Jerusalem neighborhoods to get Hebrew names
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
May 30, 2011 - 12:00am

The next time you visit Jerusalem you might not be able to walk around Mamilla, Talbiya or Holyland – but rather in the Hagoshrim, Komemiyut or Eretz HaTzvi. A new bill is aiming to refer to neighborhoods in the capital by Hebrew names only. MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) initiated the bill, which has been endorsed by many other Knesset members from both the coalition and opposition. "The purpose is to strengthen the bond to Jerusalem by enforcing the use of Hebrew names for the capital's neighborhoods where Jews reside," said Hotovely.

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Court protects Palestinian homes, for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - May 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Bustan are not to be demolished until plans are finalized and approved for the park that is to be established in their stead, the Jerusalem District Court ruled Wednesday. Mayor Nir Barkat is promoting the plans, which require the demolition of 22 illegally-built homes. In exchange, the Arabs who reside in these homes will receive permits to build new homes legally on the other side of the neighborhood, at their expense. In addition, the 66 other homes in the neighborhood will be legalized retroactively.

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Jerusalem mayor says holy city indivisible
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Dan Perry - May 4, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem said Wednesday that Arabs and Jews are now so intertwined that the city cannot possibly be divided, even though both Israel and the Palestinians claim it as their capital. "You cannot divide the city," said Nir Barkat in a meeting in his office with The Associated Press and several other foreign media organizations. "I know it will never work."

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Netanyahu suspends east J'lem construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - May 3, 2011 - 12:00am

The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday decided to postpone plans to build housing units in Jewish neighborhoods beyond Jerusalem's Green Line for the second time in less than a month, Ynet has learned. Discussion on the two projects for the construction of more than 900 housing units in east Jerusalem was taken off the District Planning and Construction Committee's agenda for Thursday. One project is a plan to build 930 homes at the neighborhood of Har Homa, and the other is slated to see the construction of dozens of units in Pisgat Ze'ev.

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In the Eye of Jerusalem’s Archaeological Storm
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Israel Finkelstein - (Opinion) April 27, 2011 - 12:00am

Archaeological activity in Jerusalem has been sucked into a whirlwind of conflicting political agendas, and the site commonly referred to as “the City of David” is in the eye of the storm. At issue is a place of seminal importance for the Jewish people and indeed for anyone who cherishes the heritage of Western civilization. When dealing with archaeology in Jerusalem, one must first know the facts. Otherwise it is easy to be led astray by unfounded historical interpretations or to succumb to misinformation from those pursuing their own political agendas.

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WEST BANK: Palestinian Christians denied access to holy places in Jerusalem during Easter
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - (Blog) April 16, 2011 - 12:00am

As Christians get ready to celebrate Easter, Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are envious of fellow Christians from all over the world who are able to visit Jerusalem’s holy Christian sites and worship freely while they cannot. Since Israel cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories in the early 1990s, Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been required to get Israeli army permission before they can enter Jerusalem.

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Israel delays approval of east Jerusalem housing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - April 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a government panel to put off final approval of 2,500 new apartments in east Jerusalem, an official said Monday — a reflection of the intense international pressure Israel is under to avoid friction with the Palestinians. The move came just as tensions were easing along Israel's border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where a fragile quiet appeared to be taking hold after several days of escalation that raised fears of another major eruption of violence.

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EU: Approval of East Jerusalem settlement expansion is deeply disappointing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
April 6, 2011 - 12:00am

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday that she was "deeply disappointed" by Israel's approval of new settlement building in East Jerusalem. "The actions taken by the Israeli Government contravene repeated and urgent calls by the international community, including the Quartet, and run counter to achieving a peaceful solution that will preserve Israel’s security and realize the Palestinians’ right to statehood," Ashton said in a statement released on Wednesday.

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In Sheikh Jarrah, Israelis and Palestinians Are Neighbors in Name Only
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - April 4, 2011 - 12:00am

Sheikh Raed Salah stood up, wiping his hands from the earth that stuck to them after planting an olive sapling in the backyard of the Al-Kurd family in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Head of the Northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Salah had come to the neighborhood to show solidarity with the Al-Kurds, who have been forced to share their home with a group of eight Israeli Jews.

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Jerusalem will never be divided, says Barkat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Melanie Lidman - March 13, 2011 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat insisted that Jerusalem is not up for negotiation in a future peace process during a conversation with Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz on Saturday night at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. “In [the peace negotiations] there are a lot of pink lines, but I have one red line: It’s called Jerusalem, don’t negotiate with Jerusalem,” the mayor told the crowd of 500, eliciting cheers. Noting that he considers the idea of a divided Jerusalem “dead on arrival,” the mayor added that “There is no good example of a split city that works.”

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