For PA, Ramat Shlomo brouhaha is a godsend
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Khaled Abu Toameh - (Analysis) March 15, 2010 - 12:00am

The crisis that erupted last week between the US and Israel over plans to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood has been welcomed by the Palestinian Authority as a “positive development.” PA officials and media outlets have since been highlighting – with a tone full of satisfaction – every single report or statement about the crisis between Jerusalem and Washington.

»

Netanyahu faces 'moment of truth' after US slams Israel 'insult'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - March 14, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found himself on the defensive after an unprecedented public assault by US officials over the weekend, as the diplomatic furor over new building in Jerusalem escalated.

»

Driving Drunk in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) March 13, 2010 - 1:00am

I am a big Joe Biden fan. The vice president is an indefatigable defender of U.S. interests abroad. So it pains me to say that on his recent trip to Israel, when Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government rubbed his nose in some new housing plans for contested East Jerusalem, the vice president missed a chance to send a powerful public signal: He should have snapped his notebook shut, gotten right back on Air Force Two, flown home and left the following scribbled note behind: “Message from America to the Israeli government: Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.

»

Clinton Rebukes Israel on Housing Announcement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

In a tense, 43-minute phone call on Friday morning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s plan for new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem sent a “deeply negative signal” about Israeli-American relations, and not just because it spoiled a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

»

Questions abound after Biden's Israel visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

You come for a hug. You leave with a slap. It happens in the Middle East. Vice President Joe Biden's trip this week was supposed to highlight U.S.-Israeli cooperation to counter a perceived nuclear threat from Iran and kick off U.S.-brokered indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, talk about Iran was sidetracked and the outlook for peace may be murkier than it was before. Even here, people are not quite sure how that happened.

»

Bad time for Israel settlements fight
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) March 12, 2010 - 1:00am

This week in Israel, Vice President Joe Biden found out something that he’s probably known for quite some time: No good deed goes unpunished. Shortly after Biden arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday, to reassure the Israelis and coordinate efforts on Iran and other issues, Israel’s Ministry of the Interior announced the construction of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem.

»

The problem with illegal settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

The embarrassment the US vice president faced this week when, during his visit to Israel, the creation of a new settlement was announced should not have surprised him. The list of Israeli slaps in the face of US officials is endless. The situation has become such that many believe calls for a freeze of settlement activities should stop because they resulted in a frenzy to build even more Jewish settlements.

»

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."

»

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.

»

Staying true to 'two-state'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

For the better part of two decades, most Israelis and Palestinians and most of their elected leaders have embraced the "two-state solution" to their bloody conflict -- a negotiated separation into side-by-side states of Israel and Palestine. Over time, however, the two sides have moved further from that goal, pulled in opposite directions by extremists. Now, as Vice President Biden and U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell attempt to start "proximity" talks, in which the two sides will negotiate without meeting face to face, we're concerned: Is time running out for a two-state solution?

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017