March 19th

Jerusalem construction is now a national obsession ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Doron Rosenblum - (Opinion) March 19, 2010 - 12:00am It is doubtful that anyone in the present administration in the White House, or anywhere in the world, has the patience or desire to get to the bottom of the motives behind the Netanyahu government. But those who nonetheless want to understand what makes the prime minister tick should look at the photographs of the happy and ostensibly non-political event that fell into the lap of the extended Netanyahu family this week: the victory of Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu's son Avner in the National Bible Quiz. » Read more

How Obama created the Biden incident ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Charles Krauthammer - March 19, 2010 - 12:00am And a gaffe it was: the announcement by a bureaucrat in Israel's Interior Ministry of a housing expansion in a Jewish neighborhood in north Jerusalem. The timing could not have been worse: Vice President Biden was visiting, Jerusalem is a touchy subject, and you don't bring up touchy subjects that might embarrass an honored guest. But it was no more than a gaffe. It was certainly not a policy change, let alone a betrayal. The neighborhood is in Jerusalem, and the 2009 Netanyahu-Obama agreement was for a 10-month freeze on West Bank settlements excluding Jerusalem. » Read more

U.S. to send envoy back to Mideast as Israel moves to smooth relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - March 19, 2010 - 12:00am In an effort to defuse a bitter spat with the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday night to propose confidence-building measures to get Middle East peace talks back on track, U.S. and Israeli officials said. » Read more

Netanyahu thought he could take Obama, and lost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - March 19, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quite right. As he said in his speech at the Knesset on Monday while greeting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, over the last four decades, every single Israeli government has built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. No prime minister, from the right, left or center, has ever caved to international pressure and agreed to curtail the development of the capital east of the Green Line. » Read more

Israeli Suggests Steps to Aid Peace Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, under intense pressure from the United States to settle a diplomatic dispute over Jewish settlements, called Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton late Thursday to propose what he called a package of “mutual confidence building” steps to be taken by Israelis and Palestinians to help restart peace negotiations. The Obama administration will “review the prime minister’s response and continue our discussions with both sides,” Philip J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman, said in a statement. » Read more

March 18th

What is Israel afraid of? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ali Jarbawi - (Opinion) March 15, 2010 - 12:00am The program of the 13th Palestinian government, commonly referred to as the Fayyad Plan, called for all Palestinian institutions, and Palestinian society as a whole, to unite behind a state-building effort. The program embodies an authentically Palestinian initiative to work pro-actively and constructively toward establishing the state of Palestine through non-violent means over a two-year timeframe, despite the lack of progress in negotiations and continued military occupation. » Read more

Netanyahu dodges real issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Francis Matthew - (Opinion) March 18, 2010 - 12:00am Peace talks must focus on Israel's illegal colonies in the West Bank and Golan Heights, not merely future construction The present crisis between the US and Israel bears all the marks of a classic Netanyahu scheme in which he establishes some minor points with a lot of noise to distract attention from the main issue. Unfortunately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to succeeding, so the Palestinian leadership need to keep their nerve and focus on the main agenda. » Read more

Waging on Washington’s Anger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Osman Mirghani - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am There’s nothing strange about Arab parties rejoicing at the “emergency crisis” between the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US administration after US Vice President Joe Biden was angered by the timing of an announcement by the Israeli government to build another 1600 housing units in Jerusalem. The Obama administration considered it a blow to it and its diplomacy. » Read more

Are Israel’s Policies a Threat to the U.S.? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The dispute between Israel and the United States over building plans in East Jerusalem has left some supporters of Israel with a bitter aftertaste. It was not only the harshness of the Obama administration’s admonition of Israel; it was also the sense that a new element has been introduced to the bilateral relationship: the question of whether Israeli policies adversely affect America’s strategic interests in the region. Related Articles » Read more

Arab world says hopes in Obama are dwindling ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press March 18, 2010 - 12:00am Arabs across the Middle East are unconvinced the United States will stand up to Israel despite Washington's rare public outrage over plans to build new Jewish homes in a traditionally Arab part of Jerusalem. The skepticism is eroding Arab hopes that President Barack Obama will push hard for a long-sought peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians to end a conflict that has fueled anti-US sentiment in the region. America's dwindling credibility could also jeopardize another major Mideast goal - uniting the Arab world against Iran. East Jerusalem Construction » Read more