March 24th

Netanyahu takes Israel's case to Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter, Edmund Sanders - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday amid new signs that the two remain deeply divided over continued Israeli construction in disputed East Jerusalem. In their first face-to-face meeting after months of tension, Obama was expected to press Netanyahu for action to ensure that Israeli housing plans do not endanger peace talks.

»

Historic change or just empty rhetoric?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The important relationship between the United States and Israel is evolving in unpredictable ways. Their recent tensions are important for what they reveal about a more sophisticated and integrated American view of its Middle East policies, one which balances a firm commitment to Israel’s security against the problems Washington suffers from its excessive pro-Israel tilt and the continued Zionist colonialism in occupied Arab lands.

»

Dispute with Israel underscores limits of U.S. power, a shifting alliance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Analysis) March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

The two-week-old dispute between Israel and the United States over housing construction in East Jerusalem has exposed the limits of American power to pressure Israeli leaders to make decisions they consider politically untenable. But the blowup also shows that the relationship between the two allies is changing, in ways that are unsettling for Israel's supporters.

»

Israeli Army World's Most Moral?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Mel Frykberg - March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Many Israelis like to believe, and the cliché is repeated regularly in Israel, that their army is the "most moral army in the world." However, following the Gaza war which left 1,400 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, some Israelis have begun to question this. Furthermore, the fatal shooting of four Palestinian teenagers in the course of 24 hours over the weekend, in highly questionable circumstances, has forced the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to investigate the incident amidst contradictory statements issued by the soldiers involved.

»

Netanyahu spends unheralded time at White House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - March 24, 2010 - 12:00am

Amid high tensions in U.S.-Israeli relations, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Obama for a total of two hours in two meetings at the White House Tuesday night under a virtual news blackout. No reporters or photographers were invited to record the scene or even a handshake between the two leaders, who met one day after Netanyahu, in a speech to a pro-Israel group, rejected the administration's plea that he halt construction in a disputed area of Jerusalem claimed by Palestinians as their capital.

»

Against ‘Pro-Israel’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Robert Wright - (Blog) March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Are you anti-Israel? If you fear that, deep down, you might be, I have important news. The recent tension between Israel and the United States led various commentators to identify hallmarks of anti-Israelism, and these may be of diagnostic value. As you’ll see, my own view is that they aren’t of much value, but I’ll leave it for you to judge.

»

Israel Absorbs Twin Rebukes From Top Allies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper - March 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel found itself at odds with its two most stalwart allies on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu culminated a tense visit to Washington with a face-to-face session with President Obama that apparently failed to resolve the impasse between the two over a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on his way into the White House on Tuesday. His tense visit to Washington lacked the usual trappings of a visit by the head of a government. Multimedia

»

March 23rd

The AIPAC convention dominates coverage: PM Netanyahu takes a hard line on Jerusalem settlements, but so does Sec. Clinton and the LA Times says she's right; US and Israeli officials seek to lower tensions; David Horovitz says Israel is blundering towards disaster in its relations with the US. Britain expels an Israeli diplomat over the Dubai assassination. A new anticorruption website is a headache for the PA. Access to clean water, sewage is a growing problem in Gaza. Palestinians say a leader of nonviolent protests has been tortured in an Israeli prison. The PA cabinet vows no return to violence. A settler leader hopes to triple the Israeli population of the occupied territories. American officials will convey Israeli responses to Palestinian negotiators this week. Akiva Eldar says a strong Obama is good for Israel. A new study says most settlers are attracted for economic reasons. Hassan Barari says it's time for Arab action. Ezzedine Choukri Fishere says Europe should make Israel pay an "occupation tax."

Make Israel pay an 'occupation tax'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Ezzedine Choukri Fishere - (Opinion) March 22, 2010 - 12:00am

Arab intellectuals and policymakers have often accused Europe of using financial generosity to cover up its political impotence over the Arab-Israeli conflict. If Europe is to be taken seriously as a global player, they argue, it must also flex some muscle when it delivers the money. In Arab eyes, European officials implicitly plead guilty to these charges by pointing to Europe’s complex multilateral politics and the European Union’s bureaucratic nature. Europe’s Arab interlocutors are unimpressed: they want Europe to stop talking like a Great Power and start acting like one.

»

Time to act
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Hassan Barari - (Opinion) March 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Arabs are enamoured with senior officials in the American administration who are at a loggerhead with Israel over the controversy of new development in East Jerusalem. Explicit in the plethora of articles in the Arabic press is the hope that the American administration will follow through on its effort to force the Israeli government to submit to American pressure.

»


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