November 15th

NEWS: The French consul in the Gaza Strip is injured in an Israeli military attack. The Quartet does not appear to have made any progress between Israel and the Palestinians. The CSM asks if Israel was responsible for a massive explosion in Iran. Palestinian officials say they have made progress on national reconciliation talks, and Fatah officials say that may mean replacing PM Fayyad. Israeli generals want to fight gender segregation in their ranks, and say there is the prospect of a major military action in Gaza. The Knesset is proceeding with two controversial bills. Egypt arrests a suspect in the attacks on the gas pipeline to Israel. Israeli and Palestinian activists are launching “freedom rides” on segregated buses in the occupied territories. COMMENTARY: Richard Cohen says Pres. Peres' new book about Ben-Gurion is worth reading. Sefi Rachlevsky says Israel desperately needs a new prime minister. Ha'aretz says there are serious threats to freedom of the press in Israel. Gershon Baskin says “economic peace” may be the only thing available right now. Ron Kampeas asks what the exchange between Pres. Obama and Pres. Sarkozy about PM Netanyahu really means. The National says Israel is wrong to withhold Palestinian tax revenues. Yossi Alpher says dissolving the PA would be extremely risky, Yossi Beilin says it's actually a possibility, but Ghassan Khatib says it's simply not an option. Donald Macintyre looks at why the sincerity of Netanyahu is doubted by other leaders.

Palestinian, Israeli activists launch campaign against settlement transportation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
by Amjad Samhan - (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Dozens of Palestinian and Israeli activists are gearing up for the launch on Tuesday of a campaign against transportation companies that serve settlements in the West Bank in protest of the continuation of the occupation and the construction of more units in the Occupied Territories. The campaign aims at obstructing means of transportation affiliated to Egged and Veolia, two Israeli public transportation companies that transfer Jewish settlers from the West Bank to East Jerusalem and Israel.

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Why sincerity of Israeli leader is doubted
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Exactly what Nicolas Sarkozy meant by describing Benjamin Netanyahu as a "liar" is not immediately clear, and the French President is unlikely to prolong the episode by explaining it. But it is safe to assume that Mr Sarkozy has become increasingly unconvinced of Mr Netanyahu's sincerity in saying he is willing to negotiate a two-state solution with the Palestinians. By insisting the Palestinians recognise Israel as a "Jewish state" and by resuming a surge in Jewish settlement building, Mr Netanyahu has given no sign that he envisages the minimum deal the Palestinians could accept.

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Both sides would suffer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Beilin - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinian Authority was supposed to cease existing on May 4, 1999, the date a final status agreement was to take effect. Of course, that never happened. In the absence of any alternative agreement, the PA could remain in existence until final status is agreed or, indeed, until the end of time (whichever comes first. . .).

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Egypt nabs suspect believed linked to Eilat attack
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Oren Kessler, Reuters - (Analysis) November 13, 2011 - 1:00am

Egyptian authorities arrested a top member of an Islamist terror group suspected of involvement in pipeline bombings that have disrupted gas supplies to Israel and Jordan, Egyptian state media reported on Sunday. The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that the detainee, Mohammed al-Teehi, was also being investigated for an August terror attack in southern Israel that killed eight people. Teehi, of the armed Islamist group Al-Takfir Wa Al-Hijra (Excommunication and Exodus), was arrested in the northern coastal city of El-Arish, Egypt's news agency MENA reported.

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Simply not an option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

The recent speculation about the future of the Palestinian Authority, including its possible dissolution, arose as a result of discussions in Fateh's Central Committee meeting two weeks ago. These discussions were not about dissolving the Palestinian Authority per se, but about the future of the governing body that has grown into numerous agencies and employs nearly 200,000 people. Fateh's leadership sought to address the fact that the difficulty of transforming this transitional Palestinian Authority into a state has produced an uncomfortable--and even untenable--status quo.

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Gaza first
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

About half a year ago, I and several colleagues spent two hours conversing and dining with Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. One of the questions we asked him concerned his options in the event the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations failed--or for that matter, if it succeeded but Israel refused to honor it.

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Israeli lawmakers push ahead contentious bills
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

At the end of a stormy debate, Israeli lawmakers pushed ahead two bills that critics say would threaten the independence of the country's Supreme Court, just days after Cabinet ministers advanced another proposal to sharply limit funding for dovish groups. Opponents say both developments reflect attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to stifle dissent and pluralism. Netanyahu himself was absent from the parliament vote on Monday, which dominated newspapers headlines and radio talk shows.

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Time for Israel to stop politicising Palestinian cash
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

As Israel continues to tighten the screws on Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, it also continues to earn itself unpleasant headlines around the world. That may be one reason why the latest such move, to limit and tax certain foreign grants to civil-society groups within Israel, has now been deferred. But the measures still have strong support in Israel's conservative cabinet and are far from dead.

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IDF chief: Gaza violence may lead to significant military action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Jonathan Lis - (Analysis) November 15, 2011 - 1:00am

Recent bouts of violence along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip are leading toward significant and offensive military action in the coastal enclave, Israel Defense Forces chief Benny Gantz said on Tuesday, adding that there was still a chance for a flare-up of West Bank violence over the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations. Gantz's comments came just 24 hours following the latest confrontation along the Gaza border, as Israel Air Force planes carried out a strike early Monday after Palestinian militants in Hamas-run Gaza fired a rocket at southern Israel.

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