A New Test For Americans And Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - December 10, 2007 - 7:11pm

You do get a second chance in most things in life, as the United States and the Palestinian leadership are experiencing now, in the wake of the revived Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations at Annapolis. The second chance to get things right has been triggered by the announcement earlier this week that Israel plans to build over 300 new housing units on occupied Palestinian Arab land in East Jerusalem at the Har Homa settlement - which the Arabs know as Jabal Abu Ghneim.

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December 10, 2007 - Vol. 9, Issue 14
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Middle East Peace Report - December 10, 2007 - 7:02pm

ADDING A WALL IN JERUSALEM: Israel issued a tender Tuesday for the construction of 307 new homes in Har Homa, an East Jerusalem neighborhood near Bethlehem. Har Homa, where about 4,000 Israelis now live, lies in territory that Israel de facto annexed in 1967 in an act that also expanded Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries.  

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Israeli Intends To Keep Jerusalem Areas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - December 10, 2007 - 7:00pm

A key ally of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that Israel will hold on to all Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem but would have to relinquish Arab neighborhoods in a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The comments by Vice Premier Haim Ramon appeared aimed at defusing U.S. criticism of an Israeli plan to expand one of its Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, the section Palestinians claim as capital of a future state.

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Eu Urges Israel To Stick To Peace Commitments
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by David Brunnstrom - December 10, 2007 - 6:59pm

The European Union joined the United States on Monday in expressing concern about new Israeli settlement activity and urged Israel to stick to its commitments in Middle East peace efforts. "I am very concerned," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told reporters when asked about Israel's plan to build 300 homes and other units on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

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Us Criticises Israeli Homes Plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
December 7, 2007 - 5:38pm

The United States has voiced rare criticism of Israel, for its decision to build more homes on occupied land. "This doesn't help build confidence," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after meeting Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Brussels. Israel said on Tuesday it had invited bids to build 300 new homes in Har Homa, a settlement in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians asked the US for help. Israel says it annexed the area in 1967 and so does not regard it as occupied.

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Rice Criticizes Israel On Settlement Building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ari Rabinovitch - December 7, 2007 - 5:29pm

Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel on Friday for planning to build new homes on occupied land in the Jerusalem area -- a move Palestinians say could wreck a peace process Rice helped launch last week in Washington. "We are in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence with the parties and this doesn't help to build confidence," the U.S. Secretary of State said in rare public censure of Washington's closest ally in the Middle East.

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The Devastation Our Disunity Has Created
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Miftah
by Joharah Baker - (Opinion) December 5, 2007 - 5:02pm

This morning, Israeli forces killed yet another three Hamas activists in an air strike on Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip. Over the past two weeks, some 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military forces, mostly in the Strip, even as Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak insists his army continues to hold out on wide scale military action there.

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Israel Plans New Homes In East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mark Lavie - December 5, 2007 - 4:45pm

Israel announced plans Tuesday to build more than 300 new homes in a disputed east Jerusalem neighborhood, drawing quick Palestinian condemnation that the move will undermine newly revived peace talks. The new housing would expand Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood in an area Palestinians claim as capital of a future state. Palestinian officials appealed to the U.S. to block the project, but Israel says a pledge to halt settlement activity does not apply anywhere in the holy city.

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New Har Homa Settlement Expansion Undermines New Peace Efforts and Future Negotiations
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - December 5, 2007 - 1:00am

Washington, DC, December 6 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) expressed grave concern today about reports that the Israeli government has invited bids to build more than 300 new housing units in the Har Homa settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.


Israel To Build Homes In East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - December 4, 2007 - 2:07pm

Israel said Tuesday it is seeking bids to build more than 300 new homes in a disputed east Jerusalem neighborhood, drawing Palestinian condemnations that the move is undermining the newly revived peace talks held last week in Annapolis, Md. A Housing Ministry spokesman said 307 units would be built in Har Homa, a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

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