Ethnic cleansing, pure and simple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Editorial) December 3, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel stripped over 4,500 Jerusalemite Palestinians of their “residency rights” in 2008. This marks a huge acceleration of a policy that has been in force since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967. In these 41 years, Israel has now stripped over 12,000 Palestinians of their “permits” to live in Jerusalem, 35 per cent or so of those in 2008 alone. It also maps out exactly where the current right-wing Israeli government, which has made no secret of its wish to Judaise Jerusalem, a travesty of history if ever there was one, is heading.

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New Construction in East Jerusalem: What it Really Means
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Orly Noy - December 3, 2009 - 1:00am

The recent diplomatic and journalistic storm over plans to expand the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem exposed a fundamental difference of view between Israel and many of its strongest supporters. Reacting to news that plans for 900 new dwellings in Gilo were to be approved by the Jerusalem Planning Committee, the White House was said to be "dismayed" by the move, and the UN General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon "deplored" it.

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We have the building blocks for Mideast peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle
by Akiva Tor - (Opinion) December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel and the Palestinian Authority need to renew negotiations immediately to achieve permanent peace between our peoples. Considering the fundamental points of agreement between us, it is frustrating that for the better part of a year we have not managed to sit down and move forward toward peace: -- We both believe that Israel and a Palestinian state should live alongside each other in peace, security and economic well-being. -- We both understand that the best future for our children requires that we make painful concessions to accommodate each other's essential national aims.

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UN expresses solidarity with Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Members of the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People discussed the status of Palestinians and the ongoing Israeli occupation on Monday as the UN observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concerns over the failure to resume peace talks based on a two state solution for over a year and further called on Israel and Palestinian authorities to conduct immediate investigations into allegations of grave human rights violations committed in Gaza during Israel’s Operation Cast Led last year.

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Israel stripped thousands of Jerusalem Arabs of residency in 2008
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Last year set an all-time record for the number of Arab residents of East Jerusalem who were stripped of residency rights by the Interior Ministry. Altogether, the ministry revoked the residency of 4,577 East Jerusalemites in 2008 - 21 times the average of the previous 40 years.

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EU draft document on division of Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

The current holder of the rotating European Union presidency, Sweden, has put together a draft document calling for the division of Jerusalem between Israel and a future Palestinian state and implying that the EU would recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood. Haaretz has obtained a copy of the document (below) that has sparked criticism by Israel, which claims that such a move would further harm the chances of renewing the Mideast peace process.

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Israel decries proposed E.U. stance on East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - December 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel on Tuesday criticized a proposed statement by the European Union recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state -- part of the country's growing resistance to efforts to pressure it into reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians in the absence of direct, U.S.-sponsored talks. The draft statement, which the Israeli daily Haaretz published Tuesday, is to be considered by E.U. foreign ministers next week. Its first point calls for establishment of a Palestinian state "with East Jerusalem as its capital."

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Israel rejects European Union plan to divide Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - December 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Israel's foreign ministry said Tuesday that a Swedish-led push for the European Union to call for the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state would trip up Europe's own efforts to play a role in Middle East peacemaking.

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Jewish Nationalists Clash With Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 1, 2009 - 1:00am

Jewish nationalists and Palestinians clashed in an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday after the Israelis took over a house by court order in a predominantly Arab area. The confrontation further strained tensions in this contested city, where competing Israeli and Palestinian claims have become a sticking point in the Obama administration’s efforts to restart peace talks.

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Jerusalem Syndrome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Sometimes tourists show up at Jerusalem's mental health centers, convinced that a voice from the heavens told them they were the messiah. The illness, commonly known as Jerusalem Syndrome, usually passes once they have left the city. However, Israelis, mostly public figures, have been afflicted with this syndrome for the past 42 years, affecting their ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Jerusalem has become the Disneyland of the Jewish people.

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