March 21st

Iran’s Supreme Leader Warns of Retaliation if Israel or U.S. Strikes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Emily Alpert, Ramin Mostaghim - March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

REPORTING FROM TEHRAN -- Iran will strike back with equal force if the United States or Israel attacks it over its nuclear program, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in an address from the eastern city of Mashhad in observance of Nowruz, the Persian new year. "The holy Koran states that if an enemy attacks you first, the enemy will certainly be defeated," he said. “This is divine law. We are not thinking of attacks and aggression, but we are attached to the existence and identity of the Islamic republic."

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When 'pro-Israel' means comparing Israel to the Nazis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Blog) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Question: What do you call a foreign-based activist organization which compares Israeli security policies to those of Nazi extermination camps? What do you call a not-for-profit organization that denounces Israel for its policies in Jerusalem's holiest shrine, voicing outrage that the devout endure humiliation, discrimination, draconian bars to religious expression, oppressive denial of access to holy sites, physical mistreatment, enforced thirst, arrests and beatings at the hands of Israeli police?

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Israel Indicts Hamas Militant Suspected in Kidnap and Suicide Bombing Plot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel’s internal security service says a Palestinian militant has been indicted in an alleged plot to capture an Israeli soldier and carry out a suicide bombing. The Shin Bet service said Wednesday that Mohammed Abu Adra of the militant Hamas group was arrested in February while trying to infiltrate Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. It accused him of being involved in planning the capture of an Israeli soldier and a suicide bombing in the southern city of Eilat. He was indicted Wednesday on charges including conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to kidnap.


Israel should notify its citizens before striking Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Will Israel coordinate any attack on Iran with the United States, or at least give it advance notice? What exactly did President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to at their recent meeting in Washington, D.C.? We can at least hope that both leaders know what they signed off on, and there will not be a repeat of the awkward situation in the first Lebanon War, in 1982, when Defense Minister Ariel Sharon claimed to have obtained the nod from U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Both countries agree that Iran should not be allowed to posses nuclear arms.

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‘Extremists Mustn’t Use Palestine to Market Terror’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Extremists must stop marketing their terrorist acts in the name of Palestine, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday, condemning the murder of four French Jews at a school in Toulouse. French Interior Minister Gueant earlier Wednesday said the gunman wanted revenge "for the Palestinian children and he also wanted to attack the French army because of its foreign intervention." "Extremists must stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life," AFP quoted Fayyad as saying.

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Fayyad: Stop Using Palestinian Cause to Justify Terror
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Elior Levy - March 21, 2012 - 12:00am

Extremists must stop using the Palestinian cause to justify their acts of violence, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Wednesday after a deadly attack on a French Jewish school. "It is time for these criminals to stop marketing their terrorist acts in the name of Palestine and to stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life," the Palestinian premier said in a statement.

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March 20th

NEWS: A classified US wargame reportedly suggests an Israeli attack on Iran could draw the United States into a wider regional conflict, possibly including hundreds of American deaths. Another hunger striking Palestinian prisoner is said to be in mortal danger. PLO officials say they are ready to resume talks with Israel. Israel says it is making several improvements to the quality of life for Palestinians living under occupation. Fatah officials denounce Israel's policy of assassinations. Palestinians are to ask for a UN investigation of settler abuses. The EU pledges €35 million for a Palestinian infrastructure project. Israeli officials are set to claim that the Palestinian economy is not ready for independence. Pres. Obama has a telephone conversation with Pres. Abbas. Israel continues to deny Palestinians access to their own water. Israel's military is accused of abusing Palestinian children. COMMENTARY: ATFP President Ziad Asali suggests practical steps that can be taken by all sides during the political interregnum on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Richard Cohen says Israel needs to buy time on Iran. Sefi Rachlevsky says Iran has started a Cold War between the United States and Israel. Yakir Elkariv says an Israeli attack on Iran would reveal a death wish. Navi Pillay says indiscriminate shooting of rockets between Israel and Gaza is illegal and unjustifiable. Gershon Baskin says Israel must not cut off electricity to the Palestinians. Donald Macintyre says Einstein considered the problem of how Jews and Arabs could live together in Palestine and could not find a solution. Yossi Alpher says violence has not only failed, it has undermined a two-state solution. Ghassan Khatib says violence is only increasing the Palestinian determination to end the occupation. Ephraim Sneh says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has no military solution. Bernard Avishai says informed Chinese are predicting that the occupation will ultimately turn global opinion against Israel.

Decisions in the Interregnum in Palestine and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Ziad Asali - (Blog) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am

The year 2011 will go down in history as the year when the two-state solution went into deep freeze. Yet even during this hibernation there is much that can, and indeed must, be done to prevent an even graver crisis.

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Don't Shut the Switch
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am

One of the items not transferred to the Palestinian Authority with its creation in 1994 was electricity generation. With the exception of the Jericho area, the PA is not permitted to generate any of its own electricity. In fact, even the PA’s creation of distribution companies in the West Bank is not in accord with the agreement. In terms of electricity for the Palestinians, the Israeli Civil Administration is fully in charge.

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Protecting civilians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Navi Pillay - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am

My visit to Israel and Palestine a year ago left me with a profound sense of the difficult human rights situation faced by many Palestinians and Israelis. Still, the openness of representatives on all sides to engage seriously on the human rights challenges I identified was encouraging. Taking this spirit of constructive engagement as our point of departure, I and my staff have been watching closely for progress on the issues I raised with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv.

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