Iran has saved Bashar Assad (for now) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Blog) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am The ongoing debate for and against international intervention in Syria has been rendered obsolete by the mounting evidence that at least one nation has already very much intervened. The details emerging over the last few days can leave little doubt that the active campaign of support by the Iranian regime has ensured that President Bashar Assad will remain the absolute ruler of Syria for the foreseeable future. » Read more

Palestinian PM Begins Initial Contacts for New Gov’t Reshuffle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Salam Fayyad, premier of the Palestinian caretaker government in the West Bank, has begun initial contacts to reshuffle his cabinet in a bid to treat an internal deficiency, an official source said Friday. The source in Fayyad's government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Fayyad has finally agreed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reshuffle the government, without setting up a specific date. » Read more

In Israel, small steps toward peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Little more than a week from now, after the Jewish holiday of Passover ends, an interesting interaction will unfold between Israelis and Palestinians — at least that’s what the two sides are planning at this moment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will host Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office. Fayyad will hand the Israeli leader a letter from PA President Mahmoud Abbas in which he will blame Israel for the lack of peace negotiations and spell out four Palestinian conditions to restart talks. » Read more

The important message of Peter Beinart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Don Futterman - (Opinion) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Peter Beinart has been pilloried because of his call in a recent New York Times op-ed and in his newly published book, "The Crisis of Zionism," for a Zionist boycott of West Bank settlements. Beinart, former editor of the New Republic and founder of the new online forum "Open Zion," is tackling the concealed heart of our government's strategy: its campaign to erase any distinction between the occupied territories and Israel. Beinart has staked out a brave position, particularly in today's Zionist landscape. » Read more

Christians Mark Good Friday in the Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniella Cheslow - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Land commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Friday in prayers and processions through Jerusalem's Old City. In the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem, Palestinian Catholics re-enacted Jesus' stations of the cross in their olive groves and vineyards. Father Ibrahim Shomali led the Good Friday procession in Arabic, wearing a white tunic and purple clerical shawl. Dozens of believers followed him, bearing Palestinian flags and olivewood crosses. » Read more

Abbas Urged to Investigate Land Day Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian civil society and activists on Wednesday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to investigate attacks on demonstrators during a rally to mark Land Day. A coalition of NGOs and civil society leaders called on the president to form an "independent and transparent" committee to investigate an attack on MP Mustafa Barghouti, who was injured at a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah on March 30. » Read more

Israel's Resilient Democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am At 64, Israel is older than more than half of the democracies in the world. The Jewish state, moreover, belongs to a tiny group of countries -- the United States, Britain, and Canada among them -- never to have suffered intervals of non-democratic governance. Since its inception, Israel has been threatened ceaselessly with destruction. Yet it never once succumbed to the wartime pressures that often crush democracies. » Read more

The fallacy of the 'pinkwashing' argument ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by James Kirchick - (Opinion) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am On March 16, a group of gay Israeli teenagers was set to meet with the Seattle LGBT Commission, a body representing the interests of the gay community before the city government. The students were touring the United States under the auspices of the Alliance of Israeli LGBT Educational Organizations, a network of groups that support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The purpose of the visit was to exchange ideas about best practices for combating homophobia, share personal experiences and, like any cultural exchange, generally learn from one other. » Read more

Egypt: No Evidence of Sinai Rocket Launch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 5, 2012 - 12:00am EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian officials disputed on Thursday Israeli assessments showing that rockets which struck the city of Eilat were fired from Egypt's Sinai desert. An Egyptian security official in the southern Sinai, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Egyptian-Israeli border was "intensively secured", and no one had detected a flash of light or sound on Wednesday. No casualties or damage were reported after the rocket struck the Israeli resort town, police said, but the incident fueled Israeli worries over militant activity in the border area. » Read more

Hebron Settlers Threaten Retaliation After Israeli Police Evict Them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Alon Bernstein - April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli security forces swiftly evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from an illegally occupied building in this volatile West Bank city on Wednesday, ending a week-long standoff that had threatened to spill over into broader violence. The raid caught the settlers off guard. Only a day earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had moved to block the eviction order. Settler supporters in Netanyahu's hard-line government condemned the surprise raid, a key political ally threatened to quit the coalition and settler leaders vowed retaliation. » Read more