Rattling the Cage: Imagine Palestinian settlers in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Analysis) June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

People want to know: What is the big deal about the settlements? Houses, neighborhoods, towns - are they hurting anybody? Do they kill anybody? How can anybody compare settlements to Palestinian terror or to Iranian nuclear weapons? How can anybody believe that Jewish families living in Judea and Samaria are an obstacle to peace?

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Reform rabbis back Obama on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Eric Fingerhut - June 10, 2009 - 12:00am

The Reform rabbinate is backing President Obama's position on Israeli settlements. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, which represents nearly 2,000 Reform rabbis, said it believes the president's call for a stop to all Israeli settlement activity and his "outspokenness" on the issue is "in the best interest of the United States, of the State of Israel, and of peace."

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Obama leaves settlers with stark choice - apartheid or a bi-national state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

American pressure is penetrating the hearts of mainstream settlers. People like Uri Elitzur - who saw from a government office what many settlers do not see from the West Bank - understand that Barack Obama has changed the rules of the game between the United States and Israel, and that despite the right's victory in the elections, the Palestinians are not planning to go anywhere. What this means is that after 42 years of occupation, the time has come for the settlers to choose between Jewish land and a Jewish state.

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Mitchell told natural growth won't stop
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - June 9, 2009 - 12:00am

While outwardly, US envoy George Mitchell tried to downplay tensions between Washington and Jerusalem, the settlement construction issue continued to be a central source of contention when Mitchell met with Israel's leaders on Tuesday. Mitchell, during a day of meetings that included four hours with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, was told that Israel would not bring all settlement construction to a complete halt, even though this continues to be the US's stated position.

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Israel Ministry Wages Settlement War Against U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mazal Mualem - June 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has begun to make good on a pledge to exploit all the resources of his ministry, "its branches and its influences over local government" to expand settlements in the territories. Yishai, who is also chairman of Shas, made the promise last Thursday to the heads of the Yesha Council of settlements. His party is concerned by the freeze on construction that has been in effect since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office, which Yishai said is "drying out" the settlements.

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On Settlements and Violence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) June 8, 2009 - 12:00am

Most observers welcomed President Obama’s speech in Cairo last week, but some pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian commentators have taken issue with the President’s emphasis on ending Israeli settlement activity and Palestinian violence, respectively, as crucial measures in laying the groundwork for a successful peace agreement. These choices were not arbitrary. They reflect the principal commitments and obligations of both parties under Phase One of the Roadmap.

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Clinton Rejects Israeli Claims of Accord on Settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - June 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton forcefully rejected yesterday Israeli claims that the Bush administration had secretly agreed to expanding Jewish settlements on the West Bank, deepening the impasse between the two countries. "We have the negotiating record, that is the official record, that was turned over to the Obama administration by the outgoing Bush administration," Clinton told reporters after meeting with her Turkish counterpart in Washington. "There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements."

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Clinton: No proof Bush administration approved settlement growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
June 6, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed on Friday reports that administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush had an understanding under which Israel could keep expanding settlements on the West Bank. Dov Weisglass, chief of staff to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, wrote in an op-ed piece published this week in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the Bush administration had secretly agreed to expanding Jewish settlements on the West Bank within their existing boundaries.

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US official: Settlement deal possible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

Washington feels "an arrangement that works" can be hammered out with Israel on the settlement issue, a senior administration official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, indicating the US recognizes some wiggle room in defining a "settlement freeze." "There's a professional, constructive dialogue on this issue," the official said, shortly after US President Barack Obama delivered his speech in Cairo. "We have differences, but believe we can find an arrangement that works."

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Analysts See Growing US-Israeli Rift Over Settlements Issue
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Voice of America - June 5, 2009 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Israel to stop construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In a speech at Cairo University, Mr. Obama says the building of settlements is undermining efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Obama's latest remarks highlight a growing rift between Israel and the United States. President Obama used unusually blunt language in calling on the Israeli government to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

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