Israel building Jewish homes with one hand, destroying Arab homes with the other
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The World Likud movement held a cornerstone-laying ceremony yesterday for the expansion of the neighborhood of Nof Zion, despite - or possibly because of - American pressure against building in East Jerusalem. The Jewish settlement is in the middle of the Arab village of Jabal Mukkaber. Meanwhile, the Jerusalem municipality razed two Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem yesterday.

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Obama: Settlement expansion could be ‘dangerous’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

President Obama said additional Israeli settlement building "embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous." In an interview Wednesday with Fox News in China, Obama said Israel's decision to approve the construction of 900 new apartments on the outskirts of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo was not helpful to peace talks.

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Moves against peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

It seems Israel is taking full advantage of the crisis in the peace process to push its anti-peace agenda. Razing houses in East Jerusalem and issuing tenders for another 900 settlement units in illegal settlements, these ones in Gilo, a particularly ugly housing estate near Bethlehem, the Israeli government is continuing to send the kind of unmistakable signals that really ought to leave this country exposed as the pariah state it is.

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Few options left
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The declaration by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he does not wish to run for a second term if and when elections are held has shocked both Israel and the US. His presence at the top of the Palestinian Authority provided them with the cover they needed to pursue their own selfish policies: Israel to continue its colonisation enterprise in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the US to carry on with its longstanding capitulation to the demands of the powerful hardline Zionist lobby, which marches in lockstep with the right-wing Israeli government.

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A disregard for law, and for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The news this week that the Israeli government has approved a further 900 new buildings in an East Jeru­salem settlement deals another hammer blow to the already waning peace process. Not only does the expansion of the Gilo settlement show a complete disregard for international law, it shows once again a preference for expansion over peace on the part of the Israel. In a speech to the Jewish Federation of North America a couple of weeks ago, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the achievements of the Jewish people.

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Expanding 'settlements' in eastern Jerusalem? Part 1
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Examiner - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The government of Israel is in process of approving 900 new houses in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, on land acquired in 1967. The U.S. calls this “expanding a settlement.“ The White House press secretary “was ‘dismayed” and asking both parties to avoid unilateral actions that could ‘pre-empt or appear to pre-empt negotiations.’” “Disagreements over settlement building are in large part the reason that the negotiations, which have been stalled for months, have not resumed.”

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Army faces friction over evacuations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

A growing threat of mutiny by pro-settler soldiers has alarmed Israel’s senior political and military leaders and spurred fears that a rightwards shift in the country’s army may hinder any future land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians. On Monday, six soldiers hung a banner on a rooftop inside their military base proclaiming their refusal to dismantle Jewish outposts in the occupied West Bank. That rebellion followed a demonstration last month by conscripts, who waved banners calling for continued Jewish settlement in the West Bank, during their swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem.

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Ahmed Qureia: Two-state solution becoming hopeless
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel’s decision to build 900 settlement homes in Gilo is “another nail in the coffin of the peace process,” member of the PLO executive committee and Chairman of the Department of Jerusalem affairs Ahmed Qurei said Wednesday. The PLO official called the decision one “disrespectful” to the personal efforts of US President Barack Obama who has been attempting to revive the peace process since he stepped into office more than a year ago.

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Analysis / Will Netanyahu's behavior push Obama into Abbas' arms?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The crisis surrounding the expansion of Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood is making waves all the way to China now. U.S. President Barack Obama, an amazing orator in his own right, was able to easily duck a question from a reporter from the conservative Fox network on the Jerusalem issue. But Obama did not want to hide his anger in diplomatic phrasings this time. There are at least three reasons for Obama to take out his anger on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gilo affair.

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US-Israel relations: Is there a crisis?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Naama Lanir - November 19, 2009 - 1:00am

The charged relationship between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been topped with open outrage by the US administration over construction plans in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood. Does this unprecedented protest point to a serious crisis with Washington?

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