East Jerusalem | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israeli Forces Clash With Worshippers at Al-Aqsa
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 24, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday, exchanging a volley of tear gas and rocks. Israeli troops entered the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Compound) after the Friday noon prayer, and fired tear and and sound grenades, causing confusion amongst the large crowds who worship at the holy site on Fridays, a Ma'an correspondent said. Palestinian youth threw rocks at the forces, witnesses told Ma'an, adding that high security measures were imposed throughout Jerusalem.

Police prepare for possible Temple Mount clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yaakov Lappin, Melanie Lidman - February 21, 2012 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Police was preparing for the possibility of clashes between right-wing activists and Palestinians on and around the Temple Mount Tuesday morning. The preparations followed a call by Palestinian activists to come and "protect" the Temple mount after right-wing activists said they would ascend to the holy site. Overnight Monday, police raided an apartment in Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood and found extremist right-wing documents related to the Temple Mount. Police arrested one activist and took him for investigation.

Writing on the Wall: Israel and Its Christians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Rosenberg - (Opinion) February 21, 2012 - 1:00am

Graffiti on Jerusalem church points to negative attitudes among many Jews A day after it was discovered on the exterior walls of a Jerusalem Baptist church this week, graffiti declaring “Death to Christianity” had been cleaned up and a host of officials from the Israeli government had visited with apologies and expressions of concern. But for the Christian community in Israel, the environment remains inhospitable.

Second Jerusalem church vandalized
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
February 20, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A church in Jerusalem was vandalized with an anti-Christian slogan for the second time this month. "Death to Christians" was painted Monday on the walls of the Baptist Narkis Street Congregation. The words "Price Tag" and bad language about Jesus also were written, according to reports, and the tires of several cars in the area were slashed. Two weeks ago, the 11th-century Monastery of the Cross Church was similarly vandalized.

Whose city is it anyway?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Esther Zandberg - (Analysis) February 16, 2012 - 1:00am

The photos are recognizable from everyday life. In one corner of a public park, boys are getting ready for a ball game, setting up goals and marking off territory that strangers should not dare approach. In other corners, large groups gather for birthday parties or family picnics and mark off a patch of grass with flags and balloons. Others light barbecues under the trees despite the signs warning against doing so.

Building Barriers to Two-State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) February 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Here’s a “sign of the times” factoid: In recent commentary on Israel’s settlement policy, the number of Jewish settlers beyond the Green Line has ballooned to 600,000 from 350,000 or so. It is as if there had suddenly been a mass immigration to the West Bank. But there has been no such immigration. What there has been, more ominously, is the inclusion in “beyond the Green Line” of two venerable major neighborhoods that had long since come to be regarded as part of Jerusalem proper: Ramot and French Hill, as well as other neighborhoods, such as Gilo, Pisgat Ze’ev, Ramat Shlomo, Har Homa.

Let’s get serious about our future
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sarah Kreimer - (Opinion) January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

In the Biblical narrative, when Jacob went out to reach a reconciliation with Esau, he sent flocks of goats and sheep and camels ahead of him – as a sign of good faith, and to appease his brother. He also took defensive action, dividing his camp into two groups, not knowing whether Esau would attack in revenge for Jacob’s having taken his birthright years before. In the end, the brothers reconciled, agreeing to live separately in the Land.

East Jerusalem Parks Plan ‘Fences in Palestinians’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

It is littered with rubbish thrown there by the residents of the two Palestinian neighbourhoods that bookend the 75-hectare slope, and it is besieged by the din of cars and lorries rumbling down the nearby road that connects central Jerusalem with the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim.

230 more colonist homes to be built in occupied Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Nasouh Nazzal - January 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Ramallah: Israeli authorities announced the construction of 230 new colonist homes in occupied East Jerusalem. 117 homes will be built in Gabal Abu Ghunaim area close to Al Aqsa compound and the second tender of 113 homes will be built in two colonies of Gosh Etzion south of Occupied East Jerusalem. The building of more illegal Jewish homes are expected to be announced in the coming weeks which will be expanding the colonies of Gifat Hazat and Har Adar.

Jerusalem mayor intends to contour city border along security barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 23, 2011 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is considering a number of plans that would largely shift the city's meandering eastern municipal boundary to more closely follow the security barrier abutting largely Palestinian-populated areas, the city said on Thursday. A statement sent to Xinhua said the plan would limit municipal services to areas west of the security barrier, and leave areas on the eastern side to be dealt with by the Civil Administration (CA), an army entity that sees to the daily needs of the Palestinian population in the West Bank.

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