July 19th

Ex-official: Israel targeted Hezbollah army chief; Iran has been retaliating
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Former National Security Adviser Uzi Arad responded on Thursday to comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and according to which Iran was behind the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, saying that Israel was not a "passive side" to the struggle against Iran and must do more to anticipate the responses. On Wednesday, Netanyahu, apparently supported by detailed intelligence, immediately blamed Iran for the terror attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, that let eight people dead, possibly including a suspected suicide bomber.

»

Cracks in the foundation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Several recent developments to erode Israel’s support among American Jews and its political base on Capitol Hill. The government is grappling with questions involving conscription of ultra-religious Jews, recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, Israel’s control of the West Bank and the future of the settler enterprise.

»

Iran TV: Links to attack on Israelis 'ridiculous'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Iran's state TV is rejecting accusations of Tehran's involvement in an apparent suicide attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that killed at least eight people. A commentary Thursday on the TV website calls the claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others "ridiculous" and "sensational." The website described the Israeli charges as attempts to discredit Iran and its allies such as Syria.

»

Israel's Barak: We'll block Syrian refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing within earshot of fighting in Syria, said Thursday that Israel would stop Syrian refugees from entering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights if they try to flee there. Barak was touring the Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, a day after three top officials in the regime of President Bashar Assad were killed in a suicide attack in Damascus. Israeli defense officials are closely monitoring the deteriorating situation in their neighbor to the north, worried it could spill across the frontier.

»

Though Bruised, Netanyahu Is Seen as Secure in Post After Coalition’s Demise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s image of invincibility has taken a knock, Israeli analysts said on Wednesday, a day after the breakup of the large and broad coalition that had given him almost unprecedented power. But for now, they said, his political future seemed assured for one simple reason: he has no obvious rival for the premiership.

»

Interview: Israeli school books write out Palestinian, Arab story
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Brandon Davis - (Interview) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Professor of language and education at Hebrew University Nurit Peled-ElHanan recently released a book analyzing the portrayal of Palestinians in 16 history, civics and geography textbooks authorized by the Israeli Ministry of Education. 'Palestine in Israeli School Books' argues that the textbooks legitimate Israeli military policy in the eyes of young students, and prepares them for military service upon graduation. Ma'an spoke to Peled-ElHanan about the ideas behind her latest book.

»

July 18th

NEWS: Israel's governing coalition breaks up over the issue of military service. FM Lieberman predicts early elections. Israel recognizes a college in a West Bank settlement as the first officially recognized Israeli “university” in the occupied Palestinian territories. Hamas takes over UN summer camps for children in Gaza after agencies run out of money. Israeli police arrest a suspect for writing threatening graffiti at the home of Peace Now's Settlement Watch Director. The Arab League says it will create a committee to investigate the death of the late Pres. Arafat. The VOA looks at the controversy about claims Arafat was poisoned. The PA expresses outrage over remarks by Israel's attorney general that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem is integral to Israeli territory. Pres. Abbas meets Pres. Morsy. Palestinians at a refugee camp near Damascus are sheltering 2,000 displaced Syrians. Israel's high court will hear a petition regarding the death of a Palestinian woman at a West Bank protest. The Israeli government says it's not going to oppose a petition by settlers to remain in an area ordered evacuated by the Israeli High Court. An extremist Israeli MK publicly tears up a copy of the New Testament. COMMENTARY: Former Israeli ambassador to South Africa Liel supports a settlement goods boycott. Amira Hass says Israeli human rights activists face an anti-Semitism that goes unidentified and unpunished. Salman Masalha says the debate about rights and responsibilities in Israel is doing an injustice to the Druze community. Gil Hoffman says Kadima faces a tough future outside the Netanyahu coalition, but Akiva Eldar says Netanyahu also faces more difficulties. Yossi Beilin agrees that PM Netanyahu can be defeated. Ian Black says the Arab uprisings, especially in Syria, are threatening old Israeli certainties. Peter Beinart says the root cause of the widely perceived failure of the Obama administration on Middle East peace is an unwillingness to pressure Israel. Marilyn Katz says settlements threaten Middle East peace.

West Bank settlements threaten peace in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chicago Tribune
by Marilyn Katz - (Opinion) July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

For most Americans, the word "settlement" conjures up images of the Old West, of a small outpost with a post office, general store and a saloon. A dot on the map. A threat to no one.

»

No Space
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) July 17, 2012 - 12:00am

The Washington Post just published a long story by Scott Wilson about Barack Obama’s failure to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

»

Israel's old certainties crumble in Arab spring fallout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Ian Black - (Opinion) July 17, 2012 - 12:00am

On a ridge high above the Golan plateau, the telltale antennae and golfball radomes of an Israeli surveillance station point north-east towards Damascus. In the valley below, minefields, barbed wire fences and a blue UN flag mark the frontline between the two most powerful armies in the Middle East. Behind it is a country in the throes of civil war.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017