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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Conflicting Demands Test Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

After contentious meetings in the White House, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, returned home on Thursday with the politically explosive task of responding to an unyielding American demand that he limit Israeli building in East Jerusalem.

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Israel Confirms New Building in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

With strains still high between Israel and the United States over the issue of Jewish settlements, construction of a contentious Jewish housing project in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem could start at any time, Israeli officials and experts said Wednesday Jerusalem city hall gave the project the final go-ahead on March 18, days after city officials said the landowners had paid the required fees. Once the fees were paid, City Hall said in a statement on Wednesday, “approval was granted automatically.”

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Britain to Expel Israeli Diplomat Over Dubai Case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch, Aron Heller, Gregory Katz, Raphael G. Satter - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Britain will expel an Israeli diplomat on Tuesday to rebuke Israel for its alleged use of forged British passports in the assassination of a Hamas operative in a suspected Mossad hit, a U.K. government official said. Foreign Secretary David Miliband was scheduled to address Parliament over the issue, following an investigation into the use of 12 fake U.K. passports in the incident. Britain's Foreign Office would not provide any details of Miliband's statement in advance.

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PA cabinet: No return to violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

During its weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, the Palestinian government in Ramallah condemned the killing of four Palestinians in Nablus in less than 24 hours by Israel forces. The cabinet also condemned Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip.

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Britain expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai passport row
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The UK is to expel an Israeli diplomat over 12 forged British passports used in the killing of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January. David Miliband said there were "compelling reasons" to believe Israel was responsible for the forgeries. The foreign secretary said the misuse of British passports was "intolerable". Israel's ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, said he was "disappointed", but Israel confirmed there would be no tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion.

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Make Israel pay an 'occupation tax'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ezzedine Choukri Fishere - (Opinion) March 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab intellectuals and policymakers have often accused Europe of using financial generosity to cover up its political impotence over the Arab-Israeli conflict. If Europe is to be taken seriously as a global player, they argue, it must also flex some muscle when it delivers the money. In Arab eyes, European officials implicitly plead guilty to these charges by pointing to Europe’s complex multilateral politics and the European Union’s bureaucratic nature. Europe’s Arab interlocutors are unimpressed: they want Europe to stop talking like a Great Power and start acting like one.

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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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Biden's rebuke on new housing comes as Israel seeks to reaffirm U.S. relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Two years ago, Israel announced plans to build new homes in east Jerusalem just as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was preparing to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, prompting Rice's spokesman to characterize the move as "not helpful."

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Biden tells Palestinians U.S. won't be deterred
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinians on Wednesday that the United States intends to push ahead with its Mideast peacemaking effort, despite a diplomatic blow-up this week over Israel's plans to build 1,600 housing units in disputed East Jerusalem. Biden met in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority president and prime minister, emphasizing U.S. determination to act as the intermediary in new talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The vice president reiterated his criticism of Israel's housing announcement, and declared that Palestinians deserve a "viable" state.

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