April 28th

Israel quietly freezes new building in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

If the Middle East peace process were a stock, it would be one of the riskiest investments on the market. But there are bullish indicators for renewed peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Both sides seem to be moving toward compromises which, although seemingly minor, might pave the way to the first serious peace talks since the failed Annapolis process that began in late 2007.

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Israel tries new tactics against Palestinian protesters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Edmund Sanders - April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

It's the usual Friday afternoon cat-and-mouse dance between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in this West Bank village. Young village men, joined by Israeli leftists and international activists, begin blocking roads with boulders and tires; soldiers take up positions at key intersections. Israeli forces fire tear gas canisters; protesters fling rocks. Before long, the military calls in one of its most dreaded weapons.

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Uphill battle to build Palestinian nonviolent movement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Dina Kraft - April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Rami Burnat sits in his wheelchair toward the back of a sprawling courtyard where Palestinian speakers take turns championing the cause of nonviolent resistance. Burnat, 29, has been disabled ever since a bullet pierced his neck in clashes in late 2000, shortly after the second intifada began. Still an activist, Burnat is among a small but growing number of Palestinians trying to mount a new kind of intifada against Israel: a nonviolent one.

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Pace of Planning for East Jerusalem Projects Slows
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

After a recent spike in Israeli-American tensions over Israeli building plans for Jewish housing in contested East Jerusalem, there appears to have been a lull in the planning process. Palestinians demand that East Jerusalem be the capital of a future state, and call for an end to settlement construction there. Some municipal officials in Jerusalem have interpreted the lull as amounting to a tacit, if temporary, freeze in the advancement of new plans. Other municipal and government officials say that regular planning meetings have been held up for purely bureaucratic reasons.

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US domestic politics will drive Mideast policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

I was able to follow US-Mideast diplomatic developments at close range and consult with many knowledgeable players and analysts, I sense that the Arab-Israeli peace process in the Middle East (now focused on the energetic attempt to launch Palestinian-Israeli “proximity talks”) is as much about political process in the United States as it is about diplomatic moves abroad.

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Israel won't honor outpost pledge
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Despite a 2002 road map commitment and years of pledges by successive prime ministers including Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel has no intention in the foreseeable future of dismantling any of 23 unauthorized West Bank outposts built after March 2001, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

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President Abbas addresses the Israeli public through their TV sets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
April 28, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sought to soothe Israeli worries about a potential unilateral declaration by the Palestinians of their independence by next year. “We have always opposed unilateralism and we are not going to be the ones who will carry out unilateral steps,” said Abbas in an interview with Israel’s TV Ch 2 on Monday, 25 April 2010.

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April 27th

ATFP Senior Fellow Describes New US-Israel Arrangement, Predicts Proximity Talks
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

ATFP Senior Hussein Ibish addressed a group of student activists at American University on April 24, 2010, telling them that the US-Israel standoff on settlements in Jerusalem open important, but limited, new opportunities to promote peace and an end to the occupation.


Pres. Abbas signals willingness on proximity talks. Roger Cohen sees reasons for hope. Lara Friedman and Daniel Seidemann list the top 10 myths on settlement activity promoted by Israel's Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who is interviewed by the LA Times. Two Palestinian children are being tried in a military court for stonethrowing. Abbas issues a decree banning settlement goods. Israel reprimands soldiers in "avoidable" deaths of four Palestinians. Palestinian girls participate in Intel's youth science fair. AP profiles PM Fayyad's new brand of politics. More reports suggest Israel has instituted a de facto settlement freeze in Jerusalem, and has demolished 10 settler houses. Palestinians agree to reshuffle the cabinet. Bradley Burston says hating Pres. Obama is becoming a religion in Israel. Haggai Alon says the siege of Gaza spurs Muslim anger.

Top 10 Myths Likely to be Heard from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in Washington this week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
by Lara Friedman - April 27, 2010 - 12:00am

This week Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat will be in Washington. He will be holding meetings with Members of Congress, Administration officials, think tanks, and the press. These interactions offer an excellent opportunity to hear the mayor's views about the Jerusalem-related issues of contention right now between his government and the Obama Administration. While Mayor Barkat has a right to hold any opinions he wishes, the facts are important and, when and if he deviates from them, he should be challenged.

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