Settlers agree to evacuate West Bank outpost Bnei Adam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - August 13, 2009 - 12:00am

Residents of the Bnei Adam outpost have agreed to evacuate voluntarily three caravans in their West Bank settlement, after being advised to do so by leading rabbis of the national religious movement. The High Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that the outpost would be evacuated within five days, after hearing a petition from Bnei Adam residents who oppose the move. Earlier in the week, Binyamin Regional Council head Avi Roeh visited the outpost and negotiated with the IDF over the voluntary evacuation.

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The Anti-Pressure-Over-Settlement-Expansion League?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) August 13, 2009 - 12:00am

The tag line above the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site reads, “To stop the defamation of the Jewish people, to secure justice and fair treatment for all.” Its mission statement, unchanged since it was founded in 1913 and prominent on the home page of its Web site, is straightforward: “The immediate object of the League is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people.

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Peace Now: Halt illegal construction north of Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am

The left-wing Peace Now organization claims that construction works are being carried out to expand the settlement of Kochav Yaakov, located north of Jerusalem, eastward. A neighborhood with some 15 caravans has reportedly been established as part of the construction works. According to Peace Now, some of the caravans have already been connected to the water and sewage infrastructures, and a children's playground has been set up in the area.

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Jerusalem, US debate status of Ariel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon, Tovah Lazaroff - August 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Jerusalem and Washington are currently discussing whether Ariel constitutes one of the settlement blocs where - under a compromise agreement being worked out - construction that has already begun can continue, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday. According to the sources, the two sides are continuing to discuss a compromise solution on settlement construction whereby most of the 2,500 housing units currently under construction in the West Bank would continue to be built, but Israel would declare a temporary moratorium on any new projects.

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Yishai: U.S. can't stop settlement expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - August 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Interior Minister Eli Yishai said on Monday that Israel must go ahead with plans to expand a settlement enclave near Jerusalem despite U.S. objections. While touring the E-1 corridor, Yishai called for continued construction in the contentious corridor between the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement and Jerusalem, and said he hoped Israel would succeed in convincing the U.S. to approve construction.

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Young Israeli settlers go hippie? Far out, man!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - August 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Situated just outside this contoversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the hilltop stage was dominated Thursday by a Star of David, an olive tree, and musicians who mix blues licks, reggae rhythms, and messianic refrains from Jewish liturgy. The annual "End of Days" festival – which bills itself as a "place of light and unity, inspiration and calm" – has become something of a mini-Woodstock in the settlements, with meditation groups, religious study sessions, and a crowd dressed in colorful flowing clothes.

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Netanyahu calls Gaza withdrawal ‘a mistake’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Emile Hokayem - August 9, 2009 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, yesterday said the withdrawal of nearly 9,000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip four years ago was a mistake, bringing mixed reaction from Middle East experts on the significance of his comments to relations with the United States and the peace process.

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Israel’s broken pledges are not redemption
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) August 7, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli right-wing has a curious word to describe what happened this week in the Sheikh Jarra neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, where 52 Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their homes: redemption. If this is what redemption looks like than it is difficult to imagine what peace would mean. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs or politics it is difficult to find a redeeming value to theft. The Hanun and Gawi families now live on the street; Israeli settlers now live in their homes. And this is not the story of just these two Palestinan families but of thousands of others.

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Israeli settlement freeze 'not enough for Saudis'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Paul Handley - August 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Saudi Arabia believes that Arab recognition of Israel should only come after a final peace deal with the Palestinians and not simply be a quid-pro-quo for freezing settlement expansions, analysts say. Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday that Washington had proposed a one-year freeze last week to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as a way of persuading Arab states to move toward normalising ties with Israel.

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U.S. asks Israel for one-year settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - August 6, 2009 - 12:00am

American Middle East envoy George Mitchell has asked Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for a "deposit," an advance commitment of a one-year freeze on construction in West Bank settlements. Mitchell raised the idea in his talks with Netanyahu and Barak in Israel last week. He argued that the Arab states will not make gestures toward normalization with Israel without a guarantee of an end to building in the settlements. Mitchell said an Israeli agreement to temporarily freeze construction would facilitate concessions from the Arab states.

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