As U.S.-Israel rift continues, Netanyahu finds himself in a bind
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was welcomed home Thursday night with signs reading "Obama, No You Can't" and "Netanyahu Stand Strong" after a trip to Washington that appeared only to widen a two-week-old rift between the close allies over Israeli housing construction.

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Tough love for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

SECRETARY OF State Hillary Clinton delivered the right message to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Monday night, declaring that America’s commitment to Israel’s security is “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever’’ while affirming that “a two-state solution is the only viable path for Israel to remain both a democracy and a Jewish state.’’

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Israel says it will still build in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, keeping the Jewish state at odds with Washington on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians. The statement on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior cabinet ministers to consider confidence building steps for reviving negotiations, as proposed by U.S. officials while Netanyahu was in Washington this week.

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Netanyahu to craft response to US pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Gavin Rabinowitz - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his inner forum Friday in a bid to craft an Israeli response to mounting pressure from the United States, officials said. A tight-lipped Netanyahu returned home Thursday after a tense visit to Washington that appeared to deepen a bitter row with the administration of US President Barack Obama over the building of Jewish settlements. The Americans have reportedly given Netanyahu a series of demands needed to kickstart moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Netanyahu better shape up before U.S. tensions get worse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from the United States Thursday with egg all over his face but also with a painfully sharp insight - gone are the days when the White House was considerate about the intricacies of Israeli domestic politics. Former prime ministers used to tell American presidents, "Understand, I have a problematic coalition." This no longer works. Obama is not making any effort to show sensitivity to Netanyahu's distress and worse - he's ignoring it as though he intends to wreak some political chaos here.

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Erekat: Settlement decision against peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel was straying further outside of the international consensus and damaging its credibility as a serious partner for peace, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Wednesday. The PLO official's comments follow Israel's decision to build in the flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah at the site of the former Shepherd Hotel, in occupied East Jerusalem.

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Israel awaits word but signs are no deal with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended a troubled U.S. visit on Thursday with no apparent resolution of a serious dispute with Washington over Jewish housing in occupied East Jerusalem. Despite his hints at potential compromise, Israeli commentators saw failure to secure a deal with U.S. President Barack Obama and said tensions with Washington appeared to have been left unresolved. Israeli President Shimon Peres, the country's elder statesman, said Netanyahu "apparently ... did not reach an understanding wih the United States of America".

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US presses Israel for Mideast goodwill steps
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller, Matt Spetalnick - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was poised to end a troubled U.S. visit on Wednesday without settling a dispute with the White House over Jewish housing construction in occupied East Jerusalem. In a flurry of meetings throughout the day, U.S. and Israeli officials scrambled to put together a package of goodwill gestures that President Barack Obama hoped could persuade Palestinians to return to peace talks.

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A healthy decision: American Jews rally to Barack Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Telegraph
by Julian Kossoff - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Over 80 per cent of American Jews voted for President Barack Obama; only African-Americans backed him in greater numbers. They voted for him because he is a Democrat, a liberal and a reformer. They voted for him because he signalled early on that the right to health care, enjoyed by citizens of most Western nations, would be a top legislative priority and a signature moral mission.

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Netanyahu: Progress made in talks with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that progress had been made toward resolving the diplomatic crisis with the United States over the contentious plan to build more Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. "We are trying to find the golden path between our will to advance the peace process along with the United States, and between maintaining the standard policy of all Israeli governments," said Netanyahu just before boarding a plane back to Israel early Thursday.

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