NEWS: Israeli forces arrest two Hamas officials at a protest in occupied East Jerusalem, bringing the total number detained in recent days to 5. One of them is ordered jailed for 6 months without charges.The US says the latest composition of the UN Security Council isn't more favorable to the Palestinians. A Jordanian official says Hamas leader Mishaal will visit that country on Sunday, along with the emir of Qatar. Hamas says Mishaal won't be visiting Gaza anytime soon. PM Netanyahu may have finally reached an agreement with settlers in a large “unauthorized” outpost. Israeli authorities say they will not interfere with two PA police stations on the outskirts of municipal Jerusalem. Israeli embassies and consulates in many places are on high alert due to an anthrax scare. DM Barak says if Hamas accepts the Quartet principles and renounces violence, Israel will negotiate with it. COMMENTARY: The Washington Times interviews PM Fayyad. Sefi Rachlevsky says Israel has its most extreme government. Akiva Eldar says mainstream Israeli society is coming to terms with the historical facts of the Palestinian Nakba. Barak Ravid says Pres. Abbas is eager to continue negotiations but Israel will have to play its part for that to happen. Ehud Eiran says Israel needs to urgently repair relations with Turkey. Omar Ghraieb says Palestinians remained badly divided. Matthew Weinstein says depictions of Israel in films at the Sundance Festival range from critical to abysmal. JJ Goldberg says Jewish Americans should take the resignation of an editor who suggested Israel might assassinate Pres. Obama as an opportunity for introspection. Elias Harfoush says Mishaal's apparent decision to step down indicates Hamas may be attempting to emulate Islamist parties in emerging Arab democracies. Amb. Peter Millett says Israeli-Palestinian peace is achievable and necessary.

Giving peace a chance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Peter Millett - (Opinion) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am

As has been widely reported, His Majesty King Abdullah has succeeded in bringing Israeli and Palestinian negotiators together for the first time in 16 months. They have held three meetings in Amman, choreographed by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Comments in the international press have seen a wide range of optimism, pessimism and cynicism. It is easy to be pessimistic and say that nothing will come of it. I prefer realism: no one should pretend that reaching a deal is easy. It has eluded negotiators for years. But as the King himself has said, it is better to talk than not to.

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Hamas and the Contagion of Democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

It would be easy to place Khaled Mashal’s desire to step down from the leadership of the Hamas movement within the framework of the contagion of democracy that is currently infecting the Arab World, and particularly Islamists movements in it, of which the Hamas movement is considered the most cherished child.

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Hamas and the Contagion of Democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

It would be easy to place Khaled Mashal’s desire to step down from the leadership of the Hamas movement within the framework of the contagion of democracy that is currently infecting the Arab World, and particularly Islamists movements in it, of which the Hamas movement is considered the most cherished child.

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"Taking Out" Obama, and Our Slide Into Madness
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Editorial) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am

I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief now that Andrew Adler has resigned as publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times. His January 13 column, proposing that Israel might consider assassinating President Obama, was enormously embarrassing to Israel, its supporters and Jews everywhere. Removing him from his visible position makes life a lot easier for the rest of us, doesn’t it?

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At Sundance, view of Israel ranges from critcal to abysmal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Matthew Weinstein - (Analysis) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

PARK CITY, Utah (JTA) – For Israel fans, it's all pain and anguish this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Unlike in years past at America’s top independent film fest, when feature films exploring the nuances of Israeli life offset some hard-hitting documentaries – such as in 2007 when the award-winning “Sweet Mud” contrasted with “Hothouse” – 2012 has no such leavening agents. At the venues in this mountainous ski town showing the films this week, the views of Israel range from critical to abysmal.

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Palestinians Remain a House Divided
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Omar Ghraieb - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip –Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas government in control of the Gaza Strip, will allow 80 members of the rival Palestinian Fatah movement into Gaza for the first time since they were expelled nearly five years ago.

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The threat of the weak
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ehud Eiran - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

Israel’s traditional threat perception was created in response to strong states. In the 1950s, Israeli operational planning was directed against a potential invasion by all its neighbors. In 1956, Israel launched a pre-emptive war against a rising Egypt, armed with new Soviet weapons. In the 1970s, Israel advanced a massive build-up of its military in order to protect against Syria and Egypt. In the last decade or so Israeli concerns coalesced around Iran’s nuclear program.

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Abbas' disheartening European voyage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) January 23, 2012 - 1:00am

During his visit to Berlin and London this week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ mood was identical to the weather in Western Europe. Grey, bleak and depressing. The Germans and the British received Abbas with nearly all the pomp and circumstance due a head of state but even the shower of respect they rained down on him did not succeed in encouraging him.

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A softer touch on the Nakba
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) January 24, 2012 - 1:00am

Security and border issues are a familiar safety valve in efforts to break impasses in talks between Israel and the Palestinians. These issues are thought to be relatively solvable compared to the problem of Palestinian refugees and the fate of East Jerusalem.

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