Why Jerusalem matters on the road to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Sydney Morning Herald
by Jason Koutsoukis - November 21, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian aspirations to establish a capital in East Jerusalem are unwavering, despite this week's announcement by Israel that it is expanding Jewish neighbourhoods in the eastern half of the city. The former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia, now the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, has told the Herald that Jerusalem is integral to Palestinian sovereignty. ''This is non-negotiable; we will not accept anything less than Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,'' Mr Qureia said.

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Palestinian MK: 15,000 settlement homes awaiting approval in Jlem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian Member of the Knesset Ahmad Tibi said Israel's Jerusalem municipality is preparing to build 15,000 new housing units around the city, mainly in areas beyond the Green Line in occupied Palestine. “These plans are larger and more dangerous than the recent plans to build 900 housing units in Gilo,” Tibi said during a phone interview on Friday. The MK called the plans common knowledge, saying “Everyone who follows up these issues knows that these plans exist," and explained they were just waiting for approval from the government, just like "what happened in Gilo," Tibi said.

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East Jerusalem Settlement Plan Deepens Rift With Washington
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Wall Street Journal - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. sharply criticized Israel's decision to move ahead with a building expansion in East Jerusalem, underscoring the rift between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to push forward the stalled Middle East peace process. The U.S. has unsuccessfully lobbied Mr. Netanyahu over the past nine months to agree to a total Israeli construction freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, to underpin negotiations aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state.

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US-Israel relations: Is there a crisis?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Naama Lanir - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The charged relationship between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been topped with open outrage by the US administration over construction plans in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood. Does this unprecedented protest point to a serious crisis with Washington?

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Obama: Settlement expansion could be ‘dangerous’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

President Obama said additional Israeli settlement building "embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous." In an interview Wednesday with Fox News in China, Obama said Israel's decision to approve the construction of 900 new apartments on the outskirts of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo was not helpful to peace talks.

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Moves against peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

It seems Israel is taking full advantage of the crisis in the peace process to push its anti-peace agenda. Razing houses in East Jerusalem and issuing tenders for another 900 settlement units in illegal settlements, these ones in Gilo, a particularly ugly housing estate near Bethlehem, the Israeli government is continuing to send the kind of unmistakable signals that really ought to leave this country exposed as the pariah state it is.

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Few options left
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The declaration by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he does not wish to run for a second term if and when elections are held has shocked both Israel and the US. His presence at the top of the Palestinian Authority provided them with the cover they needed to pursue their own selfish policies: Israel to continue its colonisation enterprise in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the US to carry on with its longstanding capitulation to the demands of the powerful hardline Zionist lobby, which marches in lockstep with the right-wing Israeli government.

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A disregard for law, and for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The news this week that the Israeli government has approved a further 900 new buildings in an East Jeru­salem settlement deals another hammer blow to the already waning peace process. Not only does the expansion of the Gilo settlement show a complete disregard for international law, it shows once again a preference for expansion over peace on the part of the Israel. In a speech to the Jewish Federation of North America a couple of weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the achievements of the Jewish people.

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Palestinian state-building is the only game left in town
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by David Ignatius - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Looking at the city of Ramallah, you can imagine what a Palestinian state could someday be like if folks got serious: The streets are clean, there’s new construction in every direction, and Palestinian soldiers line the roads. A visitor sees new apartment buildings, banks, brokerage firms, luxury car dealerships, and even health clubs.

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Expanding 'settlements' in eastern Jerusalem? Part 1
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Examiner - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The government of Israel is in process of approving 900 new houses in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, on land acquired in 1967. The U.S. calls this “expanding a settlement.“ The White House press secretary “was ‘dismayed” and asking both parties to avoid unilateral actions that could ‘pre-empt or appear to pre-empt negotiations.’” “Disagreements over settlement building are in large part the reason that the negotiations, which have been stalled for months, have not resumed.”

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