Facts on the Ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 8, 2011 - 12:00am

With negotiations hopelessly stalled and the deadline for a potential confrontation at the United Nations in September rapidly approaching, the Israeli government apparently decided that now would be the appropriate time to announce a major expansion of one of its most provocative settlements. Interior Minister Eli Yishai said last week that final approval has been given for 900 new units in the Jerusalem "Har Homa" settlement, an area known to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim.

»

News analysis: Settlement construction can not answer Israeli housing crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) August 4, 2011 - 12:00am

As nationwide demonstrations against the costs of living and lack of affordable housing enter the third week, 42 Israeli cabinet ministers and Knesset (parliament) members signed a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to solve the crisis by building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The petition calls on Netanyahu and the government to "consider all possible solutions, including the immediate housing of tens of thousands of citizens in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), as well as Jerusalem."

»

Court convicts Palestinian of settler family murder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Maayan Lubell - August 3, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Aug 3 (Reuters) - An Israeli military court found a Palestinian man guilty of murdering five Israeli family members in the occupied West Bank in March, an army spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Hakim Awad, 18, was convicted on Tuesday after he admitted that he and his brother, who is also on trial for murder, had killed a Jewish couple and three of their children, one a three-month-old baby, in their home in the settlement of Itamar.

»

Dozens of MKs to Netanyhu: Solve Israel housing crisis by building in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Forty-two cabinet ministers and MKs, all members of the Eretz Yisrael Lobby, signed a petition addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, calling on him to solve the housing crisis that has swept up the country by building in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

»

Settlers served restraining orders from West Bank over planned attacks on Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Judea and Samaria District Police and Shin Bet security services served 12 West Bank settlers with administrative restraining orders overnight on Monday. The orders were served in the wake of intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet, according to which a group of extremists have been involved in leading, planning and carrying out widespread secret, violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank over the last two years.

»

Military officials warn of 'arson intifada'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Akiva Novick - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Residents of various West Bank settlements have found themselves under a new threat recently – arson. According to a report published by Yedioth Ahronoth Tuesday, more than 20 fires have been maliciously set in West Bank settlements and outposts in the past few weeks. Police investigators determined that all of the fires were the result of arson and evidence in all cases led to surrounding Arab villages. The Judea and Samaria District Police have recently arrested six suspects.

»

Israel's settler mentality continues to prevail over Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mousa Qous - (Blog) August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

No doubt Jerusalem could be the key to peace in the Middle East, if Israel--the occupying power--cedes East Jerusalem to enable the Palestinians to establish the capital of their future state. Instead, the opposite is taking place. To consolidate its grip over Jerusalem, the Israeli government continues with its settlement activities in the middle of Arab Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. These create new facts on the ground that make any future withdrawal almost impossible.

»

Israel's Supreme Court orders state to dismantle largest West Bank outpost
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an unprecedented ruling ordering the state to dismantle the largest illegal settlement outpost in the West Bank by April 2012. The decision follows a petition filed by Peace Now movement. Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch harshly criticized the Israeli government for failing to dismantle the outpost of Migron, which is home to some 50 families, despite earlier promises it would do so and after it had admitted that it was in fact built on lands belonging to Palestinians.

»

UNRWA: Clear link between settlements and demolitions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
August 2, 2011 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The link between Israel's settlement expansion in the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from their homes is now "abundantly clear," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said Tuesday. "Many displacements are taking place where settlements are expanding and with it we are seeing an upturn in vicious attacks by Jewish settlers. Palestinians are being thrown off their ancestral lands to make way for settlers," Gunness told Ma'an.

»

U.N.: Zoning laws driving Palestinians out
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from United Press International (UPI)
August 1, 2011 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Restrictive zoning and planning rules by Israel are forcing Palestinians out of an area in the West Bank, a U.N. report released Monday indicated. The report said factors forcing Palestinians from "Area C" include difficulty in obtaining building permits, construction of a barrier, home demolitions and difficulty in accessing services such as schools and water, among other things, the United Nations said in a release.

»


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