Talks go on despite W. Bank construction
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jerusalem Post - September 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Despite angry statements from the Palestinians and the Arab world, and condemnations from the US and the EU, Israel's announcement Monday of new housing starts in the settlements did not derail the diplomatic process; US envoy George Mitchell is expected here Saturday night, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to Egypt for talks on Sunday. "The settlements aren't the be-all, end-all" of American policy efforts, one State Department official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "Our ultimate goal [is] to create the conditions for negotiations."

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Obama Mid-East plans in jeopardy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Roger Hardy - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The Netanyahu government in Israel has approved the building of 455 new homes for settlers in the West Bank - in defiance of Mr Obama's call for a complete settlement freeze. One former US diplomat with extensive experience of the Middle East calls it "a huge slap in the face" for the Obama administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to have it both ways. He wants to appease the settler lobby by allowing new construction, and to appease the Americans by finalising an agreement on a temporary freeze. But he is in danger of satisfying no-one.

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Israel Tries to Placate Settlers by Allowing Some Construction Before Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, authorized plans for 455 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank on Monday, in a move aimed at placating Israel’s pro-settlement camp before an expected construction freeze demanded by the Arab world and the United States. But the details released by Mr. Barak’s office on Monday seemed to satisfy nobody, enraging not only the Palestinians, but also Israelis on the right and the left. The White House denounced the planned approvals last week, when news first emerged of Israel’s intention to grant them.

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How Israel warms up for a settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel approved the building of more than 450 new homes in Jewish settlements on Monday, just weeks before possible Israeli-Palestinian talks on the sidelines of the annual United Nations gathering in New York.

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What Carter Missed in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Elliott Abrams - (Editorial) September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

In an op-ed on Sunday ["The Elders' View of the Middle East"], former president Jimmy Carter, speaking on behalf of a self-appointed group of "Elders," described a rapacious Israel facing long-suffering, blameless Palestinians, who are contemplating a "nonviolent civil rights struggle" in which "their examples would be Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela."

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Haaretz probe: 'New' settlement permits aren't really new
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

At the West Bank city of Ariel's adventure park, whose construction Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved, nothing special was going on yesterday. Children were trying out the climbing wall and the mayor was walking around, proud as a groom on his wedding day. The facility was actually only approved yesterday, but has been in existence for a year and a half before receiving construction permits. In fact, a demolition order was issued against it.

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Infrastructure Minister Landau: Arabs are the occupiers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yuval Azoulay - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan for a partial construction freeze in the West Bank, deeming the Palestinians "occupiers" and declaring any bounds on settlements a "violation of human rights." Right-wing lawmakers on Monday joined the crowds celebrating the establishment of a new neighborhood in the E-1 corridor connecting Jerusalem to its settlement suburbs. The ceremony was also attended by Supreme Court Judge Eliyakim Rubinstein and Information Minister Yuli Edelstein.

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IDF general: Israel incapable of West Bank pullout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Almost seven years after he was introduced to Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, initiated the establishment of the Sela disengagement administration to aid evacuees from Gaza and northern Samaria, and became one of the central figures behind the scenes in carrying out the plan - the head of the National Security Council at the time of the 2005 disengagement, Maj. Gen (res.) Giora Eiland, is convinced that Israel is incapable of evacuating settlements on the West Bank.

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New neighborhood launched in disputed E1 area
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

"This is our answer to the international community's demand that Israel halt construction in the West Bank," Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) said Monday during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new residential neighborhood in E1, a sprawl of land connecting Jerusalem to Maaleh Adumim. The US is opposed to any construction in the area, claiming that it hinders peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

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Lieberman: Despite settlement freeze, Right won't topple gov't
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
September 8, 2009 - 12:00am

The Right will not bring down Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government, and Israel Beiteinu will not leave the coalition in the face of the anticipated six-month moratorium on new construction in the West Bank, Foreign Minister and Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday.

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