UN calls on Israel not to build new settlements in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by DPA - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The United Nations called Thursday for Israel not to build new settlements, saying such plans would amount to a "provocative action" to the peace process with the Palestinians. Robert Serry, UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the plan was strongly opposed by the international community when it was announced last year. "If confirmed, this provocative action undermines ongoing efforts by the international community to bring the parties back to negotiations," Serry said.

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UN calls on Israel not to build new settlements in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by DPA - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The United Nations called Thursday for Israel not to build new settlements, saying such plans would amount to a "provocative action" to the peace process with the Palestinians. Robert Serry, UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the plan was strongly opposed by the international community when it was announced last year. "If confirmed, this provocative action undermines ongoing efforts by the international community to bring the parties back to negotiations," Serry said.

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Israeli museum showing Muslim-world artists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A museum on the road separating Jewish west Jerusalem from the Arab neighborhoods in the city's east is attracting a daring group of artists from Middle Eastern nations that shun contact with Israel, trying to erode political barriers through art. It's been a years-long process for the Museum on the Seam, which is one of the few art museums in Israel that aggressively tries to convince Arab and Muslim artists to show in its galleries.

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Israel's settler mentality continues to prevail over Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mousa Qous - (Blog) August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

No doubt Jerusalem could be the key to peace in the Middle East, if Israel--the occupying power--cedes East Jerusalem to enable the Palestinians to establish the capital of their future state. Instead, the opposite is taking place. To consolidate its grip over Jerusalem, the Israeli government continues with its settlement activities in the middle of Arab Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. These create new facts on the ground that make any future withdrawal almost impossible.

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AN ISRAELI VIEW Only by prioritizing the issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) August 1, 2011 - 12:00am

It is not too late to create a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem alongside Israel's capital--unless this arrangement has to be part of a comprehensive, end-of-claims settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. In that case it is, and probably always has been, impossible.

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A PALESTINIAN VIEW Sabotage or arrogance?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) August 1, 2011 - 12:00am

The illegal changes that the Israeli occupier is undertaking in East Jerusalem have far-reaching consequences, not only for the day-to-day life of the Palestinian people, but also for the possibility of peace between the two sides.

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Memories of the American Colony
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Book Review) July 28, 2011 - 12:00am

The American Colony, now East Jerusalem’s most luxurious and expensive hotel, has a long, conflicted history that illuminates what has happened in Palestine over the past 130 years. Whenever I go to Jerusalem, I pay a call on the Colony, pause to scan the courtyard where customers sip coffee or dine under sheltering umbrellas, and drop by for a chat with Munther Fahmi, proprietor of the bookshop tucked between the souvenir store and the cafe.

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EU 'disappointed' in settlement construction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
July 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The European Union on Tuesday expressed "great disappointment" in a tender issued by the Construction and Housing Ministry this week for the construction of 6,900 housing units, including some 300 units in the settlements of Beitar Illit and Karnei Shomron. Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, said that such acts go against the international community's ongoing efforts to form a peaceful solution which will maintain Israel's safety and the Palestinians' right for an independent state.

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The other Jerusalem march
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) July 15, 2011 - 12:00am

On Jerusalem Day last month, tens of thousands of youngsters active in the religious Zionist movement marched from the city's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to the Western Wall Plaza in what is known as the Flag Parade. Some turned the march into a frightening demonstration of nationalism, racism and violence. Today, this route will be followed in reverse by another march that is the opposite of the rightists' march. Instead of calling for death (to the Arabs ), it will raise a joint cry for life - for an end to the occupation and recognition of Palestinian independence.

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PLO condemns UNESCO for listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Thursday condemned listing Jerusalem as Israel's capital on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Identifying Jerusalem as Israel's unified capital "is a procedure against humanitarian and international legitimacy and the Security Council's resolutions that consider East Jerusalem as an occupied city," said the PLO in a statement.

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