5 European Nations Summon Envoys of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to protest Israel’s plans for increased settlement construction, an unusually sharp diplomatic step that reflected the growing frustration abroad with Israel’s policies on the Palestinian issue.

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France, UK summon Israeli ambassadors over settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

PARIS (Reuters) -- France and Britain on Monday summoned their Israeli ambassadors to express concerns over Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after Palestine won de facto UN recognition of statehood. "The ambassador has been summoned in order to express our disapproval," French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said. The Israeli embassy also confirmed the meeting.

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Britain, France 'consider recalling Israel envoys'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Britain is considering recalling its ambassador to Israel to protest at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to expand settlement building, a diplomatic source said on Monday. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that France was also considering withdrawing its envoy, and the two countries were coordinating discussions over a number of punitive steps.

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Britain, France, Sweden summon Israeli ambassadors over settlement expansion
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 3, 2012 - 1:00am

Britain, France, and Sweden summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to express their condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to move settlement construction ahead in the area known as E1, between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem.

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Netanyahu brushes off world condemnation of settlement plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Maayan Lubell - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood.

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Amid Euphoria Over U.N. Vote, Palestinians Still Face Familiar Challenges
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — “Now we have become a state!” Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Sunday to a crowd of thousands in the courtyard of his headquarters in this Palestinian city.

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Israel’s Addiction to the Status Quo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Noam Sheizaf - (Opinion) December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

A well-known cliché in Israeli political discourse refers to a high rate of support among the Jewish public for a two-state solution. As the claim goes, despite the Second Intifada and the rounds of fighting against Hamas in Gaza, most Jews still prefer this solution to the annexation of the Palestinian territories.

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Netanyahu: Gov't okayed E1 planning, not building
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

The government gave a green light to zoning and planning in the area known as E1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim, but not to actual construction there, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified to his Likud ministers Sunday as condemnations of the move continued to pour into Israel from around the world.

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Israel: E1 Zone No-Build Policy 'No Longer Relevant'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Laura Rozen - December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

As Israel announced that it was withholding tax payments to the Palestinian Authority on Sunday, an Israeli official told Al-Monitor that Israel considers its 2009 understanding with the Americans that it would not build in the sensitive E1 zone of East Jerusalem “no longer relevant.”

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UN chief: Israel's construction plans 'fatal blow' to two-state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
December 2, 2012 - 1:00am

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday Israel's plans to build 3,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements "would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution." Ban said in a statement that in the interest of peace, any plans for construction in the "E-1" corridor must be rescinded.

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