PA slams NIS 85 million Kotel development project
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - November 21, 2010 - 1:00am

"This move preventing us from reaching solution," PA spokesman says; project to help accommodate 8 million annual visitors to Western Wall. The Palestinian Authority slammed a Sunday cabinet decision to allot NIS 85 million to a development project for the Western Wall over the next five years, AFP reported. Ghassan Hatib, a PA spokesperson reportedly said: "Israel does not have permission to make changes in the occupied territories, especially in Jerusalem." "This move is preventing us from reaching an agreement, because any solution must include Jerusalem," Hatib added.

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Jerusalem official told to 'evict' Silwan settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
November 18, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's attorney general has asked its Jerusalem city council to implement a 2007 court order evicting Jewish settlers from a building in East Jerusalem, the justice ministry said Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen said Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein had written to its municipality and its city police over repeated delays in carrying out the eviction order. "He told them there is no alternative and asked them to implement the order," Cohen told Agence France-Presse.

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Israel: New planning policy for East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat presented a controversial new city planning policy for East Jerusalem to the public on Tuesday morning, as East Jerusalemites celebrated Eid Al-Adha with friends and family. The re-zoning plan, according to a statement from the mayor's office, would take into account the "current unsatisfactory situation" and call for a freeze on all current demolition orders until the plan is approved and can go forward. The plan would have to be approved by the government of Israel before it could go ahead.

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Madam Secretary’s Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

LONDON — I like the look of President Barack Obama’s new Middle East envoy, a person with broad experience, the trust of Israelis, growing support among West Bank Palestinians and a fierce personal conviction that a peace accord is essential not only for the parties but for United States national security. Damon Winter/The New York Times Roger Cohen Go to Columnist Page » Related Times Topic: Hillary Rodham Clinton Readers' Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (17) »

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Analysis: U.S. pinning its Mideast hopes on 90-day settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Call it a triumph of hope over experience. When Israel agreed to a 10-month partial settlement freeze last year, U.S. officials said it was exactly what they needed to get talks with the Palestinians started. They whispered that they were sure the freeze would be extended; Israel wouldn't dare curtail the negotiations by ending it.

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Analysis: U.S. pinning its Mideast hopes on 90-day settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Analysis) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Call it a triumph of hope over experience. When Israel agreed to a 10-month partial settlement freeze last year, U.S. officials said it was exactly what they needed to get talks with the Palestinians started. They whispered that they were sure the freeze would be extended; Israel wouldn't dare curtail the negotiations by ending it.

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The Price of Success
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Analysis) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

After 20 months, Barack Obama's administration may be close to injecting some much-needed stability into the on-again, off-again Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The deal concluded last week in New York between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- if it gets through the Israeli cabinet and the Palestinians -- should allow the negotiations to resume in the wake of a three-month moratorium on settlements. But as I've written before, the administration shouldn't pray for anything it really doesn't want and isn't prepared for.

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Arab League likely to reject partial 90-day freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

CAIRO (DPA) -- A possible 90-day temporary freeze on construction at Israeli West Bank settlements, proposed by the US, may not be enough to prompt Palestinian and Arab support for renewing Middle East peace talks, an Arab League official said Monday. In Israel, meanwhile, ministers jockeyed to take positions for and against the proposal, which reportedly has not yet been finalized and will not be bought before Israeli decision-making bodies until it is.

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Settlement fatigue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Why, after all these years, are we still writing about settlements?

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WEST BANK: U.S. comes to the rescue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) November 10, 2010 - 1:00am

The United States on Wednesday proved once again that it is a friend the Palestinian Authority can rely on in times of difficulty, at least economically. Politically, the Palestinians are not so sure. After a brief signing ceremony at Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s office in Ramallah, the U.S. forwarded to the Palestinian Authority $150 million for budget support. Even though the amount is only a fraction of what Israel gets every year from the U.S., which amounts to billions of dollars, Fayyad nevertheless warmly welcomed the support, considering it a lifesaver.

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