Settlements | The American Task Force on Palestine

Half Netanyahu's party against new freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 17, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (DPA) -- Around half of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 27-member parliamentary caucus have signed a petition rejecting a new temporary freeze on construction in West Bank settlements, Israeli media reported Wednesday. The temporary freeze, proposed by the US, is aimed at enticing Palestinians back to the negotiating table, but at least four Likud Party cabinet ministers are among the signatories to the petition.

Plan for new Jerusalem housing project delayed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Gur Salomon - November 16, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- A plan to build new housing units in Gilo, a neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, has been put on hold indefinitely. Two local committees engaged in development projects in the Jerusalem area have decided to delay discussions on the plan to construct 1,300 units in Gilo, local daily Ha'aretz reported Monday. The decision is most likely made in response to a request from the Prime Minister's Office, which seeks to avoid a head-on clash with the United States over the approval of new residential projects in disputed areas of Jerusalem, the report said.

US deal would allow Israel some West Bank building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel would be allowed to finish hundreds of apartments already under construction in West Bank settlements even if it agrees to a U.S.-drafted deal to renew a freeze on new construction, a diplomat familiar with the details said Monday. The U.S. is pressing Israel to renew a settlement slowdown that expired in September in order to get stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks moving again. In exchange, it is offering Israel military hardware and veto protection against U.N. resolutions critical of its policies.

Madam Secretary’s Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

LONDON — I like the look of President Barack Obama’s new Middle East envoy, a person with broad experience, the trust of Israelis, growing support among West Bank Palestinians and a fierce personal conviction that a peace accord is essential not only for the parties but for United States national security. Damon Winter/The New York Times Roger Cohen Go to Columnist Page » Related Times Topic: Hillary Rodham Clinton Readers' Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (17) »

Israeli-Palestinian clashes over olive groves feed distrust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

Farata, West Bank When the olive harvest began in the West Bank this fall, Ibrahim Salah found his 200 trees already stripped of their fruit by someone else. Days later, about one-fourth of the trees were set ablaze.

Arab League likely to reject partial 90-day freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

CAIRO (DPA) -- A possible 90-day temporary freeze on construction at Israeli West Bank settlements, proposed by the US, may not be enough to prompt Palestinian and Arab support for renewing Middle East peace talks, an Arab League official said Monday. In Israel, meanwhile, ministers jockeyed to take positions for and against the proposal, which reportedly has not yet been finalized and will not be bought before Israeli decision-making bodies until it is.

Clinton calls Netanyahu settlement plan 'promising'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 15, 2010 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to extend a freeze on West Bank settlements for 90 days in return for diplomatic and security incentives. "This is a very promising development and a serious effort by Prime Minister Netanyahu," Clinton said, declining comment on the details of his plan but stressing that the United States was in close contact with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

I Believe I Can Fly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - November 13, 2010 - 1:00am

Reading the headlines these days, I can’t help but repeat this truism: If you jump off the top of an 80-story building, for 79 floors you can think you’re flying. It’s the sudden stop at the end that tells you you’re not. It’s striking to me how many leaders and nations are behaving today as though they think they can fly — and ignoring that sudden stop at the end that’s sure to come.

A glimpse at the Palestinians who build Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
November 11, 2010 - 1:00am

It's a startling fact: The workers building Israel's West Bank settlements have generally been Palestinians - even though Palestinians widely consider these communities a toxic threat to their dream of an independent state. Now comes a twist: earlier this year, the Palestinian government passed a law forbidding work in the settlements - and its determination to stamp out the phenomenon is being sorely tested in recent weeks, as a settlement building boomlet has emerged in the West Bank.

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