Palestinians frustrated by report of newly announced East Jerusalem construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Reports of Israeli renovation work which started Sunday and will include construction of 14 housing units in a Jewish settlement in disputed East Jerusalem frustrated the Palestinians. A report by the Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement movement, said that the housing units would be appended to a place that has once been used as a post by Israeli police, which overlooks the Muslim holy shrine al-Aqsa Mosque.

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Palestinians report first Israeli violation of talks to U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Just two days after resuming peace talks with Israel, the Palestinian Authority has reported to the United States what it termed the first violation of negotiation terms, a senior Palestinian official said Monday. Yasser Abed Rabbo said the construction of 14 housing units for Jewish settlers in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood, as reported by the Israeli Peace Now pressure group, violated the terms of new talks.

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US: Israel promised not to build in Ramat Shlomo for 2 years
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 9, 2010 - 12:00am

The State Department said the first round of indirect peace talks between Israel and Palestinian authorities have been completed. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement Sunday that US special envoy George Mitchell has left the Middle East after concluding talks characterized as serious and wide-ranging.

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Moment of truth has arrived
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

If ever there was a statement that reflected the true position of Palestinian negotiators and Arab leaders, it was the one made by the Qatari prime minister, Hamad Ben Jasem Al Thani. The statement, made after the Arab follow-up committee gave the PLO the green light to resume indirect negotiations, reflects a pessimistic outlook of peace. "We don’t trust Israel, but we find positive indications on the part of the US mediator," said the Qatari premier, who is also his country's foreign minister.

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Israeli construction in East Jerusalem adds to difficulties facing negotiators
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

When the Obama administration launches indirect peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as early as this weekend, it faces a much more complicated landscape than the Clinton or Bush administrations did, especially in Jerusalem. In the decade since Israelis and Palestinians came close to a peace deal in 2000, the complexion of Jerusalem, perhaps the most sensitive of all the sticking points, has been altered. Israeli construction is blurring lines between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods, making any bid to share or divide the city even more difficult than in the past.

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Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari participates in "The Jerusalem Old City Initiative: Sustainable Governance Solutions" panel
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - May 7, 2010 - 12:00am

On May 5th, ATFP Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari participated in a panel discussion entitled "The Jerusalem Old City Initiative: Sustainable Governance Solutions".


Obama advisor: Jerusalem issue at end of talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Just before the start of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Obama administration has indicated that the issue of Jerusalem will be discussed at the end of the talks, and not at the beginning. The US interest in Jerusalem stems from construction plans made public during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region, just a short time before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to meet with US President Barack Obama in the White House.

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Israel planning new West Bank train network, minister says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - May 4, 2010 - 12:00am

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) announced Tuesday that the ministry was promoting a plan to establish a train network in the West Bank which will converge with the new train tracks planned throughout Israel. Katz said that the plan had been drawn up with the cooperation of international organizations which have expressed great interest in the issue. He added that a train track is planned to run between Jenin, the Yizrael Valley and to Jerusalem.

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Who Lives in Sheik Jarrah?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Kai Bird - (Opinion) May 3, 2010 - 12:00am

As a boy, I lived in Sheik Jarrah, a wealthy Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Annexed by Israel in 1967 and now the subject of a conflict over property claims, my former home has come to symbolize everything that has gone wrong between the Israelis and Palestinians over the last six decades. Despite talk of a slowdown in Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, Jerusalem’s mayor, toured Washington earlier this week and told officials that the expansion into Arab neighborhoods is going ahead at full speed.

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Normalizing Relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The American Conservative
by Scott McConnell - May 1, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama has probably studied the first President Bush’s standoff with Israel. Then as now, the issue of contention was Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. George H.W. Bush was hopeful about moving toward a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

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