Dozens of Arab families may be evicted from East Jerusalem neighborhood under court ruling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

A Supreme Court ruling Sunday may allow settler groups to move into dozens more homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Justices Yoram Danziger, Esther Hayut and Miriam Naor unanimously rejected an appeal by Palestinians claiming to own a large plot in the western portion of the neighborhood. The court ruled that the custodian general, and other owners, including settler representatives, succeeded in proving they owned the property.

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Settlement freeze? It was barely a slowdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Dror Etkes - (Opinion) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The official statistics supplied by the Central Bureau of Statistics describe the story behind the 10-month construction moratorium in the West Bank. The story can be called many things but "freeze" is certainly not one of them. What took place in the past few months is, in the best case scenario, not more than a negligible decrease in the number of housing units that were built in settlements.

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US 'disappointed' after settlement freeze ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- US envoy George Mitchell will hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week to discuss the consequences of Israel's decision not to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement building. The US administration is "disappointed" at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Crowley praised the "restraint" of the Palestinian response to resumed building.

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In blame game, arrow tilts to Abbas
Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israelis and Palestinians have yet to achieve any substantive progress in the nascent peace talks that resulted from President Barack Obama’s high-profile push for negotiations, but a subtle shift in the political balance between the two antagonists seems clear: Israel is now winning the blame game. The blame game always proceeds on a parallel, subterranean track to actual negotiations, the cynical mirror of the process’s insistent optimism. Some prominent figures on both sides barely disguise their assumption that peace talks will fail, as they almost always do.

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US 'disappointed' after settlement freeze ends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- US envoy George Mitchell will hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week to discuss the consequences of Israel's decision not to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement building. The US administration is "disappointed" at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Crowley praised the "restraint" of the Palestinian response to resumed building.

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Separating gimmickry from reality on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel’s temporary, partial settlement construction moratorium has finally expired without being renewed in any way. This is in spite of repeated American entreaties to the Israeli government to extend the moratorium and repeated Palestinian warnings that negotiations could not continue if building resumes. As things stand, the issue is unresolved and poses a serious threat to the future of negotiations, with the United States urgently looking for a compromise and the Palestinians putting off any final decision for at least another week.

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Separating gimmickry from reality on settlements
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel’s temporary, partial settlement construction moratorium has finally expired without being renewed in any way. This is in spite of repeated American entreaties to the Israeli government to extend the moratorium and repeated Palestinian warnings that negotiations could not continue if building resumes. As things stand, the issue is unresolved and poses a serious threat to the future of negotiations, with the United States urgently looking for a compromise and the Palestinians putting off any final decision for at least another week.

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New iPhone app tracks Israeli settlement expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

With building ramping up again in West Bank settlements after Israel's 10-month moratorium expired Sunday, the antisettlement group Peace Now is hoping to get Israelis more in touch with what's happening there – literally. A new iPhone app called "Facts on the Ground" allows users to zoom in on Google satellite images of the West Bank, where little blue Monopoly-style houses denote the size of each settlement – 123 in all.

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Netanyahu says Mideast peace talks must go on
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Joseph Nasr - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday agreed to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a summit in Paris next month, a joint effort to overcome the threat of their peace talks collapsing. A statement from Netanyahu's office said the prime minister had held phone conversations with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and told them he hoped "positive negotiations" with Abbas would continue.

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Abbas pressured to halt peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian political factions yesterday urged the president, Mahmoud Abbas, to abandon direct peace negotiations with Israel after it failed to extend a partial freeze on construction of West Bank settlements. But Mr Abbas held back yesterday on a threat to quit the talks after the expiration of the freeze at midnight Sunday. He told reporters in Paris he would not rush to respond to Israel’s resumption of settlement construction, but would first consult with Palestinian and Arab leaders.

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