An End to Israel’s Invisibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Michael B. Oren - (Editorial) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

NEARLY 63 years after the United Nations recognized the right of the Jewish people to independence in their homeland — and more than 62 years since Israel’s creation — the Palestinians are still denying the Jewish nature of the state. “Israel can name itself whatever it wants,” said the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, while, according to the newspaper Haaretz, his chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said that the Palestinian Authority will never recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Back in 1948, opposition to the legitimacy of a Jewish state ignited a war.

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Jerusalem mayor pushes for rezoning of Arab areas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The mayor of Jerusalem asked Israel's prime minister on Wednesday to adopt his plan to rezone some of the city's Arab neighborhoods and suspend demolitions of homes built there without permits. In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mayor Nir Barkat wrote that his plan would improve the lives of the city's Arab residents. However, critics said the rezoning plan would heighten tensions because it also involves demolishing 22 Arab homes in one of the most volatile areas of Jerusalem, near the walled Old City.

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Rattling the Cage: Any more doubts about Bibi?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Until this week, the question posed by “neutral observers” about Binyamin Netanyahu was whether he was going to follow the examples of Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, or that of Yitzhak Shamir. Would he transform himself into a peacemaker like Begin and Sharon by uprooting settlements and relinquishing occupied territory, or would he be an immovable object like Shamir, aiming only to keep things “quiet” so he could build more settlements and close the door on Palestinian statehood?

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Why Not Just Submit to Netanyahu?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Osman Mirghani - (Opinion) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Those who predicted that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was serious in his pursuit of peace should now engage in some self-reflection. Netanyahu is a manipulative and deceitful man of the highest order, and it is a fact that he does not want to achieve a genuine peace settlement, which would lead to a viable Palestinian state. Instead, he has demanded complete Palestinian and Arab submission, to all his prohibitive conditions, and provocative maneuvers.

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Israeli Minister Exposes Rift With Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — This week, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of Israel gave a dinner for the foreign ministers of France and Spain, who were here urging a West Bank settlement freeze to improve the chance for peace with the Palestinians. When the meal was over, Mr. Lieberman spoke.

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The ethnic cleansing plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ahmad Tibi - (Opinion) October 12, 2010 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “Israel is a Jewish state, yet it maintains equality and grants rights to all its citizens.” He is so wrong. I head the parliamentary committee on hiring Arabs in the public service. The Arabs constitute 20% of the population, yet make up roughly 6.5% of all public service employees. This figure says it all. It is very from equality and expresses social exclusion, marginalization, neglect, and mostly discrimination.

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Netanyahu’s Moves Spark Debate on Intentions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Analysis) October 11, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An offer on Monday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to freeze West Bank Jewish settlements in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state — instantly rejected by the Palestinians — was the latest complex maneuver engendering debate about his intentions.

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Israeli Cabinet Approves Citizenship Amendment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a contentious draft amendment to the country’s citizenship law that calls for non-Jews seeking to become citizens to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and a democratic state. Decried by opponents as unnecessary, provocative and racist, the amendment, which is subject to approval by Parliament, encountered a storm of criticism and drove open divisions within the ruling coalition.

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Netanyahu asking Palestinians to cede right of return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Benjamin Netanyahu is not satisfied with forcing gentiles who wish to obtain Israeli citizenship to formally declare their recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Now he is demanding that the neighbors on the other side of the border also declare Israel to be a Jewish state (what about "democratic"? ). They will grant recognition in perpetuity, while he will grant a temporary settlement freeze for two months. Maybe three. Judaism for sale.

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Israel's democracy rings hollow
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Faisal J. Abbas - (Opinion) October 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Within hours, the YouTube video showing an Israeli soldier belly-dancing around Ehsan Al Dababsi, a Palestinian detainee who was bound and blindfolded, became headline news all around the Middle East.

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