Multiple battlegrounds in fights over eastern Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Marcy Oster - April 13, 2010 - 12:00am

The day that Zacharia Zigelman, 26, moved into a home in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in eastern Jerusalem, he got beaten up, he says. “You get used to it," Zigelman said of the incident, which occurred about six months ago.

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U.S tensions put Jerusalem construction on hold
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - April 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Construction requiring the approval of Jerusalem's district planning committee has been on hold for more than a month in all parts of the city due to concerns about a new crisis in ties with the United States. Staff members of the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee have been instructed to halt their work in an effort to spare Israel further embarrassing incidents like the March announcement, during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, of plans to expand the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in East Jerusalem.

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To achieve Mideast peace, Obama must make a bold Mideast trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Stephen Solarz - (Opinion) April 11, 2010 - 12:00am

More than three decades ago, Israeli statesman Moshe Dayan, speaking about an Egyptian town that controlled Israel's only outlet to the Red Sea, declared that he would rather have Sharm el-Sheikh without peace than peace without Sharm el-Sheikh. Had his views prevailed, Israel and Egypt would still be in a state of war. Today, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with his pronouncements about the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, is conveying an updated version of Dayan's credo -- that he would rather have all of Jerusalem without peace than peace without all of Jerusalem.

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Witnesses: Soldiers look on as setters beat 2
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Two 19-year-old men were transferred to a Hebron hospital for treatment Wednesday after being harshly beaten by Israeli settlers near the Ibrahimi Mosque, locals said. Witnesses identified the two as Muhammad Abdul Raouf Al-Muhtaseb and Rushdi Al-Muhtaseb, both 19, and said soldiers looked on as settlers attacked the men and did nothing to interfere. On 31 March a similar incident was reported, with A’teiyah Yousef Maswada, 31, transferred to hospital following an attack by some 10 settlers outside of the mosque.

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Rattling The Cage: Nyetanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) April 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Which way will Bibi go? This seems to be the big question – whether Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will bow to American pressure, exchange his right-wing/religious government for a “peace coalition” and start taking down the occupation, or whether he will dig in. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it – he’s going to dig in. This is not the prime minister who’s going to divide the land with the Palestinians.

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On how not to forget about Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Martin Indyk - (Opinion) April 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Long after the recent humiliation in Israel of Vice President Joe Biden is forgotten, if not forgiven, and President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recommit themselves to the “rock solid” relationship with Israel, and the Israeli ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, downgrades the hurricane to a tropical storm, there will still be the issue of Jerusalem.

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Settlers attack East Jerusalem rally
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Five people were lightly injured when Israeli settlers attacked a group of protesters gathered in the flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday. Ma'an's reporter said settlers stormed the neighborhood near the Al-Ghawi and Hanoun family homes and attacked relatives and activists. Both homes are slated for demolition and confiscation by the Israeli government. Ayman Al-Ghawi, Mahir Hanoun, and three international members of the Would Council of Churches sustained bruises during the incident.

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Lieberman: Erdogan turning into Gaddafi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - April 6, 2010 - 12:00am

Iran is heading towards a nuclear bomb, Turkey continues to verbally attack Israel, the Palestinians are threatening to declare a state and US President Barack Obama is demanding to control construction in Jerusalem. But Foreign Minister Avgidor Lieberman remains optimistic, despite all of these plagues. "We’ve weathered Pharaoh, we'll overcome this period as well," he told Ynet on Monday evening. "Those who fought for independence and for the State's existence must stand up to pressure. There is no alternative."

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US can raise the pressure on Israel without cutting aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by David R. Francis - April 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Come April 15, tax day, Josh Ruebner plans to send his group's members to post offices, dozens of them across the country, to "educate" people mailing in their tax forms that the United States should end military aid to Israel.

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Gandhi says Jewish settlements obstruct establishment of Palestinian state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
April 5, 2010 - 12:00am

Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of late Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, said here Monday that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank obstruct the establishment of the future Palestinian state. Gandhi, chairman of the Initiatives of Change International, an NGO working for peace, reconciliation and human security worldwide, toured the West Bank and met with several Palestinian leaders. Gandhi told a news conference in Ramallah that the Jewish settlements, the road barriers and the separation wall in the West Bank are "more illegal and humiliating than I believed."

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