Divided on Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Nicholas Goldberg - (Opinion) November 9, 2011 - 1:00am

When our youngest son was born in Jerusalem in 1995, a number of questions faced us. First was whether we should accept Israeli citizenship for him, which would grant him a second passport and the ability to work (and take refuge, if necessary) in a foreign land — but which would come with a military service requirement in a country that wouldn't really be his home. We opted against it.

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Empty shops point to dire times for Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - November 9, 2011 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM // One of the world's most celebrated - and surely its most contentious - cities attracts about three million tourists each year. But you would not know it from the cash register in Ahmad Rizeq's grocery. Each day, Mr Rizeq is lucky if a single tourist in Jerusalem's bustling Old City crosses the threshold of his shop, even though it is only metres from the Haram Al Sharif, Islam's third-holiest site. "We're in a sorry state of affairs here," lamented Mr Rizeq, 62, whose shop on a street known as the Khalidiya Ascent has been in the family for 36 years.

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Israeli PM defends east Jerusalem construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
November 2, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister is defending his decision to expand construction in east Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu says it is Israel's "right" and "duty" to build in all parts of its capital. Israel captured east Jerusalem along with the West Bank in the 1967 war. Palestinians claim that section of the city as their future capital.

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Israel Plans to Speed Up Settlement Growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - November 1, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel said on Tuesday that it would accelerate the construction of 2,000 housing units in contested areas of East Jerusalem and in two West Bank settlements. The announcement came a day after the Palestinians won full membership in Unesco in the face of staunch Israeli and American opposition.

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U.S. warns Israel: New Jerusalem construction will aid Palestinian bid at UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - October 27, 2011 - 12:00am

The United States urged Israel on Wednesday to halt a plan that would approve new construction in a contentious Jerusalem neighborhood, saying that such a move would harm U.S. efforts to thwart the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations. The Jerusalem District Planning Committee announced late last month that it would approve the construction of 1,100 new housing units in Gilo, despite past U.S. objections concerning any work that would expand the neighborhoof further beyond the Green Line.

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East Jerusalem school textbooks are a war of words
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am

When East Jerusalem teachers ask students to open their history books these days, pupils are wondering: Which one? Two sets of textbooks are vying for the formative minds of thousands of Palestinian students in Arabic-language schools in East Jerusalem. One was written by the Palestinian Authority, and the other is a revised version reprinted by Israeli authorities. It's a textbook war that underscores the long-running battle of narratives in the Mideast conflict, where the fight over the future is often rooted in understanding of the past, and schoolbooks can play a critical role.

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Israel Asserts Control Over East Jerusalem Textbooks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - (Analysis) October 23, 2011 - 12:00am

Is it an expression of Palestinian nationalism or is it delegitimizing the State of Israel? That’s the question at the heart of a controversy over Israel’s decision to expurgate Palestinian symbols and a nationalist take on history from the textbooks used by students in largely Arab east Jerusalem. Jalal Abukhater, a high school senior who studies in Palestinian-ruled Ramallah, brought the controversy to the public eye over the weekend in the +972 website, a forum for left-of center Israelis, in an essay “Israel imposes censored Palestinian textbooks in East Jerusalem.”

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East Jerusalem construction scuttling two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sarah Kreimer - (Opinion) October 21, 2011 - 12:00am

We’re in the midst of a housing crisis, and our government has promised to build tens of thousands of new homes all over the country. So what’s wrong with the recent government decision to advance the construction of 2,610 apartments in Givat Hamatos in Jerusalem?

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A boon to Hamas, at Fatah's expense
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am

At a time when the Shalit deal is raising the stock of Hamas in the eyes of Palestinians in the territories, the Netanyahu government is making an effort to depict Fatah, committed to reaching a negotiated agreement with Israel, as devoid of purpose. Not a week goes by without news of a new building project in the territories or in East Jerusalem.

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UN: Israel's plan for new settler district 'unacceptable'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) October 15, 2011 - 12:00am

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on Friday over reports that it plans to build 2,600 more housing units in East Jerusalem, saying further settlement activity was "unacceptable." "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at continued efforts to advance planning for new Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem," Ban's press office said in a statement.

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