US criticizes Israeli settlement construction plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am The U.S. Embassy said Monday it was "deeply concerned" by Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank following a deadly attack on a settler family, calling Israeli settlements "illegitimate" and an obstacle to peacemaking. In a rare interview to the Israeli media, the Palestinian president reached out to the Israeli public, decrying the weekend attack in the settlement of Itamar as "despicable, immoral and inhuman." But he rejected the Israeli suggestion that his government was indirectly to blame. » Read more

Gaza govt: Settler attackers may not be Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 14, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinians may not be responsible for killing a family of five Israelis in Itamar settlement overnight Friday, the Gaza government said Sunday. Israeli authorities immediately blamed Palestinians for the attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority of "daily incitement" against Israel in his response to the killings. However, Gaza government spokesman Taher An-Nunu said the Israeli government should not rule out the possibility that the attack was perpetrated by Israeli criminals. Hamas has denied any involvement in the attack. » Read more

Settler violence continues across West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 14, 2011 - 12:00am ettlers were seen setting fire to an agricultural field north of Ramallah overnight, while a mob entered a town east of Qalqiliya and set fire to civilian vehicles as Palestinians in the West Bank remain fearful. Palestinian security had been warning residents against travel to areas of settler violence on Sunday afternoon, but drivers continue to fear roadside attacks on shared settler roads, while Palestinians living near settlements fear attacks from roving mobs of settlers seeking vengeance for the murder of a family in the northern West Bank in Friday night. » Read more

Brutal West Bank killings shock Israel, stir fears of renewed violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am A grisly trail of toys and blood led paramedics to the first three bodies: a mother, father and their 4-month-old infant, stabbed to death in their bed. In the next room, medics say they found the body of an 11-year-old sibling. Finally, with growing dread, they reached the last bedroom, where a 4-year-old boy with knife wounds and a faint pulse was fighting for his life, ambulance workers said Saturday on Israel Radio. The medics worked frantically, but unsuccessfully, to resuscitate the toddler. One called it a scene of "incomprehensible horror." » Read more

Israel to Step Up Pace of Construction in West Bank Areas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am Israel said Sunday that it would build hundreds of new housing units within the populous West Bank settlement blocs, ending a slowdown in government-supported construction that had lasted several months. The move is meant to assuage settlers’ anger, particularly after the killings of five family members in the Itamar settlement late Friday. But it is also likely to complicate international efforts to revive the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. » Read more

Suspecting Palestinians, Israeli Military Hunts for Killers of 5 West Bank Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 12, 2011 - 1:00am It was close to midnight on Saturday when the bodies of five members of the Fogel family were removed from their home in this Jewish settlement in the hills of the northern West Bank, more than 24 hours after intruders, suspected to be Palestinians, stabbed them to death in their sleep. The bodies were brought out in order of age — first the parents, Udi, 36, and Ruth, 35, then the three children, Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and Hadas, a baby girl of 3 months. They were the victims of the deadliest attack inside a settlement in years. » Read more