Lieberman on Quartet call: You can't make artificial peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - March 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded Friday to the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators' call to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, saying that peace is not something which can be created artificially and with unrealistic timetables. "Peace will be established through actions and not by force," Lieberman told Belgium's Jewish community ahead of his scheduled talks with the ministers of several European nations.

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Obama: No crisis in U.S. ties with Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

United States President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there was no crisis in ties with Israel, despite a high-profile diplomatic feud over the Netanyahu administration's plans to build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem. "Israel is one of our closest allies, and we and the Israeli people have a special bond that's not going to go away," Obama said in an interview with Fox News. "But friends are going to disagree sometimes," Obama said.

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U.S. tough love is the kind Israel needs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel - addicted to the occupation, and showing symptoms of overdose and accumulated damage - has finally found a savior to rescue it from its plight. Israel's redeemer hasn't just stood idly by for 40 years, but has even facilitated the habit. However, it seems that change may at last be in the air.

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Israel may freeze construction in east Jerusalem's Arab Neighborhoods
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been presented with a new proposal according to which construction in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem that are located behind the Green Line will be reduced, while Jewish construction in Arab neighborhoods will be frozen altogether, Ynet reported Thursday. A similar proposal was brought before the "forum of seven ministers," but was apparently rejected by right-wing members of cabinet. President Shimon Peres, who met with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday, supports the proposal.

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Netanyahu dodges real issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Francis Matthew - (Opinion) March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Peace talks must focus on Israel's illegal colonies in the West Bank and Golan Heights, not merely future construction The present crisis between the US and Israel bears all the marks of a classic Netanyahu scheme in which he establishes some minor points with a lot of noise to distract attention from the main issue. Unfortunately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to succeeding, so the Palestinian leadership need to keep their nerve and focus on the main agenda.

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Israeli settlements threaten world security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nathan Gardels - (Interview) March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Nathan Gardels: Let’s go back to basics. It is clear that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict stands at the center of what motivates so much terrorism against the United States. In this context, the Netanyahu ( Israeli) government’s insistence on expanding settlements – despite President Obama’s high profile promise to stop them in his Cairo speech – does more than undermine US credibility. Isn’t it, fundamentally, against US strategic interests?

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Mitchell to meet Abbas and Netanyahu this weekend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
March 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel and the United States have discussed specific steps to try to improve the outlook for Israeli-Palestinian peace following a bitter U.S.-Israeli row over settlement building, the State Department said on Friday. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the region this weekend.

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Israel crisis: US must keep up the pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
(Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

The Obama administration appears to be turning down the rhetoric in its heated exchange with Israel over last week’s surprise announcement of 1,600 more Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem. It should not, however, relieve pressure on Israel to show that it is ready to compromise in making peace with the Palestinians.

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Are Israel’s Policies a Threat to the U.S.?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

The dispute between Israel and the United States over building plans in East Jerusalem has left some supporters of Israel with a bitter aftertaste. It was not only the harshness of the Obama administration’s admonition of Israel; it was also the sense that a new element has been introduced to the bilateral relationship: the question of whether Israeli policies adversely affect America’s strategic interests in the region. Related Articles

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Waging on Washington’s Anger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Osman Mirghani - (Opinion) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am

There’s nothing strange about Arab parties rejoicing at the “emergency crisis” between the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US administration after US Vice President Joe Biden was angered by the timing of an announcement by the Israeli government to build another 1600 housing units in Jerusalem. The Obama administration considered it a blow to it and its diplomacy.

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