State approves construction of 50 new housing units in Adam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by SHALHEVET ZOHAR - June 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Hours before Defense Minister Ehud Barak leaves for the United States, the Defense Ministry on Monday notified the High Court that in accordance with a 1996 government master plan for the construction of 1,450 housing units in a new neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Adam, the ministry has at this stage approved only 190 units, of which 50 have received final approval. These 50 units are intended to house the settlers expected to be evacuated from the unauthorized Migron outpost, near Ramallah.

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In two Israeli settlements, a booming demand for more space
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - June 29, 2009 - 12:00am

A stack of moving boxes packed with religious books is tucked into the corner of Yossi and Racheli Zehnwirth's apartment salon. Three years ago, the couple arrived as newlyweds in this devoutly religious settlement – the second largest in the West Bank – with the hopes of buying their own home, a goal beyond reach 15 minutes away in Jerusalem.

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West Bank settlers call tourists to the rescue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Patrick Moser - June 29, 2009 - 12:00am

This year's cherry festival was a roaring success, drawing thousands of people who enjoyed grilled kosher sausages and right-wing ideology in the emblematic Gush Etzion settlement bloc. A band belted out its stuff as clowns entertained the wee ones and families gorged themselves on the plump cherries of the Rosh Tzurim kibbutz, one of the communities in Gush Etzion, just south of Jerusalem. Food stalls and other small businesses did brisk trade, but the fest was about more than just fun and money.

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Israel to build 50 West Bank homes for outpost evacuees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Tomer Zarchin - June 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel will build 50 new homes in an existing West Bank settlement as part of a wider plan to absorb residents slated to be evicted from the illegal outpost of Migron. The complete plan calls for the construction of 1,450 homes in the settlement of Adam. The State Prosecutor's Office informed the High Court on Friday that 190 housing units will be built in the settlement of Adam in the first stage, in accordance with the plan, which was approved by the Defense Ministry in May.

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Barak heads to U.S. in bid to end settlements row
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - June 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak was set to head to the United States Monday in a bid to end a quarrel with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration over Israel's refusal to completely halt West Bank settlement construction. Barak is expected to propose two potential compromises on the matter: Either a temporary complete settlement freeze, or the limiting of building in settlement blocs to high-rise construction only.

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What a Freeze Can't Do
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by David Ignatius - June 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, seemed perplexed during his visit to Washington this month: At a time when America and Israel agreed on all the big issues -- from Iran and North Korea to Afghanistan and Pakistan -- how could the little issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank get in the way?

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Israel May Shift on Settlements Freeze Amid Broader Effort
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - June 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel would be open to a complete freeze of settlement building in the West Bank for three to six months as part of a broad Middle East peace endeavor that included a Palestinian agreement to negotiate an end to the conflict and confidence-building steps by major Arab nations, senior Israeli officials said Sunday. The officials spoke before a planned meeting in Washington on Tuesday between Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, and George J. Mitchell, the Obama administration’s Middle East envoy, and said this was the message Mr. Barak would take with him.

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A guide to Israeli settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) June 28, 2009 - 12:00am

In Cairo this month, President Obama urged Israel to stop settlement construction in the occupied territories. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own policy speech soon after, ardently defended the communities and the people who live in them. "The settlers are neither the enemies of the people nor the enemies of peace. Rather, they are an integral part of our people." So what's all the fuss? We present a guide for the perplexed. For starters, what's a settlement?

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Israel's settlements are on shaky ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Sarah Leah Whitson - June 28, 2009 - 12:00am

The debate over Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is often framed in terms of whether they should be "frozen" or allowed to grow "naturally." But that is akin to asking whether a thief should be allowed merely to keep his ill-gotten gains or steal some more. It misses the most fundamental point: Under international law, all settlements on occupied territory are unlawful. And there is only one remedy: Israel should dismantle them, relocate the settlers within its recognized 1967 borders and compensate Palestinians for the losses the settlements have caused.

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Unlikely Ally for Residents of West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Ethan Bronner - June 27, 2009 - 12:00am

Ezra Nawi was in his element. Behind the wheel of his well-worn jeep one recent Saturday morning, working two cellphones in Arabic as he bounded through the terraced hills and hardscrabble villages near Hebron, he was greeted warmly by Palestinians near and far. Watching him call for an ambulance for a resident and check on the progress of a Palestinian school being built without an Israeli permit, you might have thought him a clan chief. Then noticing the two Israeli Army jeeps trailing him, you might have pegged him as an Israeli occupation official handling Palestinian matters.

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