July 20th

What Netanyahu wants from Obama's 'self-hating Jews' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Who is to blame for the latest dispute with the United States over the new neighborhood going up in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah area? Mayor Nir Barkat? Certainly not. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stood behind him? Ridiculous. Any child knows that everything is the fault of other Jews: Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, two American administration officials who are inciting President Barack Obama against their own people. » Read more

'No difference to U.S. between outpost, East Jerusalem construction' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar, Barak Ravid - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The United States views East Jerusalem as no different than an illegal West Bank outpost with regard to its demand for a freeze on settlement construction, American sources have informed both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

Israeli PM defiant on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a reported US request that a building project in Jerusalem be halted. The project involves building 20 apartments in the mainly Arab East Jerusalem area, which was captured by Israel in 1967. Last week US officials told the Israeli ambassador that the project should be suspended, Israeli media said. But Mr Netanyahu rejected this in comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting. "We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy (homes) anywhere in Jerusalem," he said. » Read more

Israel backs East Jerusalem housing construction despite U.S. opposition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Calling Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem indisputable, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected U.S. demands to stop plans to build 20 Jewish-owned apartments in the eastern part of the city that Palestinians regard as key to their future state. » Read more

Netanyahu Upholds Plan To Build in E. Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended plans for a new Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem, rebuffing the Obama administration's opposition to Israeli construction in the mostly Palestinian area. » Read more

Israel Rejects U.S. Call to Hold Off on Development ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Sunday an American call to hold off on a planned Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem, saying Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed city could not be challenged. » Read more

Netanyahu’s Talk of Peace Finds Few True Believers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - July 19, 2009 - 12:00am In the weeks since Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, finally accepted the principle of a Palestinian state, with qualifications, there has been deep skepticism about his sincerity. On the Palestinian side, aides to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, have called Mr. Netanyahu’s grudging endorsement of Palestinian statehood, under international pressure, a disingenuous public relations exercise. » Read more

July 17th

U.S. Agrees to Resettle Palestinians Displaced by Iraq War ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by Miriam Jordan - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am The U.S. agreed to resettle 1,350 Palestinians displaced by fighting in Iraq, marking the largest resettlement ever of Palestinian refugees in the nation. The decision appears to signal a shift in Washington's previous position against resettling Palestinians out of concern about the potential impact on U.S. relations with Israel and the Arab world. The resettlement, which is slated to begin this fall, is likely to illicit strong reactions from people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

My Word: Obama team should pressure Israel on settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Oakland Tribune by Cecilie Surasky - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am FEW AMERICANS HAVE had the opportunity to see firsthand, as I did in early July, the devastating impact of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and why it's critical that we support President Barack Obama's call for a settlement freeze. » Read more

Breathing life back into Nablus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Heather Sharp - July 17, 2009 - 12:00am Business has more than doubled in recent months, said sweet shop owner Magdi Abu Salha, taking a break from slicing up knefi, the sticky cheese-based dessert for which his home town of Nablus is famed. Two years ago the northern West Bank town was a stronghold of armed Palestinian militant groups. And just three months ago, the six Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints that had ringed it for nine years had all but killed its economic life. Magdi Abu Salha, Nablus sweet shop owner Magdi Abu Salha says the Israeli-Arab visitors have boosted business » Read more