UK funding political activity in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel is up in arms over a declaration by a British government spokesman that the UK is funding political activity in Israel. British spokesman Martin Day said in an interview in Dubai with Al-Arabiya television last week that the British government was "taking practical steps towards freezing settlement activities." "For instance," Day said, "we finance projects aimed at halting settlement activities. One of these projects seeks to build new Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem and save Palestinian houses from demolition."

»

Settlers undermining legitimacy of Israel's existence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Asher Susser - July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

The representatives of the settler organizations have recently declared their intention to establish 11 new settlements in the territories, including some, according to media reports, on privately-owned Palestinian land. The operation is being depicted as having been inspired by the 11 tower and stockade communities in the northern Negev that were established just before Yom Kippur in 1946. This is not the first time the settlers have compared their efforts to the settlement activities that provided the foundation for the establishment of the state.

»

Saudi Rejects Israel Recognition without Withdrawal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia on Wednesday rebuffed US calls for diplomatic overtures toward Israel and said the Jewish state's settlement expansion is jeopardizing efforts to revive peace talks. "It is Israel that has to move seriously towards the peace process," Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali said. "As we all know, Israel is continuing to take unilateral measures by changing the geographic and demographic facts on the ground, by building settlements and expanding the existing ones," he told AFP.

»

The Settlements Issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

The last American president to openly challenge Israel on settlements was George H.W. Bush and we commend President Obama for demanding that Israel halt all new construction. The controversy must not obscure Mr. Obama’s real goal: nudging Israel and the Palestinians into serious peace negotiations.

»

Israeli NGO battles settlements in US
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Dan Izenberg - July 30, 2009 - 12:00am

The left-wing organization Gush Shalom is launching a campaign against organizations soliciting donations in the United States, particularly those receiving US federal tax exemptions for settlements and illegal outposts, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The timing of the campaign has been stepped up from September to August because the Foreign Ministry recently launched its own campaign to block governments of foreign countries from donating money to human rights organizations in Israel.

»

'I believe in one law, the law of God'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Even before her new wooden house was built at a fledgling illegal outpost outside the Kiryat Arba settlement, Zavia Davis on Tuesday brought a small purple plastic bathtub to the site, called Mitzpe Avihai. As her daughter Nahala, three, sat in its shallow water, dressed in a white top and a bathing suit bottom, teens carried plywood slabs to a nearby area where a cement foundation for the home had been laid.

»

In Israel, no settlement deal for US envoy – just more settlers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

US Mideast envoy George Mitchell wrapped up three days of talks here on Tuesday, heralding "good progress" in his meetings with Israeli officials. But he made no mention of a much anticipated agreement on the most visible point of contention in recent weeks and a key issue for Arabs: freezing settlement construction in the West Bank.

»

Yes indeed, the settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tzvia Greenfield - (Opinion) July 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Of all the strange things that have happened this peculiar summer, the strangest is the way that oddly assorted elements have lined up to explain to U.S. President Barack Obama why pressure regarding freezing the Jewish settlements in the territories is not the best way to deal with Israel's evasion of implementing the two-state solution.

»

Israel, U.S. claim 'progress' in settlement dispute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the top U.S. Mideast envoy said they made progress Tuesday on their dispute over West Bank settlements, but offered no sign of a breakthrough at a meeting in Jerusalem. President Barack Obama's envoy, George Mitchell, has been pressing Israel to halt all construction in settlements built on captured land claimed by the Palestinians, stressing that such a gesture would improve prospects for a peace deal. But Netanyahu says limited construction must be permitted to allow "natural growth" in the existing settler population.

»

'IDF has not received orders to evacuate outposts'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - July 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday that the IDF has not received orders to prepare for the evacuation of outposts in the West Bank. "At this point we have not received concrete directives to evacuate any particular outpost, excluding illegal ones," Ashkenazi said. Ashkenazi added that "wherever possible" police officers will be responsible for evacuating civilians from outposts.

»


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