Israel policy allows settlers to rampage unchecked
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

From a Palestinian perspective, it's hard to imagine better timing for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won't have speak at great length nor lay on the charm to persuade Biden, White House staff or the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem that Netanyahu government is not serious when it says it wants peace. One must admit that the current diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians is not about reaching a peace deal - each side is convinced that the other is either not serious or incapable.

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Biden Calls Ties Between U.S. and Israel ‘Unshakable’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Calling Washington’s ties to Israel “unshakable,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. opened talks with Israeli leaders on Tuesday, part of a concerted American effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and keep Israel focused on sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program rather than unilateral military action. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

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Biden visits Middle East; Israel and Palestinians agree to indirect talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Biden arrived in Israel on Monday to boost U.S. efforts to mediate talks between Israelis and Palestinians amid criticism that the Obama administration has set back the peace process.

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PA condemns authorization of Bethlehem settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian government in Ramallah condemned Israel's authorization on Monday of dozens of new housing units for a settlement near Bethlehem just hours before US envoy George Mitchell arrived in the region. The Israeli government will allow the building of 112 new homes in the illegal West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit settlement, in spite of a declared halt to settlement expansion in November, Israeli media reported on Monday.

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An Eviction Stirs Old Ghosts in a Contested City
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

ERUSALEM — Having been removed in favor of Israeli nationalist Jews, members of the Palestinian Ghawi family have been sheltering this winter in a tent on the sidewalk opposite their home of more than five decades in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. For those who want to see a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the eviction of the Ghawis has touched on two sensitive nerves: the fate of East Jerusalem, where Israel and the Palestinians vie for control, and the abiding grievances of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war.

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PNA condemns Jewish settlement expansion, backs popular protests
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Saud Abu Ramadan - March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Monday condemned the Israeli decision to build 112 housing units in the settlement of Bitar Elit south of Jerusalem, and insisted to continue supporting the popular protests against the Israeli measures in the West Bank. Ghassan al-Khatib, spokesman of the Palestinian government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said in a press statement that "this settlement was built on a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967 war, no matter if it is in the West Bank or near Jerusalem. "

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PNA vows to continue support West Bank struggle despite pressure
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Monday said it supports peaceful struggle against Israel despite Israeli threats of more pressure to stop demonstrations in the West Bank. "The PNA encourages the peaceful resistance and government officials regularly participate in that resistance which would continue as long as the occupation continued," Ghassan Al-Khatib, a PNA spokesman, told Xinhua.

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Israel approves construction of 112 apartments in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
March 8, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel has approved on Monday the construction of 112 apartments in the West Bank, said the Ministry of Defense. This is a "continuation of the construction site" in a West Bank settlement, the ministry told Xinhua via an e-mail. The program, which was approved in former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's term, has already started before last November's order of settlement freeze, according to the ministry. "An exception is generated due to infrastructure problems and safety properties," said the ministry.

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Israel OKs new settlement work despite slowdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - March 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel authorized the construction of 112 new apartments in the West Bank despite a pledge to slowdown settlement building, the government disclosed Monday — a decision that enraged the Palestinians a day after they reluctantly agreed to resume peace talks. Word of the new construction in the Beitar Illit settlement came amid a flurry of activity by the U.S. to try to salvage peacemaking.

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PA moves to ban Palestinians from working in settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
March 7, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority is moving to prevent Palestinian workers from taking jobs in settlements, as officials Ramallah repeatedly declare their refusal to resume direct negotiations until all Israeli construction in the West Bank is halted. Palestinians vehemently oppose the settlements Israel has built on land they want for a future state. But with unemployment high in the West Bank, thousands of Palestinians work in settlements. Palestinians have been key to building homes for settlers and also work in factories.

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