March 26th

Netanyahu and Obama are at point of no return ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am The strife between Israel and the United States concerns something far bigger than the proximity talks with the Palestinians. As far as President Barack Obama and his senior advisers are concerned, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for nothing less than damaging the standing of the U.S.in the Middle East and the Muslim world. » Read more

Netanyahu better shape up before U.S. tensions get worse ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from the United States Thursday with egg all over his face but also with a painfully sharp insight - gone are the days when the White House was considerate about the intricacies of Israeli domestic politics. Former prime ministers used to tell American presidents, "Understand, I have a problematic coalition." This no longer works. Obama is not making any effort to show sensitivity to Netanyahu's distress and worse - he's ignoring it as though he intends to wreak some political chaos here. » Read more

Netanyahu to craft response to US pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Gavin Rabinowitz - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his inner forum Friday in a bid to craft an Israeli response to mounting pressure from the United States, officials said. A tight-lipped Netanyahu returned home Thursday after a tense visit to Washington that appeared to deepen a bitter row with the administration of US President Barack Obama over the building of Jewish settlements. The Americans have reportedly given Netanyahu a series of demands needed to kickstart moribund peace talks with the Palestinians. » Read more

Israel says it will still build in Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, keeping the Jewish state at odds with Washington on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians. The statement on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior cabinet ministers to consider confidence building steps for reviving negotiations, as proposed by U.S. officials while Netanyahu was in Washington this week. » Read more

Palestinians to start using Ramallah highway ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli authorities are preparing to implement a High Court decision allowing Palestinians to use a West Bank highway that had previously been designated for exclusive Israeli use. Israel's military released a statement Thursday evening affirming that Palestinians will be allowed to travel on highway 443, which runs near the villages of Beit Sira, Beit ‘Ur Al-Fauqa, Kharbatha Al-Misbah, and At-Tira. Palestinian cars using the Ramallah-area highway will first undergo inspection at a military checkpoint to be erected near the Ofer detention center, the military statement said.

Tough love for Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe (Editorial) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am SECRETARY OF State Hillary Clinton delivered the right message to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Monday night, declaring that America’s commitment to Israel’s security is “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever’’ while affirming that “a two-state solution is the only viable path for Israel to remain both a democracy and a Jewish state.’’ » Read more

Israel glorifies its own murderers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Christopher Hazou - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am In their March 17 Times Op-Ed article, "Why glorify the murderers?" Ron Kehrmann, Yossi Mendelevich and Yossi Zur make a number of misleading statements and remove all historical context in their effort to demonize Palestinians as people who hate Israeli children more than they love their own. » Read more

Palestinian security forces walk a careful line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am As the highest-ranking commander of nearly 8,000 Palestinian security troops, Maj. Gen. Diab Ali is accustomed to being top gun. But the salutes often stop when he leaves the military base and travels through the West Bank. Experience has taught the general to leave his gun behind and trade the uniform for civilian clothes, lest some young Israeli checkpoint guard decide to hold him for questioning or block his way. "It avoids problems," said Ali, commander of the National Security Forces of the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

As U.S.-Israel rift continues, Netanyahu finds himself in a bind ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Janine Zacharia - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was welcomed home Thursday night with signs reading "Obama, No You Can't" and "Netanyahu Stand Strong" after a trip to Washington that appeared only to widen a two-week-old rift between the close allies over Israeli housing construction. » Read more

U.S. Fails to Persuade Israel on Housing Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper, Isabel Kershner - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am With Israeli officials saying that construction on a contentious Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem could begin at any time, President Obama seemed to have failed on Wednesday to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give a written commitment to rein in any further building and to move ahead on peace talks with the Palestinians. » Read more