Fierce debate on Israel underway inside Obama administration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Laura Rozen - March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tense visit to the White House last week, an intense debate inside the Obama administration about how to proceed with Netanyahu to advance the Middle East peace process has grown more heated, even as Israeli officials are expected to announce they have reached some sort of agreement with Washington as soon as tonight.

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After US dustup, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing challenges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

On the eve on Israel's Passover holiday, which celebrates liberation from oppression, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked so mired in his mounting, multi-faceted crises that he might need a miracle to survive them.

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At a dead-end
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) March 28, 2010 - 12:00am

The announcement by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab League summit that he will not enter into indirect talks with Israel unless it backs down on settlements, coming immediately after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected anew international calls to stop settlement building in East Jerusalem, means that the peace process has hit a dead-end.

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Hobby or Necessity?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) March 27, 2010 - 12:00am

If you think this latest Israeli-American flap was just the same-old-same-old tiff over settlements, then you’re clearly not paying attention — which is how I’d describe a lot of Israelis, Arabs and American Jews today.

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Arabs pledge $500 million in east J'lem aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Thursday announced that the organization's member states approved a $500 million assistance package for Palestinians residing in Jerusalem. The Arab foreign ministers convened Thursday for a preparatory meeting in the Libyan city of Sirte, ahead of the Arab League summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

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Is It Too Late to Share Jerusalem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Andrew Lee Butters - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The disputed fate of Jerusalem has long epitomized the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, and over the past two weeks it has been at the center of rare diplomatic brawl between Israel and the U.S. But even as the Obama Administration and the Israeli government square off over demands that Israel refrain from announcing new construction projects in occupied East Jerusalem, the tussle as Israel extends its grip and Palestinians push back is a flashpoint. "The tinder is dry in Jerusalem," says one Western diplomat.

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Mr. Obama and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

After taking office last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel privately told many Americans and Europeans that he was committed to and capable of peacemaking, despite the hard-line positions that he had used to get elected for a second time. Trust me, he told them. We were skeptical when we first heard that, and we’re even more skeptical now.

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As U.S.-Israel rift continues, Netanyahu finds himself in a bind
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was welcomed home Thursday night with signs reading "Obama, No You Can't" and "Netanyahu Stand Strong" after a trip to Washington that appeared only to widen a two-week-old rift between the close allies over Israeli housing construction.

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Tough love for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

SECRETARY OF State Hillary Clinton delivered the right message to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Monday night, declaring that America’s commitment to Israel’s security is “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever’’ while affirming that “a two-state solution is the only viable path for Israel to remain both a democracy and a Jewish state.’’

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Israel says it will still build in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Allyn Fisher-Ilan - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, keeping the Jewish state at odds with Washington on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians. The statement on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior cabinet ministers to consider confidence building steps for reviving negotiations, as proposed by U.S. officials while Netanyahu was in Washington this week.

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