December 14th

Israeli forces demolish 2 homes under construction in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 14, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Two Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, both under construction, were demolished by Israeli forces on Tuesday morning, as bulldozers executed demolition orders stating the homes lacked permits. The homes, in the Ras Al-Amud and Sur Bahir neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, were two of an estimated 60,000 with standing demolition orders authorized by the Israeli courts on request from the municipality. » Read more

Who's stopping the peace process? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Danny Ayalon - (Opinion) December 14, 2010 - 1:00am The breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has predictably resulted in blame laid almost exclusively on Israel. However, events of the last 17 years — since Israeli-Palestinian peace talks began — demonstrate a different story about what has prevented peace. » Read more

A U.N. Plan for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Robert Wright - (Opinion) December 13, 2010 - 1:00am The blogger Andrew Sullivan has called America’s policy toward Israel “assisted suicide.” That may be an exaggeration, but on Friday it became less of one. The occasion was a speech by Hillary Clinton, much anticipated after the collapse of talks between Israelis and Palestinians. » Read more

U.S. Middle East Envoy Attempts to Restart Peace Process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - December 13, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — After nearly two years of frustration and failure, the Obama administration began its Middle East peace efforts anew on Monday with its special envoy, George J. Mitchell, holding talks here on ways to improve the atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinians and ultimately negotiate over the core issues that separate them. » Read more

December 13th

Keeping alive a sense of decency in Arab East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Ian Buruma - (Opinion) December 11, 2010 - 1:00am Every Friday afternoon for more than a year, hundreds of Israeli Jews have gathered on a dusty little square in the middle of Arab East Jerusalem. There are some Palestinians there, too, including a couple of boys selling fresh orange juice. The people gather there, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, to protest the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes to make way for Israeli settlers. » Read more

The Palestinians’ Options after Obama’s Failure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) December 10, 2010 - 1:00am The US Administration admitting this week its failure to convince Israel to agree to freeze what is under international law illegal settlement-building for a mere three months, until Palestinian-Israeli negotiations enter the phase of discussing the borders of the Palestinian state and the permanent situation, is tantamount to admitting President Barack Obama’s personal failure and his being forced to submit to Israel’s dictates. » Read more

Obama's dose of reality may be a cure for the Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National December 13, 2010 - 1:00am The Obama administration's announcement that it had capitulated before Israeli recalcitrance on a settlement freeze should be read as a cry for help. Mr Obama has, in fact, taken a bold step in acknowledging frankly that he has a problem. He has been repeating the rituals and catechisms of the failed Oslo peace process in the hope of producing a different outcome. Now, he's been forced to acknowledge that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a communication problem that can be solved by simply getting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas to talk. » Read more

Israel faces tougher line from EU after former heads call for Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal, Harriet Sherwood - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am Twenty-six European grandees have urged the EU to adopt a tougher stance towards Israel including taking "concrete measures" and exacting "consequences" over continued settlement building on occupied land, which they say is illegal under international law. » Read more

'Our lives became something we'd never dreamt': The former Israeli soldiers who have testified against army abuses ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Book Review) December 12, 2010 - 1:00am For anyone who has covered Israel, the West Bank and Gaza over the past few years, reading "Occupation of the Territories," the new book from the Israeli ex-soldiers organisation Breaking the Silence, can be an eerily evocative experience. » Read more

An end to the occupation first ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 13, 2010 - 1:00am Like every year-end, once again they're promising that the next 12 months will be "a decisive year." Fact: Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that in August 2011, when Prime Minister Salam Fayyad finishes building institutions in the West Bank, the United Nations will recognize the Palestinian state. » Read more