East Jerusalem | The American Task Force on Palestine

IDF Prepares for More West Bank Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Amir Rappaport - December 11, 2012 - 1:00am

The attack of the masses on a Nahal Brigade infantry patrol in Hebron ahead of last weekend is not just another warning sign of the possibility that Judea and Samaria will soon start to burn: It is another manifestation of the fact that years of almost total quiet are reaching their end.

Drying out the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) December 10, 2012 - 1:00am

Since the beginning of the year, Israel has destroyed 35 rainwater cisterns used by Palestinian communities, 20 of them in the area of Hebron and the southern Hebron Hills. In 2011, Israel destroyed 15 cisterns, and in the preceding 18 months, 29. In many of these cases ancient cisterns were destroyed that had served the forefathers of the inhabitants of these communities. Recently, they have been restored with European assistance.

Why Obama Will Ignore Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) December 10, 2012 - 1:00am

The last week of November 2012 was a big one on the Israeli-Palestinian front. On the 65th anniversary of the partition resolution that created a Jewish state, the United Nations recognized a Palestinian one. Israel retaliated with the West Bank equivalent of sequestration: announcing it would move toward building settlements in an area east of Jerusalem called E1, which many observers believe would kill the two-state solution.

Meshal Goes Out of Bounds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest
by Paul Pillar - (Opinion) December 9, 2012 - 1:00am

What Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal said at a mass rally in Gaza City on Saturday was contemptible. Taken at face value, his words eradicated any distinction between Israeli and Palestinian territory, and any possibility of Israelis and Palestinians living in peace. “Palestine, from the river to the sea, from north to south, is our land,” he said.

Palestinians: settlement expansion means 1 state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Karin Laub - December 4, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinians will ask the U.N. Security Council to call for an Israeli settlement freeze, President Mahmoud Abbas and his advisers decided Tuesday, as part of an escalating showdown over Israel's new plans to build thousands more homes on war-won land in and around Jerusalem.

Israel faces lowest point in Europe relations in decades
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Christian Science Monitor
by Christa Case Bryant - December 4, 2012 - 1:00am

Jerusalem-The unusually strong European rebuke of Israel’s plans to tighten its grip on land sought for a Palestinian state marks at least a 30-year low point in relations, say Israeli foreign policy scholars. While the nature of Europe’s complaint is not new, the tone reflects both heightened urgency about salvaging the two-state solution, and accumulated impatience with a government seen as diplomatically tone deaf.

Israel takes a harder line
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) December 4, 2012 - 1:00am

When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he would seek recognition from the United Nations for a Palestinian state, Israel complained that Abbas should have pursued that objective in face-to-face peace negotiations and warned of grave consequences, threatening to expand

Israeli settlers occupy 5-story house in Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Five Israeli settlers entered a five-story building in the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem early Monday morning, apparently in an effort to establish a new settlement in this Palestinian area. The building, which was erected in recent years, has remained largely empty, except for one Palestinian family living on the top floor.

Israel to build new Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Jerusalem Municipality is set to authorize a new Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem later this month beyond the 1967 lines on annexed Palestinian territories. Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Kobi Kahlon confirmed to the Jerusalem Post on Monday that the final authorization of the neighborhood, Givat Hamatos, is set to include 2,610 housing units and will be given on Dec. 19.

'U.S. angered by claim that new building at E-1 aimed at Obama, not Palestinians'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chemi Shalev - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

The U.S. Administration intensified criticism of Israel’s decision to proceed with construction at the E-1 site near Ma'ale Adumim in response to indications that the move was meant to “retaliate” against U.S. President Barack Obama for his refusal to endorse the 2004 Sharon-Bush letter on settlement blocs.

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