Beit Yehonatan residents: We will evict Arabs ourselves
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

"If police do not evacuate the Heichal Shlomo Synagogue of its squatters, we will do it ourselves on July 4," the residents of Beit Yehonatan in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem threatened on Wednesday. According to them, the State is exercising "discrimination and political persecution" against them by placing Beit Yehonatan on the list of properties destined for evacuation, while Arab houses they claim were built illegally are not included on the list.

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Israel forces surround Jerusalem home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli forces deployed around a Palestinian home south of Jerusalem following fierce clashes between local landowners and settlers attempting to expand a road in the area, onlookers said. The settlers were using bulldozers to enlarge a street in advance of plans to install a mobile home in Beit Safafa, witnesses said. Many settlements in the occupied West Bank began as simple structures placed on Palestinian land.

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Israel slams Palestinians for lack of direct talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 22 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Palestinians on Tuesday for the absence of direct peace talks and insisted negotiations should resume right away "without delay and without preconditions". Israeli-Palestinian talks were renewed on an indirect basis last month under U.S. sponsorship, after an 18-month hiatus since a war in Gaza and disputes over Jewish settlement building in occupied land.

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Palestinians fear Israeli court ruling may set new grounds for banishment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

There’s a growing worry among Palestinians that an Israeli Supreme Court decision Sunday will make it easier for Israel to deport Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem because of their participation in the Palestinian Authority. The court upheld a move by Israeli police ordering three members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which functions as the Palestinian Authority’s parliament, and a former member of the Palestinian Cabinet to leave the city within a month of the order.

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The silent expulsion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Dr. Immad Hammada and Dr. Murad Abu-Khalaf are both lecturers in electrical engineering born in East Jerusalem. Their families have lived in the city for generations. They both left years ago, each one separately, to study in the United States, and after graduating and consolidating their careers they want to return to live in their home town.

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Abbas appeals to US over Silwan construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

While Washington has already stated that the construction plan that entails the demolition of 22 Arab homes in Silwan damages trust between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not making do with statements, and is looking for action. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP on Tuesday that Abbas asked the United States to take action to cancel the King's Garden project in east Jerusalem, part of which includes the demolition of Arab homes.

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Mayor defends plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

The office of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Tuesday defended plans to demolish Palestinian houses in the city's eastern sector to make way for a tourist center, after Defense Minister Ehud Barak lashed out at authorities over the project. Barak, who is in the United States for a series of meetings with top officials, faced criticism and demands for explanations after the Jerusalem municipal planning committee decided to destroy 22 houses in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, which it says were built illegally.

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U.S.: East Jerusalem demolitions undermine trust vital for Israel-PA talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Nir Hasson - June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Israel's decision on Monday to raze 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is the kind of step that undermines trust fundamental to progress in the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Senior U.S. officials have asked Netanyahu's office to explain why the plan was authorized, saying that Washington will issue an official condemnation of the demolitions.

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Jerusalem revives plan to raze Palestinian homes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

A Jerusalem planning body on Monday approved a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem to make room for an Israeli tourist center, a decision that could raise tensions in the divided city and deepen the conflict with the Obama adminstration. Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes — a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the U.S.

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East Jerusalem Building Plan Advances
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Jerusalem’s city hall advanced rezoning and development plans on Monday for a hotly contested area of East Jerusalem, another example of an awkwardly timed, seemingly bureaucratic Israeli maneuver that could upset fragile peace efforts.

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