Settlers fear Obama visit spells construction freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Itamar Fleishman - March 12, 2013 - 12:00am


United States President Barack Obama's visit to Israel next week has sent Israeli entrepreneurs and future homeowners in the West Bank to a building frenzy, fearing the


The three issues that could torpedo Obama's visit to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Eric H. Yoffie - March 12, 2013 - 12:00am


During President Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel, the reactions of the average American will range from mild interest to indifference.  Most Americans are not very concerned about foreign policy.  Still, they have good feelings about Israel and will likely see the trip positively.


On tape: Settler attacks Palestinian shepherd
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Elior Levy - March 11, 2013 - 12:00am


A Palestinian who was tending to his herd a few hundred meters from the Avigail outpost in the south Mount Hebron area was attacked for no apparent reason by the outpost's security officer on Saturday. The officer claimed two Palestinian children had approached the Jewish outpost.


The End of the Two-State Solution: Why the window is closing on Middle-East peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic
by Ben Birnbaum - (Opinion) March 11, 2013 - 12:00am


One Friday evening last November, Mahmoud Abbas made a rare appearance on the popular Israeli TV station, Channel 2. In his boxy suit and tie, the Palestinian president looked every bit his 77 years, his olive skin tinged with gray, his voice soft and whispery. He shifted in his seat with every answer.


Obama in Israel: Can he overcome low expectations?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
by Yisrael Medad - (Editorial) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am


Later this month, President Obama will visit Israel, a country intended by an act of international law to be the reconstituted Jewish national home. The visit will be highly charged, but at the same time, many Israelis have low expectations for what could come of it.


Israel agrees to demolish four West Bank outpost structures immediately
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am


The state is planning to demolish four structures erected at the Sde Boaz outpost "as soon as possible," including a paved access road, built on Palestinian-owned land.


Is a Jew Meshuga for Wanting to Live in Palestine?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Noah Feldman - (Opinion) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am


If Israelis and Palestinians agree on one thing, it’s that more settlements in the West Bank will eventually make a two-state solution impossible. Rabbi Menachem Froman, who died on March 4 at age 68, thought differently.


Israeli Authorities Mostly Ignore Settler Attacks on Palestinian Village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
(Editorial) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am


Hilmi Hassan lies in the intensive care unit of Hadassah Hospital, while Osama Rami has been transferred to the eye hospital in Jerusalem a few days after he was in Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. The two young boys are from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, and were wounded by settlers who attacked Qusra’s villagers at the end of February 2013.


Holland to label settlement goods?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am


The Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that it has obtained unofficial information regarding a Dutch directive instructing retail chains in Holland to state the origin of products from settlements.


Settlers build new illegal outpost near Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 5, 2013 - 1:00am


Israeli settlers erected a new outpost on Sunday on a hilltop east of Nablus, a Palestinian Authority said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said residents of the Elon Moreh settlement installed 10 mobile homes in Ras Hazim fields, a few hundred meters from Deir al-Hatab village. Settlers used bulldozers to dig a road to Ras Hazim, Daghlas told Ma'an. He said farmers would no longer be able to access 100 acres of private Palestinian land.



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