East Jerusalem | The American Task Force on Palestine

Six years on, lessons of Gaza withdrawal resonate for West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) July 4, 2011 - 12:00am

SHILOH, West Bank (JTA) -- Yisrael Medad remembers when just eight families lived in the red-roofed homes in this Jewish settlement deep in the hills of the West Bank. Now some 2,500 Israelis live here, and Shiloh has playgrounds, schools and a yeshiva. The red-roofed homes sprawl over several hills, and new homes continue to be built. At the bottom of the hill is the archaeological excavation of the biblical Shiloh, where the tabernacle is believed to have been built.

Getting on board with peace in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Hagit Borer - (Opinion) June 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Later this month an American ship, the Audacity of Hope, will leave Greece on a journey to the Gaza Strip to attempt to break Israel's blockade. It will join an expected nine other ships flying numerous flags and carrying hundreds of passengers from around the world. I will be one of those passengers.

East Jerusalem residents face police violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli rights group on Tuesday called on Jerusalem's new police chief to "fundamentally change" what it said was his officers' violent treatment towards the city's Palestinian residents. In a report timed to coincide with the anniversary of Israel's 1967 occupation of east Jerusalem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said that over the past two years it had received a rising number of complaints and mounting evidence of abuses suffered by Palestinian residents. "Residents do not view the Jerusalem District Police as a body meant to serve and protect them," the report says.

Netanyahu: Next year in a more built up Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his uncompromising stance on a united Jerusalem Tuesday night, saying he plans to authorize more building in the capital, in a speech at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. The prime minister spoke on the eve of Jerusalem Day that commemorates Israel's liberation of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War. Mercaz Harav, an orthodox Yeshiva located in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem was the site of a terror attack in 2008 in which a Palestinian gunman killed eight students.

Jerusalem Day: Why the Holy City is at the crux of the peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant, Ariel Zirulnick - (Analysis) June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Today is Jerusalem Day in Israel, the anniversary of the day in the 1967 war when Israel took the Old City and East Jerusalem from Jordan. More than 40 years later, Jerusalem remains one of the largest hurdles to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel insists Jerusalem is its ‘undivided and eternal’ capital while Palestinians insist on securing a capital in East Jerusalem. Here are three reasons why Jerusalem is so important to both sides. One capital city wanted by two nations

PM: Jerusalem will never again be divided
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - June 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday at an official ceremony marking Jerusalem Day that Jerusalem will never be divided again. "We won't go back to the days we had to climb up the Terra Sancta building to watch the Old City; we'll never go back to a divided, lacerated city, because the day Jerusalem was reunified – the wound healed," he said. The event, held at the Ammunition Hill, was attended by President Shimon Peres, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, as well as other officials.

Policemen stoned in east Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

Five police officers and a civilian sustained mild injuries Tuesday, after protesters rioted in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of A-Tur and stoned them. Molotov cocktails were also hurled at the officers, who responded by using crowd-control measures. Five rioters were arrested. The officers and civilian were taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment. Earlier Tuesday, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel published a report that noted an increase in Arab-security forces skirmishes in east Jerusalem over the past 18 months.

Jerusalem is already divided
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

"Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's festive cabinet meeting, held at the Tower of David, in the Old City, in honor of Jerusalem Day. In the conciliatory spirit that has recently taken hold of him, Netanyahu added: "This creates a difficulty for the Palestinians, but with creativity and good will, a solution is possible."

Report: Tension rises between Arabs, J'lem police
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The friction between the police and Jerusalem's Arab population has escalated considerably over the past 18 months, a report released Tuesday by the Association for Civil Rights indicates. According to the report, roughly 1,200 children were questioned on suspicion of pelting stones and 759 were arrested for suspected violations of a nationalistic nature. Charges were pressed in 226 of the cases. East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Issawiya were listed in the report as the most prominent sites of contention.

Jerusalem neighborhoods to get Hebrew names
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The next time you visit Jerusalem you might not be able to walk around Mamilla, Talbiya or Holyland – but rather in the Hagoshrim, Komemiyut or Eretz HaTzvi. A new bill is aiming to refer to neighborhoods in the capital by Hebrew names only. MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) initiated the bill, which has been endorsed by many other Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition. "The purpose is to strengthen the bond to Jerusalem by enforcing the use of Hebrew names for the capital's neighborhoods where Jews reside," said Hotovely.

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