Parks Fortify Israel’s Claim to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Isabel Kershner - May 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel is quietly carrying out a $100 million, multiyear development plan in some of the most significant religious and national heritage sites just outside the walled Old City here as part of an effort to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as its capital.

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PA fears for Jerusalem's Silwan residents
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority is concerned that dozens of families from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan may be evicted from their homes in the near future. Concerns arose following the Justice Ministry's demand to stop the process of issuing building permits in the area, under the claim that the families do not own the land they live on. The issue was raised about two weeks ago, during a Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee hearing aimed at settling a dispute over a Silwan resident's building permits.

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Homes destroyed for lack of permit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 5, 2009 - 12:00am

The newly tiled floor is still immaculately swept and the two sofas and two armchairs are regularly dusted. Taghreed Essayyad, 36, likes to keep the sitting area clean because she and her family spend as much time as possible in their home in the Al Tur neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Or, at least, in the corner that still stands. When a Jerusalem municipality bulldozer a few months ago flattened the rest of the house for being built without permit, a wire caught under its tracked wheel, Mrs Essayyad recalled with some fondness, and the bulldozer broke down before it could complete the job.

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U.N. Seeks End to Razing of Homes in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The United Nations is calling on Israel to freeze all pending demolition orders against Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem in a new report that reflects growing international concern over developments in the contested city. The report also urges Israel to provide solutions to the housing crisis there.

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ATFP Backs UN Call for End to Home Demolitions in Jerusalem
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am

Washington, DC, May 1 – The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today voiced strong support for a report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs calling for an end to Israel’s demolitions of Palestinian homes and other restrictions on Palestinian living conditions in occupied East Jerusalem.


Israel building 60 new homes for Orthodox Jews in Occupied Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
April 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel has begun construction on some 60 new housing units in Jewish settlements in Occupied East Jerusalem, anti-settlement Peace Now group said Monday. "The works aim to build 60 housing units for Orthodox religious Jewish families right next to the Palestinian neighborhood of Arab al-Sawahra," Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran told AFP. "The works began two months ago as part of development of East Talpiot," one of a dozen Jewish settlements that Israel has built in Occupied East Jerusalem since capturing that part of the city in 1967, she said.

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Israel built, planned 9,000 homes on war-won land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Karin Laub - April 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's previous government built or issued bids for some 9,000 homes for Israelis in Jerusalem and the West Bank, despite its promise to pursue a peace deal with the Palestinians, settlement monitors said Monday, summarizing Ehud Olmert's three years as prime minister. The Israeli watchdog groups Peace Now and Ir Amim urged President Barack Obama to step in quickly and pressure Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to halt further settlement expansion, particularly in the areas of Jerusalem the Palestinians want for their future capital.

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Demolitions build Jerusalem tension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Katya Adler - April 25, 2009 - 12:00am

Five young children cling to their mother. All of them are crying. This morning, without warning, Israeli bulldozers came to destroy their home in Jabal Mukabar area of East Jerusalem. Speaking amongst the mangled remains of her house, Samia Ihdaidoon says she was still sleeping when Israel's police arrived. "They came pounding on the doors and climbed in through the bedroom window as if it was a raid. They said I had five minutes to put on my scarf and collect our valuables, then I had to get out. It's a shock for the children. Look at their faces. I'm in despair."

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Israel defies US and destroys Palestinian home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Ben Lynfield - April 23, 2009 - 12:00am

Brushing aside international criticism, Israel demolished a Palestinian house in East Jerusalem in the latest in a series of actions that critics say is racheting up tensions in the city, harming chances for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ammar Hudidon, a resident of the Jebel Mukaber neighbourhood and a father of seven children, said a bulldozer flattened his home yesterday after the Jerusalem municipality said he lacked building permits. Palestinians complain that the permits are virtually impossible to obtain.

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Feiglin: If I were PM, I'd rebuild the Temple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Matthew Wagner - April 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Moshe Feiglin, head of Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership Movement) said last week that if he was elected prime minister, he would try to rebuild the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem. "I don't know if I will have the merit of doing something that is the aspiration of every Jew," said Feiglin. "But if I become prime minister I will take away control over the Temple Mount from the Wakf [the Islamic trust] and reinstate Jewish sovereignty over the entire mount and, hopefully, rebuild the Temple."

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