Settlers aim to beat building ban with 'freeze-busting' tent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli settlers on Tuesday unveiled the latest weapon in their battle against government restrictions on building in the West Bank - an 'instant outpost' that can be put up in minutes, Army Radio reported. The tent, a creation of a team of activists including an engineer and West Bank resident recently released from military service, has been specially designed to aid settlers in their cat and mouse game with authorities on West Bank hilltops.

»

Only an idiot would say Israel has frozen settlement activity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Monday morning, as George Mitchell was on the way home from another diplomatic mission short on breakthroughs, Saeb Erekat did not sound dismayed. On the contrary, the head of the Palestinian negotiation team vehemently argued that the American envoy's last visit actually moved up the moment of truth for the White House. The veteran adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's favorite move of throwing the ball into the Palestinians' court stopped working with the Americans.

»

Rabbi arrested, suspected in West Bank mosque arson
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
January 26, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli police have arrested a rabbi on suspicion of involvement in an arson attack on a mosque last month. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, the head of a Jewish seminary in the settlement of Yitzhar, was arrested after he refused to co-operate, police said. Mr Shapira denies any involvement in the attack, his lawyer was quoted in the Israeli media as saying. Attackers burned the mosque's carpet and a shelf of Qurans, and wrote slogans in Hebrew on the floor.

»

Israeli PM plants trees to signify claim to West Bank settlement blocs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 25, 2010 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday planted trees in West Bank settlements, in a move which he said sent a clear message that Israel would retain major settlement blocs under any peace deal with the Palestinians. "The message is clear, we are here, and we will stay here. We plant and build. This is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever," local news service Ynet quoted Netanyahu as saying at the Kfar Atzon settlement, part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. He planted a tree to mark the tree-planting festival of Tu B' Shvat.

»

Palestinians: Netanyahu's claim to West Bank destroys peace efforts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - January 24, 2010 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority has condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for laying Israel's claim to certain West Bank land during a tree planting ceremony in a settlement bloc earlier Sunday, saying the move undermined efforts to return to the negotiating table. "This is an unacceptable act that destroys all the efforts being exerted by Senator [George] Mitchell in order to bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, referring to U.S. President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy.

»

'Construction continues despite freeze'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
January 22, 2010 - 1:00am

Construction is continuing in the Samaria community of Kiryat Netafim despite the government's ten-month building moratorium in West Bank settlements, Army Radio reported Friday morning. According to the report, development has continued on some 15 illegal structures. The report said the ongoing construction appeared to be in defiance not only of the freeze, but of a High Court of Justice ruling of a year ago.

»

US could tip its hand on peace plan during West Bank visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

George Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, is scheduled to arrive today for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a long-awaited visit that should give some indication of the next step for US peacemaking efforts between the two sides.

»

MIDEAST: Civil Society Takes On Israeli Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jerrold Kessel, Pierre Klochendler - January 21, 2010 - 1:00am

Salam Fayyad turned civil society activist this week. In Salfit, on the West Bank, the Palestinian prime minister threw onto a giant bonfire goods made in Israeli settlements. The fire was lit by municipal officials as part of a new Palestinian Authority (PA) campaign to ban anything produced by settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Fayyad told the campaigners, "We must all, officials and public, join together in cleaning our markets of settlements products."

»

PA, Mitchell to push for settlement halt in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The Palestinian Authority is urging Israel to approve a complete standstill on settlement construction in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Wednesday. The halt would be for a period of between three to six months and will not be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post. "This is not going to happen; it goes against everything Netanyahu says and believes in," a source in the prime minister's office told the daily.

»

Barak okays university recognition of Ariel College
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yaheli Moran Zelikovich - January 20, 2010 - 1:00am

Five years after the Israeli government decided to declare Ariel College, which is located in the West Bank, a recognized university, Ynet learned that the defense minister has agreed to implement the decision that was part of the political clashes within the coalition.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017