July 20th

'Ma'aleh Adumim, Gilo are no different' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority is hoping that the intervention of the US State Department with Israel to halt a construction project in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood would be the first step toward taking action against new homes in Jewish neighborhoods established in the parts of the city annexed after 1967. Peace Now: E. J'lem project would be end of 2-state solution; Minister Edelstein slams State Department » Read more

The Same old Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews July 20, 2009 - 12:00am In one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s first television appearances as prime minister in the years 1996-1999, he was interviewed at his office by Ehud Yaari and Dan Scemama from Channel 1. Before the broadcast, Netanyahu asked the production staff to tell him which of the two cameras they brought with them provides a frontal view of him. The purpose of his question became clear during the interview: Netanyahu ignored the interviewers and turned directly to the viewers at home. Ever since then, Channel 1 has made sure to refrain from posting such camera in interviews with the PM. » Read more

Ministers: Netanyahu, Obama have their wires crossed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roni Sofer - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am "(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama have their wires crossed, and this is detrimental to US-Israel relations," Labor Party ministers told Ynet Sunday night. According to the ministers, the prime minister has no direct channel of communication with the American president, and contact between the two is conducted mainly through Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. » Read more

PA bid: Each clerk to donate dollar for Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ali Waked - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council proposes to deduct one dollar from the salaries of hundreds of thousands of PA clerks to be invested in the struggle for Jerusalem. Jihad Abu Zneid, a Fatah member from Jerusalem presented her bid during a visit held by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the Qalandiya refugee camp, north of the capital. Abu Zneid mentioned that the PA must put a lot of effort into dealing with the "Israeli Judaization efforts" which include the evacuation and destruction of houses in Jerusalem and its suburbs. » Read more

Playing with fire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The controversy surrounding the plan to create a Jewish enclave in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem is not another routine expression of the U.S.-Israel dispute over the settlements. The timing of the decision to build dozens of housing units in the Shepherd Hotel complex, at the height of efforts to reach an agreement on limited construction in the settlements, casts doubt over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to enter serious negotiations on a final-status agreement. » Read more

What Netanyahu wants from Obama's 'self-hating Jews' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Who is to blame for the latest dispute with the United States over the new neighborhood going up in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah area? Mayor Nir Barkat? Certainly not. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stood behind him? Ridiculous. Any child knows that everything is the fault of other Jews: Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, two American administration officials who are inciting President Barack Obama against their own people. » Read more

'No difference to U.S. between outpost, East Jerusalem construction' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar, Barak Ravid - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am The United States views East Jerusalem as no different than an illegal West Bank outpost with regard to its demand for a freeze on settlement construction, American sources have informed both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. » Read more

Israeli PM defiant on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News July 19, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a reported US request that a building project in Jerusalem be halted. The project involves building 20 apartments in the mainly Arab East Jerusalem area, which was captured by Israel in 1967. Last week US officials told the Israeli ambassador that the project should be suspended, Israeli media said. But Mr Netanyahu rejected this in comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting. "We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy (homes) anywhere in Jerusalem," he said. » Read more

Israel backs East Jerusalem housing construction despite U.S. opposition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Calling Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem indisputable, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected U.S. demands to stop plans to build 20 Jewish-owned apartments in the eastern part of the city that Palestinians regard as key to their future state. » Read more

Netanyahu Upholds Plan To Build in E. Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended plans for a new Jewish housing development in East Jerusalem, rebuffing the Obama administration's opposition to Israeli construction in the mostly Palestinian area. » Read more