Settlers attack Palestinians near Bethlehem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Hebron – Ma’an – Furious after their own government demolished two houses in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian property in the latest incident of the "price tag" phenomenon. Dozens of residents of the illegal Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin, in the Bethlehem Governorate, were seen throwing stones and empty bottles at Palestinian homes in Safa, an adjacent village next to the Beit Ummar town north of Hebron.

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Beit Yehonatan residents: We will evict Arabs ourselves
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

"If police do not evacuate the Heichal Shlomo Synagogue of its squatters, we will do it ourselves on July 4," the residents of Beit Yehonatan in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem threatened on Wednesday. According to them, the State is exercising "discrimination and political persecution" against them by placing Beit Yehonatan on the list of properties destined for evacuation, while Arab houses they claim were built illegally are not included on the list.

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Israel forces surround Jerusalem home
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli forces deployed around a Palestinian home south of Jerusalem following fierce clashes between local landowners and settlers attempting to expand a road in the area, onlookers said. The settlers were using bulldozers to enlarge a street in advance of plans to install a mobile home in Beit Safafa, witnesses said. Many settlements in the occupied West Bank began as simple structures placed on Palestinian land.

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Palestinian settlers?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Akram Baker - June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The question of Israel's illegal settlements in occupied Palestine is one of the core issues of the conflict. In blatant violation of international law, the continuing expansion of new and existing settlements by consecutive Israeli governments has caused a major rift between Israel and the Obama administration. And while the entire world (with the notable exception of Israel) is in agreement that the settlements must to a large extent be dismantled in any peace agreement, the question of what to do with the settlers themselves is even thornier.

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Palestinian settlers?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Akram Baker - (Opinion) June 23, 2010 - 12:00am

The question of Israel's illegal settlements in occupied Palestine is one of the core issues of the conflict. In blatant violation of international law, the continuing expansion of new and existing settlements by consecutive Israeli governments has caused a major rift between Israel and the Obama administration. And while the entire world (with the notable exception of Israel) is in agreement that the settlements must to a large extent be dismantled in any peace agreement, the question of what to do with the settlers themselves is even thornier.

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Creative ideas threatened by continued settlement building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

The Israeli settlement project in occupied Palestinian territory, which started from the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, has always been one of the most contentious aspects of the conflict. From the beginning, these illegal settlements, including in East Jerusalem, were responsible for provoking fierce confrontations. And when the peace process started, this same Israeli policy proved the major obstacle to reaching a solution.

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Abbas appeals to US over Silwan construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

While Washington has already stated that the construction plan that entails the demolition of 22 Arab homes in Silwan damages trust between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not making do with statements, and is looking for action. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP on Tuesday that Abbas asked the United States to take action to cancel the King's Garden project in east Jerusalem, part of which includes the demolition of Arab homes.

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Mayor defends plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

The office of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Tuesday defended plans to demolish Palestinian houses in the city's eastern sector to make way for a tourist center, after Defense Minister Ehud Barak lashed out at authorities over the project. Barak, who is in the United States for a series of meetings with top officials, faced criticism and demands for explanations after the Jerusalem municipal planning committee decided to destroy 22 houses in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, which it says were built illegally.

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U.S.: East Jerusalem demolitions undermine trust vital for Israel-PA talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Nir Hasson - June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Israel's decision on Monday to raze 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is the kind of step that undermines trust fundamental to progress in the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Senior U.S. officials have asked Netanyahu's office to explain why the plan was authorized, saying that Washington will issue an official condemnation of the demolitions.

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Israel orders settlers off Palestinian land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 22, 2010 - 12:00am

An Israeli military appeals court on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of settlers from Palestinian-owned land near the southern West bank city of Hebron. Yatta landowner Khalil Al-Jbour said the 100-dunum plot was taken over by residents of the illegal Susiya settlement southeast of the village. The rest of the land, he added, belonged to the Hamad Awwad family. Al-Jbour said the owners filed a suit in an Israeli military court in 2004, when the lands were seized, and after years of filing paperwork, they finally succeeded in winning rights to their own land.

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