a month. A senior Fatah official on Saturday said that his movement and Hamas decided to postpone the talks until Aug. 25. » Read more

West Bank lifts ban on al-Jazeera ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Arabic satellite news TV al-Jazeera has resumed its broadcasts in the West Bank, after a ban on it was lifted by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Last week's ban came after a guest on the station accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of collaborating with Israel to have Yasser Arafat killed. The PA had accused the broadcaster of spreading lies and inciting viewers against the West Bank authorities. Al-Jazeera has been told it still faces legal action over the accusations. » Read more

Checkpoints eased: Nablus journeys ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Israel said they were necessary security measures to prevent attacks on its civilians, but many Palestinians viewed them as collective punishment. The northern city of Nablus, previously a stronghold of Palestinian militant groups, has been surrounded by six checkpoints since the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, which began in 2000. For the first time in about nine years, its residents can now drive their cars out of the city. Journey times around the West Bank have been cut significantly. » Read more

'Ma'aleh Adumim, Gilo are no different' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is hoping that the intervention of the US State Department with Israel to halt a construction project in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood would be the first step toward taking action against new homes in Jewish neighborhoods established in the parts of the city annexed after 1967. Peace Now: E. J'lem project would be end of 2-state solution; Minister Edelstein slams State Department » Read more

The Same old Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews July 20, 2009 - 12:00am In one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s first television appearances as prime minister in the years 1996-1999, he was interviewed at his office by Ehud Yaari and Dan Scemama from Channel 1. Before the broadcast, Netanyahu asked the production staff to tell him which of the two cameras they brought with them provides a frontal view of him. The purpose of his question became clear during the interview: Netanyahu ignored the interviewers and turned directly to the viewers at home. Ever since then, Channel 1 has made sure to refrain from posting such camera in interviews with the PM. » Read more

Ministers: Netanyahu, Obama have their wires crossed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am "(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama have their wires crossed, and this is detrimental to US-Israel relations," Labor Party ministers told Ynet Sunday night. According to the ministers, the prime minister has no direct channel of communication with the American president, and contact between the two is conducted mainly through Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. » Read more

PA bid: Each clerk to donate dollar for Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council proposes to deduct one dollar from the salaries of hundreds of thousands of PA clerks to be invested in the struggle for Jerusalem. Jihad Abu Zneid, a Fatah member from Jerusalem presented her bid during a visit held by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the Qalandiya refugee camp, north of the capital. Abu Zneid mentioned that the PA must put a lot of effort into dealing with the "Israeli Judaization efforts" which include the evacuation and destruction of houses in Jerusalem and its suburbs. » Read more

Playing with fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The controversy surrounding the plan to create a Jewish enclave in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem is not another routine expression of the U.S.-Israel dispute over the settlements. The timing of the decision to build dozens of housing units in the Shepherd Hotel complex, at the height of efforts to reach an agreement on limited construction in the settlements, casts doubt over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to enter serious negotiations on a final-status agreement. » Read more