Netanyahu to craft response to US pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Gavin Rabinowitz - March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his inner forum Friday in a bid to craft an Israeli response to mounting pressure from the United States, officials said. A tight-lipped Netanyahu returned home Thursday after a tense visit to Washington that appeared to deepen a bitter row with the administration of US President Barack Obama over the building of Jewish settlements. The Americans have reportedly given Netanyahu a series of demands needed to kickstart moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.

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Netanyahu better shape up before U.S. tensions get worse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from the United States Thursday with egg all over his face but also with a painfully sharp insight - gone are the days when the White House was considerate about the intricacies of Israeli domestic politics. Former prime ministers used to tell American presidents, "Understand, I have a problematic coalition." This no longer works. Obama is not making any effort to show sensitivity to Netanyahu's distress and worse - he's ignoring it as though he intends to wreak some political chaos here.

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Netanyahu and Obama are at point of no return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The strife between Israel and the United States concerns something far bigger than the proximity talks with the Palestinians. As far as President Barack Obama and his senior advisers are concerned, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for nothing less than damaging the standing of the U.S.in the Middle East and the Muslim world.

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Netanyahu: Progress made in talks with U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that progress had been made toward resolving the diplomatic crisis with the United States over the contentious plan to build more Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. "We are trying to find the golden path between our will to advance the peace process along with the United States, and between maintaining the standard policy of all Israeli governments," said Netanyahu just before boarding a plane back to Israel early Thursday.

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Netanyahu leaves U.S. disgraced, isolated and weaker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Details emerging from Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington remain incomplete, but the conclusion may nonetheless be drawn that the prime minister erred in choosing to fly to the United States this week. The visit - touted as a fence-mending effort, a bid to strengthen the tenuous ties between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama - only highlighted the deep rift between the American and Israeli administrations. The prime minister leaves America disgraced, isolated, and altogether weaker than when he came.

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A healthy decision: American Jews rally to Barack Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Telegraph
by Julian Kossoff - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Over 80 per cent of American Jews voted for President Barack Obama; only African-Americans backed him in greater numbers. They voted for him because he is a Democrat, a liberal and a reformer. They voted for him because he signalled early on that the right to health care, enjoyed by citizens of most Western nations, would be a top legislative priority and a signature moral mission.

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Labor minister: Government in danger
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Atilla Somfalvi - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Commentators said after an exceptionally chilly welcome received by the prime minister at the White House that Benjamin Netanyahu may be forced to alter the composition of his government, due to disagreements between his coalition and the US on construction in east Jerusalem. A Labor minister said Thursday that "the government in its current state may be in danger". But a senior Likud minister disagreed, saying that it was "too soon to assume that the composition of the coalition will change".

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Settlements in Focus: Top 6 Bogus Excuses for East Jerusalem Settlement Expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Lara Friedman - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Bogus Excuse #1 - "Everybody knows these areas will always remain part of Israel." The Truth: There is nothing objective or neutral, or even constant, about what "everybody knows" in East Jerusalem.

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Netanyahu to US: I need cabinet's approval on understandings
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Aides to Benjamin Netanyahu met with American officials at the Mayflower Hotel for several hours overnight Thursday (Israeli time) in an effort to resolve the disagreements that had resurfaced during the Israeli prime minister's meeting with President Barack Obama and agree on trust-building Israeli measures that would advance the so-called "proximity talks" with the Palestinians.

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The real price of Israel's settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Seth Freedman - (Opinion) March 25, 2010 - 12:00am

The cost of building Israeli settlements in the occupied territories stands at more than $17bn, according to a report released this week. The painstaking study into the economics of construction in the West Bank encompasses every building and road in the settlements, which cover a combined space of 12m square metres, and in doing so quantifies the enormity of the 43-year-old project of colonisation.

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