October 26th

Churches condemn Israeli security barrier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM —The heads of Catholic churches in the Holy Land are condemning the route of Israel's security barrier near Bethlehem, saying it affects the livelihood of Christian families there. The churches said in a statement that the barrier would affect the lives of 58 families who live off the land.

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Netanyahu Announces Coalition With a Nationalist Party
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced Thursday that his conservative Likud Party would run on a joint ticket with the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu Party in January elections. The surprise joining of forces immediately shook up Israel’s political map and was apparently intended to cement Mr. Netanyahu’s chances of leading the next government.

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Israeli Officials Asked to Be Silent on Issue of U.S.-Iran Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an e-mail on Monday to its embassies and consulates around the world, sharing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that he had no knowledge about the possibility of bilateral talks between the United States and Iran, and advising others not to speak publicly about the issue.

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October 25th

Hamas Rising?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Ynetnews (Opinion) - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Is everyone conspiring to undermine the Palestinian Authority and promote Hamas? This morning, in the context of yesterday's visit of the Emir of Qatar to Gaza, with his pledges of massive financial and diplomatic support, it sure looks that way. The biggest threat to the PA is a fiscal crisis originating in its quixotic U.N. membership bid of September 2012, which produced a confrontation with its main donors, particularly the United States.

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American Elections Matter and the System is Open
In Print by Ziad Asali - Al-Hayat (Opinion) - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

The silly season, the protracted multibillion dollar period of escalating frenzy leading up to US national elections, is coming to a close. All that is said or done in this season is fair if it is deemed legal. The game ends with one winner while two parties share the uneven pie of diffuse power across the nation.  The United States and its elections matter. What other countries do not know about the US system, including elections, cost them.

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NEWS: There is a lull in fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza after Egypt brokers a truce. Israel claimed 79 rockets were fired at it from Gaza. Israel says it has “no knowledge” about an attack in Sudan.Palestinians and Israelis protest a settlement supermarket. Hamas sources again say Moussa Abu Marzouk is likely to be the next leader of its Politburo. More Israelis are being drawn to the idea of annexing the West Bank without providing equal rights to its Palestinian residents and jettisoning Gaza. Israel has reopened two Gaza crossings. Israel warns any renewed Palestinian UN bid will have “far-reaching consequences.” The US extends $4 billion in new loan guarantees to Israel. Israel's vice premier says the new Egyptian government of Pres. Morsy is harsher on Hamas than the former Mubarak regime. Israel deports activists from a blockade-breaking ship bound for Gaza. The embattled Zionist Organization of America cancels its annual gala after losing its tax-exempt status. Young Palestinian voters seemed disconnected from recent local elections. The Palestinian Hotel Association says its members boast a 90% occupancy rate. COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad Asali says US elections matter and the American political system is open to all participants. Hussein Ibish says policies of the West, Israel and the Arab states are, wittingly or unwittingly, strengthening Hamas at the expense of the PA. Tariq Alhomayed says the price for Qatar's “guardianship” of Gaza is not yet clear but will be high for all. The National says the Qatari visit to Gaza is a sign of regional changes. Gideon Levy gives his view of the range of Jewish Israeli opinion. Aaron David Miller interviews former Mossad chief Halevy. Talal Awkal says Palestinian elections won't be effective until democracy is established and rights are respected.

Disappointing Palestine Elections Point to Fundamental Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Talal Awkal - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am

The results of the municipal elections did not meet the expectations of election officials in the West Bank. In fact, the outcome of the elections reflects the worsening political scene across the Palestinian territories. These local elections, which were supposed to be a cause for celebration for Palestinians, were a far cry from the 2006 legislative elections, which many Arabs wish to witness again. These were the first municipal elections to take place in seven years, and only occurred following repeated delays.

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The Spymaster
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Interview) October 24, 2012 - 12:00am

In December 1998, then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright sent me to Israel and the West Bank to monitor the first phase of the recently concluded Wye River Memorandum, a soon-to-be-forgotten agreement President Bill Clinton had brokered between then Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Meet the Israelis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Nice to make your acquaintance, we're racist and pro-apartheid. The poll whose results were published in Haaretz on Tuesday, conducted by Dialog and commissioned by the Yisraela Goldblum Fund, proved what we always knew, if not so bluntly. It's important to recognize the truth that has been thrown in our faces and those of the world (where the survey is making waves ). But it's even more important to draw the necessary conclusions from it.

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Qatar initiative in Gaza signals a regional shift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
(Editorial) October 25, 2012 - 12:00am

For a visit that last just six hours - the same as a return flight from Doha to Cairo - the visit of the Emir of Qatar to the Gaza Strip could have remarkable consequences for long-term regional events. For Palestinians hammered by Israel's blockade since 2007, it represented a victory: not merely a challenge to the blockade by an Arab state, but a reminder that Gazans are not alone and not forgotten. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was the first Arab leader to visit the Strip since Jordan's King Abdullah in 1999.

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