March 5th

Obama’s unequivocal support for Israel won’t sway his diehard detractors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am There are many people in both America and Israel who wouldn’t believe Barack Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security even if he sang Hatikvah, enlisted in the IDF and did reserve duty guarding an isolated West Bank outpost. These people are now dissecting the president’s speech to the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Sunday in a way that will offer incontrovertible proof that it ranks a close second after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s pledge to wipe Israel off the map. » Read more

Israel would be wise to listen to Obama's advice on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am U.S. President Barack Obama didn't wait for his private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to clarify his position on Iran's nuclear program. Speaking at the annual conference of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the U.S. leader urged everyone to set the war drums aside. » Read more

Israel's brinkmanship, America's peril ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Doyle McManus - (Opinion) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Last week, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, confirmed a no-longer-surprising fact: the Pentagon has sent the White House a menu of options for going to war with Iran. » Read more

Before attacking Iran, Israel should learn from its 1981 strike on Iraq ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Colin H. Kahl - (Opinion) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am On June 7, 1981, eight Israeli F-16 fighter jets, protected by six F-15 escorts, dropped 16 2,000-pound bombs on the nearly completed Osirak nuclear reactor at the Tuwaitha complex in Iraq. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon saw the reactor as central to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s quest to build nuclear weapons, and they believed that it posed an existential threat to Israel. » Read more

Egypt warms to Hamas, but not allies yet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am CAIRO AND JERUSALEM // When Egypt provided a public platform last month for Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, it was seen as a more independent nation risking longtime ties with the United States and Israel to please its Islamist friends. To many observers, Mr Haniyeh's speech at Al Azhar University in Cairo, declaring his support for Syrian rebels fighting to topple the regime of Bashar Al Assad, also signalled the break-up of the revolutionary axis stretching from Tehran to Gaza City, and a major shift in the politics of the Middle East. » Read more

'Most serious' division in Hamas' history tests Meshaal's acumen ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM // Once firmly in control of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal no longer appears to be the Palestinian-Islamist group's undisputed leader. Rivals are stridently criticising the 55-year-old and the sweeping changes he has recently tried to engineer within Hamas. Such public dissension had been practically unheard of within the group's tightly regimented ranks. Others, sensing his weakened hand, seem to be not-so-subtlety jockeying for his position. » Read more

Now Syria's Foe, Hamas Still No Friend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Washington — In foreign relations, it is a longtime maxim that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But despite its recent shift against the regime in Syria, that rule has done nothing, so far, for Hamas with the American government. The abrupt smashing of a decades-long bond between Hamas, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, and Syria, a family-led dictatorship, is unlikely to facilitate Hamas’s rehabilitation, experts say, despite current efforts by the U.S. to assemble a wide coalition against the Syrian regime. » Read more

PA letter to ask Israel’s position on peace talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) March 4, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will send a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking Israel to state its position regarding restarting peace talks. The letter, which reportedly will be delivered to Netanyahu as soon as he returns from his visit to North America, will accuse Israel of harming the process by not fulfilling its obligations under current agreements and inform Israel what steps the Palestinian Authority requires of Israel in order to be willing to restart talks. » Read more

Palestinians Struggle to Put Their Food on Israeli Tables ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - March 4, 2012 - 1:00am Palestinian farmers say they can’t penetrate the Israeli market because of reluctance by Israelis to buy products with a Palestinian brand. Israeli agriculture officials acknowledged the problem, but said they were trying to help by exposing Israelis to more Palestinian wares. Agriculture is a pillar of the Palestinian economy. While they export to the Arab world, the U.S. and Europe, Palestinians are trying to sell their “Product of Palestine” brands to in neighboring Israel, which is a big market and no more than hour’s truck drive away. » Read more

Americans still favor Israelis to Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Oren Kessler - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Americans continue to view Israelis far more favorably than Palestinians, according to a poll released this weekend ahead of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US President Barack Obama. Seventy-one percent of Americans said they had positive views of Israel, compared with just 19% who said the same of the Palestinians, according to a Gallup poll conducted over the first week of February. Republicans were more likely to be well disposed toward Israel than independents or Democrats, with favorability ratings at 80, 71 and 65%, respectively. » Read more