February 2nd

Israel's profound choice on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Chuck Freilich - (Opinion) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am In the end it will come down to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His senior officials will make their cases, but he alone will have to make one of the most critical decisions inIsrael's history: whether to attackIran's nuclear program. I do not envy him. » Read more

Change in political landscape leaves Hamas in financial shortfall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM // Keeping up with the dramatic changes in the political map of the Middle East is one reason the leaders of Hamas are buzzing around the region in an unprecedented diplomatic campaign. Another less talked about reason is money. The rulers of the Gaza Strip are desperate for it, analysts say. The group's leader, Khaled Meshaal, and its prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, have spent recent weeks visiting eight countries including Jordan and Qatar. Such trips would have been almost unthinkable before the Arab Spring. » Read more

Israel's military leaders warn against Iran attack ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre, Kim Sengupta - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am Almost the entire senior hierarchy of Israel's military and security establishment is worried about a premature attack on Iran and apprehensive about the possible repercussions, a former chief of the country's defence forces told The Independent yesterday. Lt-Gen Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who is close to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, said there had been little analysis of what happens the "day after" when the Tehran regime and its paramilitary allies retaliate. He warned that an assault may lead to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad benefiting from popular anger against foreign aggression. » Read more

Israel asks U.S. to prod Palestinians to continue peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday asked U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to press Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to continue the talks with Israel that began last month in Amman. The Prime Minister's Office said that the conversation with Clinton lasted 45 minutes, and quoted Netanyahu as saying, "Israel is interested in continuous talks with the Palestinians while preserving the security interests of Israeli citizens." » Read more

Israel backtracks on housing benefits for West Bank settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am Housing benefits will not be granted to some 70 West Bank settlements unless specifically approved by the defense minister, who has authority over West Bank construction, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. The decision amended a cabinet resolution approved on Sunday that granted various housing benefits to people living in national priority areas. Since about 70 settlements are located in national priority areas, the new decision was passed to exclude them. » Read more

Germany upgrades Palestinian diplomatic status ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 1, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Germany has upgraded the Palestinian diplomatic representation in Berlin from a delegation to a mission headed by an ambassador, visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle announced Wednesday. The decision followed similar steps in recent months by France, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. It was seen as a boost to the Palestinian quest for international recognition. Germany is one of the most influential countries in Europe and one of Israel's most loyal allies. » Read more

Palestinian security forces question 2 journalists ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 1, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank — Two Palestinian journalists said Wednesday they were detained and questioned by Palestinian security forces, one after mocking the Palestinian leadership and the other after reporting about alleged corruption at a Palestinian diplomatic mission. The detentions came as renewed criticism was aimed at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government for suppressing dissent. » Read more

Analysis: Hamas on the move, seeks Palestinian ascendancy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Douglas Hamilton - (Analysis) February 2, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Political winds from the Arab Spring are filling the sails of the Hamas, as it seeks a course out of international isolation to the forefront of the Palestinian national movement. Hamas' ties to Syria and Iran are changing. This week, the two top men in the 25-year-old organization dedicated to crushing Israel and establishing Palestine "from the (Jordan) river to the sea" headed off in distinctly different directions for high-level talks, and they began to look intriguingly like rivals. » Read more

Key settlement outpost slated for evacuation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from IRIN February 2, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (IRIN) -- Israel's High Court of Justice has ordered Israeli settlers in the Migron outpost in the West Bank to leave by March 31 in response to a 2006 petition filed by seven Palestinian landowners and Israeli pressure group Peace Now. "The prime minister is trying to implement the court's decision peacefully," by reaching an agreement with the Migron settlers which would include moving them from their homes to new housing on adjacent Israeli "state land", Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told IRIN. » Read more

Israelis, Palestinians at loggerheads over praise of settler killer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 2, 2012 - 1:00am AWARTA, West Bank — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest complaints about Palestinian “hate speech,” after relatives of the killer of a Jewish settler family praised him in a phone call to the official Palestine TV, spotlight the intense animosity and mutual distrust that have blocked peace talks for years. Netanyahu argues that President Mahmoud Abbas’ government has failed to educate Palestinians for peace, stoking Israeli suspicions about a hidden Palestinian agenda, and that this poses a major obstacle to any peace deal. » Read more