Abed Rabbo: Israel killing peace process before it begins
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel’s expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank is intended to terminate the peace process before it even starts, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Wednesday. Abed Rabbo told the Russia Today TV network, “They know quite well that such steps will provoke the Palestinians and the Arabs, and even the international community who agreed that settlements must stop as a major part in the Road Map plan. Thus, the Israeli government’s aim is to thwart the political efforts that will eventually lead to the two-state solution.”

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Erekat to US, UN, Greece: Settlements and peace two separate tracks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli government chose the path of settlements instead of peace, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat said Wednesday. Erekat called the Israeli government’s insistence on creating “facts on the ground” only intensifies the deception when its leaders claim they want peace, he told UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robery Serry and US Consul General Daniel Rubenstein in a meeting alongside Greek Consul General Soterios Athanasius.

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Talks go on despite W. Bank construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon, Hilary Leila Krieger - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Despite angry statements from the Palestinians and the Arab world, and condemnations from the US and the EU, Israel's announcement Monday of new housing starts in the settlements did not derail the diplomatic process; US envoy George Mitchell is expected here Saturday night, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to Egypt for talks on Sunday. "The settlements aren't the be-all, end-all" of American policy efforts, one State Department official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "Our ultimate goal [is] to create the conditions for negotiations."

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Israel is not at all interested in peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Editorial) September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

It is becoming increasingly clear to the United States and Europe that Israel is simply not interested in returning to peace negotiations or ever will be under its current leadership. The latest show of defiance from Netanyahu's government came through a few days ago when Israel officially approved the construction of 455 new colonies in the West Bank, totally dismissing US and others' demand to freeze all colony activity.

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Israel's settlement charade makes mockery of peace, curbs Palestinians' options
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli government’s approval this week of plans to construct hundreds of new settler homes on occupied Palestinian Territory may well be remembered as the hammer that drove the final nail into the coffin of President Barack Obama’s peace efforts. All Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land is viewed as a “breach of international law,” according to a 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice.

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Infrastructure Minister Landau: Arabs are the occupiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yuval Azoulay - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan for a partial construction freeze in the West Bank, deeming the Palestinians "occupiers" and declaring any bounds on settlements a "violation of human rights." Right-wing lawmakers on Monday joined the crowds celebrating the establishment of a new neighborhood in the E-1 corridor connecting Jerusalem to its settlement suburbs. The ceremony was also attended by Supreme Court Judge Eliyakim Rubinstein and Information Minister Yuli Edelstein.

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Palestinian Paper: Netanyahu visited Arab State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian newspaper Al Manar reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the capital of an Arab country which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. Israeli journalists who were scheduled to meet Netanyahu on Monday inquired as to the change in his schedule. Later on in the evening, his office said he had visited a security facility in central Israel with National Security Adviser Uzi Arad and the PM's Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Meir Kalifi.

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Obama Mid-East plans in jeopardy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Roger Hardy - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The Netanyahu government in Israel has approved the building of 455 new homes for settlers in the West Bank - in defiance of Mr Obama's call for a complete settlement freeze. One former US diplomat with extensive experience of the Middle East calls it "a huge slap in the face" for the Obama administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to have it both ways. He wants to appease the settler lobby by allowing new construction, and to appease the Americans by finalising an agreement on a temporary freeze. But he is in danger of satisfying no-one.

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Israel Tries to Placate Settlers by Allowing Some Construction Before Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, authorized plans for 455 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank on Monday, in a move aimed at placating Israel’s pro-settlement camp before an expected construction freeze demanded by the Arab world and the United States. But the details released by Mr. Barak’s office on Monday seemed to satisfy nobody, enraging not only the Palestinians, but also Israelis on the right and the left. The White House denounced the planned approvals last week, when news first emerged of Israel’s intention to grant them.

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How Israel warms up for a settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel approved the building of more than 450 new homes in Jewish settlements on Monday, just weeks before possible Israeli-Palestinian talks on the sidelines of the annual United Nations gathering in New York.

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