US slams new J'lem homes approval ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post March 9, 2010 - 1:00am US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israel's approval of 1,600 new housing units for young haredi families in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, saying that the timing of the decision undermines the peace process the United States is attempting to revive. Biden, visiting in Israel, issued a harshly worded statement criticizing the Israeli move, saying its timing was especially troubling by coming on the eve of a new round of US-mediated peace talks. » Read more

Biden: East Jerusalem plan undermines peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nir Hasson, Avi Issacharoff, Natasha Mozgovaya - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am Israel's decision to approve 1,600 new homes in an ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood is undermining Middle East peace talks, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, the Interior Ministry approved the building of 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, with a ministry official saying the plan will expand the ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood to the east and to the south. "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem," Biden said. » Read more

Tel Aviv OKs new settler homes as Biden talks peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times March 9, 2010 - 1:00am OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts. The controversial move infuriated the Palestinians who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state. “This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations,” Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. » Read more

Israel approves new settler homes as Biden talks peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts. The move infuriated the Palestinians, who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state. » Read more

White House condemns Israel for latest illegal settlement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM // Israel announced yesterday that it was to build 1,600 new homes in an illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, hours after the visiting US vice president, Joe Biden, had described renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians as “a moment of real opportunity”. » Read more

As Biden Visits, Israel Unveils Plan for New Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Hours after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. vowed unyielding American support for Israel’s security here on Tuesday, Israel’s interior ministry announced 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem, prompting Mr. Biden to condemn the move as “precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clearly embarrassed at the move by his interior minister, Eli Yishai, head of the right-wing Shas party who has made Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem one of his central causes. » Read more

Statement by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from March 9, 2010 - 1:00am "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel. We must build an atmosphere to support negotiations, not complicate them. This announcement underscores the need to get negotiations under way that can resolve all the outstanding issues of the conflict. » Read more

From proximity to peace? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) March 9, 2010 - 1:00am THE OBAMA administration appears near to a diplomatic achievement it expected long ago: the relaunch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It will be a modest start -- not a big conference or a convocation to Camp David but "proximity talks," in which envoy George J. Mitchell will shuttle between the two camps. This is, in one sense, a step backward for Israeli-Palestinian relations, since the two sides have been talking directly to each other, off and on, since 1991. But Mr. » Read more

Israeli Left Emerges From Coma Amid Atrocities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Mel Frykberg - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am On Saturday night over 3,000 Palestinian, Israeli and foreign peace activists, waving Palestinian flags and shouting "Free Sheikh Jarrah", gathered in the East Jerusalem suburb in support of Palestinians threatened with home demolitions and evictions. Progressive members of the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, called for the removal of illegal Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem and for the rights of Palestinian residents to be respected. » Read more

The perils of a new intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) March 8, 2010 - 1:00am If last Friday's incident at the Al Haram Al Sharif compound means anything it is this: Israel's right-wing government is out of control and is bent on executing a malicious scheme to undermine Palestinian rights. » Read more