East Jerusalem | The American Task Force on Palestine

The U.S. will no longer turn a blind eye to Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Even Mahmoud Abbas would have been hard put to dream up a greater victory for Palestinian diplomacy than the one handed to him Tuesday on a silver platter by the Israeli Interior Ministry. The condemnations have been pouring in since the plan to build 1,600 homes in Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo neighborhood was announced. Not only from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, but from the United Nations, the European Union and world leaders, all of them slamming the decision.

Israel shows what it really thinks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
(Opinion) March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Israel apologised for the embarrassment it had caused its most important ally by announcing it would build 1,600 new homes in disputed East Jerusalem at the very moment the US vice-president, Joe Biden, was in the country for a visit. But no apology – nor the implausible explanation that the announcement was a "procedural" matter of which Benjamin Netanyahu had not been informed in advance – can obscure the truth that this episode has revealed.

Biden's rebuke on new housing comes as Israel seeks to reaffirm U.S. relations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Two years ago, Israel announced plans to build new homes in east Jerusalem just as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was preparing to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, prompting Rice's spokesman to characterize the move as "not helpful."

Biden tells Palestinians U.S. won't be deterred
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Paul Richter - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinians on Wednesday that the United States intends to push ahead with its Mideast peacemaking effort, despite a diplomatic blow-up this week over Israel's plans to build 1,600 housing units in disputed East Jerusalem. Biden met in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority president and prime minister, emphasizing U.S. determination to act as the intermediary in new talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The vice president reiterated his criticism of Israel's housing announcement, and declared that Palestinians deserve a "viable" state.

Staying true to 'two-state'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

For the better part of two decades, most Israelis and Palestinians and most of their elected leaders have embraced the "two-state solution" to their bloody conflict -- a negotiated separation into side-by-side states of Israel and Palestine. Over time, however, the two sides have moved further from that goal, pulled in opposite directions by extremists. Now, as Vice President Biden and U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell attempt to start "proximity" talks, in which the two sides will negotiate without meeting face to face, we're concerned: Is time running out for a two-state solution?

Erekat says settlement move cancelled talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Indirect talks with Israel will cease to go forward unless Israeli plans to construct 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem are axed, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Thursday. The statement followed one by Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who announced Wednesday that "The Palestinian president decided he will not enter into those negotiations now ... the Palestinian side is not ready to negotiate under the present circumstances." Moussa later told reporters that "The talks have already stopped."

Abbas: Arabs must intervene in peace debacle
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

President Mahmoud Abbas called on Arab representative bodies "to act swiftly, and to take steps... commensurate with this deadly work," referring to Israel's announced plans to build 1,600 new settlement homes in Jerusalem. Abbas' remarks were in a Palestinian Authority Information Ministry statement released Wednesday, slamming Israel's announcement, calling the move is part of Israel's "entrenched system of extremism."

Israel planning 50,000 housing units in East Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - March 11, 2010 - 1:00am

Some 50,000 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval, planning officials told Haaretz. They said Jerusalem's construction plans for the next few years, even decades, are expected to focus on East Jerusalem.

Israel provokes and damages push for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) March 10, 2010 - 1:00am

During the Middle Ages, intellectuals endlessly debated the question: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? To this we add a contemporary version: How often will Israel kick Washington in the teeth before it says “Enough!” Our question, of course, is occasioned by the visit of the US vice president, Joe Biden, to Jerusalem and Ramallah this week. Mr Biden was dispatched by the White House to assure Israelis of America’s commitment to their security.

Israel using strong arm tactics against young Palestinian stone-throwers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Hasson - March 9, 2010 - 1:00am

Several children in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan were arrested and taken from their homes in handcuffs in the middle of the night over the past few months, as part of a police crackdown on suspected stone-throwers, several teenage residents told B'Tselem and Haaretz. Haaretz and B'Tselem, the Israel Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, collected testimonies from several teens that suggest the police are treating them violently and violating their rights.