March 18th

Israel Objects to U.S. Construction Demands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - March 16, 2010 - 12:00am The discord between the United States and Israel over Jewish building in East Jerusalem deepened Tuesday with Israeli officials saying they would reject demands by Washington and expressing anger over the public upbraiding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Obama administration. Multimedia Palestinians wearing masks took part Tuesday in disturbances in East Jerusalem, which they view as the capital of a future state. Enlarge This Image Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times » Read more

Opportunity in a Fight With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Mark Landler - March 18, 2010 - 12:00am For President Obama, getting into a serious fight with Israel carries obvious domestic and foreign political risks. But it may offer the administration a payoff it sees as worthwhile: shoring up Mr. Obama’s credibility as a Middle East peacemaker by showing doubtful Israelis and Palestinians that he has the fortitude to push the two sides toward an agreement. Yuri Gripas/Reuters Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said ties between the United States and Israel were still strong. » Read more

U.S. Mulls Own Plan for Mideast Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner, David E. Sanger - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The angry exchanges between the United States and the Israeli government have rekindled a White House debate over whether — and when — President Obama should propose an American plan to form the basis of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, senior administration officials said Wednesday. The move would be a risky one for Mr. Obama at a time that the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fragile and the Palestinians are deeply divided. Until now Mr. Obama has deflected calls to put his own plan, with territorial maps, on the table. » Read more

March 17th

Pentagon eyes impact of Israel-Palestinian tension ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Adam Entous - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have an "enormous" effect where U.S. military forces operate in the Muslim world and are closely monitored, the U.S. general who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The comments by General David Petraeus, who heads U.S. Central Command, put a spotlight on the concerns among senior officers as they are drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq, carrying out a major troop surge in Afghanistan and preparing for a possible showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. » Read more

Fateful choice ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am In still another sign of the rapidly deteriorating relations between Israel and the US – a function of the Obama administration’s unwarranted and shocking overreaction to the Ramat Shlomo dispute – special Mideast envoy George Mitchell postponed his arrival here, originally slated for Tuesday. » Read more

'Report demonizing Israel risks Presbyterian-Jewish ties' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by E.B. Solomont - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am American Jewish leaders are slamming a report by the Presbyterian Church USA that blames Israel for the “Palestinian resistance” and denounces companies doing business with Israel. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which circulated a memo to its member agencies and board of directors Monday, said the biased report reduced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a caricature, demonizing Israel and delegitimizing its right to exist as a Jewish state. » Read more

Groups petition court for Gaza to W. Bank movement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Dan Izenberg - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Thirteen human rights organizations spearheaded by Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual and Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday against a new Defense Ministry regulation severely restricting the right of Palestinians living in Gaza to move to the West Bank. » Read more

Netanyahu's brother-in-law: Obama is an anti-Semite ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - March 17, 2010 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's brother-in-law Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi on Wednesday called U.S. President Barack Obama an anti-Semite in an interview with Army Radio. "It's not that Obama doesn't like Bibi," he referring to Netanyahu using his nickname. "He doesn't like the nation of Israel." Netanyahu was quick to distance himself from Ben-Artzi's remarks, saying he completely disagrees with his brother-in-law. » Read more

It's time for Netanyahu to say yes to Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 17, 2010 - 12:00am The cancellation of the visit by American envoy George Mitchell, who has been delegated to renew the diplomatic negotiations, embodies the slippery slope facing Israel during the past week. Even before completing the first year of his second term in office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to foment crises in two key strategic areas: the peace process with the Palestinians and relations with the United States. » Read more

Israel's Titanic moment: Does Obama want Bibi's head? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) March 16, 2010 - 12:00am Hamas has designated this day, in this place, its Day of Rage. Why, then, the smiles on the faces of Mahmoud Zahar and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Perhaps it's because after more than 22 years of costly trial and error, Hamas has finally come upon the secret of how to bring down the Jewish state: Let the ship sink itself. This month, down here in the engine room of the Titanic, a single coherent order continues to sound from the officers shrouded in fog on the bridge: "More power!" » Read more