NEWS: CBS' 60 Minutes profiles the plight of Palestinian Christians. Egypt cancels the delivery of natural gas to Israel, citing a payment dispute, but PM Netanyahu downplays the development. Israeli commandos raid a Liberian-registered ship searching for arms. The Israeli military says it is increasing covert operations. The EU condemns the eviction of a Palestinian family from their home in occupied East Jerusalem in favor of Israeli settlers. PM Fayyad announces Palestine has joined an IMF statistical agency. The UN says Israel displaced 67 Palestinian refugees last week. Pres. Peres says Israel could reach a peace agreement with Pres. Abbas. Israeli prosecutors are reportedly seeking a plea bargain with FM Lieberman in a corruption case. Medical malpractice cases are almost impossible to pursue in Gaza. Hunger striking Palestinian prisoners are calling attention to Israel's policy of "administrative detention.” COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says if Netanyahu cannot enforce High Court orders, he should dissolve the government and seek a popular mandate on peace and settlement policies. Zvi Bar'el says Egypt's cancellation of the natural gas contract is a dangerous precedent. The Jewish Daily Forward says its interview with a senior Hamas leader raises both concerns and possibilities. Natasha Mozgovaya asks if it was proper for Israeli Amb. Oren to attempt to influence the 60 Minutes story on the plight of Palestinian Christians. Asharq Al-Awsat interviews PLO official Quray. Elias Harfoush says the criticism of Egyptian Grand Mufti Gomaa's visit to occupied East Jerusalem is unjustified. Kataryzna Lemanska and Stuart Reigeluth say the EU has a important opportunity to pressure Israel on its aggressive policies towards the Palestinians. Randa Haidar says Israel sees the Syrian dictatorship as the lesser of two evils, preferring it to a failed state in Syria. Rashid Khalidi responds to defenders of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on the proposed “Museum of Tolerance” to be built on a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Yossi Alpher says Kadima leader Mofaz's ideas on peace are an important step in the right direction, but Ghassan Khatib says they show the failings of Israeli mainstream thinking in general.

When Michael Oren irked Bob Simon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Knesset members and diplomats have a long-term grudge against the CBS flagship program, "60 Minutes", over several critical reports that deal with the issues of Jewish settlements, the City of David and the Stuxnet computer worm. But Suday's segment of the program, dedicated to the exodus of the Palestinian Christians from cities like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, seemed to bring about record tensions.

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The failings of Israel's mainstream
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

The election of Shaul Mofaz, former Israeli minister of defense, as head of Israel's Kadima party is not surprising news, at least for Palestinians. Polls continue to show right-wing trends in Israeli public opinion, and despite differences between Mofaz and the Israeli mainstream, there remains a rift between his politics and the international consensus over the basic requirements of a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

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In the right direction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Judging by accepted standards for Israeli election or party-primary candidates, Shaul Mofaz of Kadima did something fairly unique. He actually presented a detailed platform to back up his candidacy to lead Kadima in that party's leadership primary in late March. Mofaz, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and minister of defense under Ariel Sharon, defeated incumbent party leader Tzipi Livni by a landslide.

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Rashid Khalidi Responds to Avra Shapiro and Gil Troy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Rashid Khalidi - (Opinion) April 20, 2012 - 12:00am

It was disappointing to read Avra Shapiro’s letter on behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Sadly, it was full of red herrings, distortions and falsehoods. Firstly, Ms. Shapiro claims, “the campaign to stop construction of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem was…intended to undermine the sovereignty and authority of Israel and its juridical institutions.” She cites as evidence the role of “a declared Muslim extremist,” in initiating “the petition to Israel’s Supreme Court.”

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For Israel, Assad's Regime Lesser of Two Evils
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from An-Nahar
by Randa Haidar - (Opinion) April 20, 2012 - 12:00am

It seems that Israel would prefer that Bashar al-Assad’s regime survive rather than see Syria turn into another “failed state” like its neighbors Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. These states suffer from a weak central authority and the collapse of state institutions as a result of internal fighting, chaos and competition among armed groups over control of political life.

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Why Europe should reject Israeli deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Kataryzna Lemanska, Stuart Reigeluth - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

From tomorrow, the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and International Trade (INTA) at the European Parliament will decide on the fate of the controversial proposed Agreement between Europe and Israel on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA). The meetings end on April 26. Those in favour of this agreement argue correctly that it will bring economic benefits to Europe as it would lift barriers to trade and lower the prices of specific industrial products entering the European market.

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Is the Campaign Against Grand Mufti Gomaa Justified?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

It was only natural for the visit of Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa to East Jerusalem and his prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to arouse the controversy that it did among Palestinians and among Muslims in general. Such a controversy is justified by the man’s religious position, and by Jerusalem’s political position at the heart of the conflict between the Palestinians and the Arabs on the one hand and Israel on the other, being the promised capital of the Palestinian state and the alleged “eternal capital” of the Israeli entity.

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The PLO's Ahmad Quray
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Kifah Zaboun - (Interview) April 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Jerusalem, Asharq Al-Awsat - Ahmad Quray, member of the PLO Executive Committee and former chief negotiator, describes the Palestinian mentality as experimental, and says that the mechanism that the Palestinians have tried for many years at the negotiations has failed, and he calls for changing it by including Arab and international sides in negotiating the most important dossiers, such as Jerusalem, the refugees, and security. The following is the full text of the interview:

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The Message From Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

The Forward’s exclusive interview with Mousa Abu Marzook, who is widely considered the second most important leader of Hamas, sends a message that is stunning and sobering. The very fact that the meeting happened will empower those who believe — or need to believe — that the terrorist organization is softening and maturing as it seeks wider acceptance and a more productive role in the new Middle East.

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