NEWS: Israel and the PA reach a quietly negotiated agreement on tax revenue collection and trade. One Hamas militant is killed and 2 others are wounded in a car explosion in Gaza. PM Netanyahu denies any split with the Israeli military over Iran. Pres. Morsy has apparently sent a letter to Pres. Peres vowing to try to help “the Middle East peace process back to its right track,” although his spokesperson denies the existence of any such letter. The Israeli government is reportedly set to approve grants for building hotels in settlements in the occupied West Bank. Former Obama advisor Dennis Ross says he still supports the president. An 80-year-old battle over land ownership in the Negev between Bedouins and Jews has shifted into the Israeli courts. COMMENTARY: Mitt Romney insists that culture is a factor in economic success. Thomas Friedman says Mitt Romney's Israel trip was such shameless fund-raising it should have been held in Las Vegas. Hussein Ibish says whatever Romney's campaign rhetoric is now, if elected he will default to traditional American policies. The Washington Post criticizes Romney's remarks about Palestinian culture. The LA Times agrees that Romney was pandering and unhelpful. Rich Lowry says he agrees with Romney. Elias Harfoush says Romney was “begging for Jewish votes.” Ron Kampeas says Romney and Obama are showing “love for Israel” in different ways. Sam Bahour says the prospect of a Romney presidency is frightening. Amira Hass says Israel is using water as a weapon against Palestinians in the West Bank. Ali Khaled says Israeli historical narratives erase Palestinian Christian history. Benny Morris says Israel has become the most dangerous place in the world for Jews.

Israel Under Siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Benny Morris - (Opinion) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Here’s a cliché: The Jewish state, founded to provide a safe haven for the world’s persecuted Jews, has become the most dangerous place in the world for Jews. But, unfortunately, this is true, and growing truer by the minute.

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Palestinian Christians swept aside as Israel rewrites history
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Ali Khaled - (Opinion) August 1, 2012 - 12:00am

He vanquished a dragon, saved a princess and passed into myth. What popular culture knows about St George (or Georgius, in Latin) pretty much begins and ends with the children's fairy tale, but there is a historical figure underneath that legend. Born about 1,800 years ago, St George's father was a soldier in the Roman army, and his mother was a Palestinian Christian. After his death, he was hallowed by the Catholic Church, but what is less known is that Muslims also venerated his name.

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Using water as a weapon in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) August 1, 2012 - 12:00am

Events in Area C are a burning issue for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot. More correctly, he is infuriated by what he and the Civil Administration bureaucracy term "Palestinian illegal construction."

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Romney exposed his ignorance in the land of the prophets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Sam Bahour - (Opinion) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Mitt Romney made history on Monday. In a single speech from Jerusalem, he proved beyond a reasonable doubt that to qualify to be a U.S. presidential candidate one needs precious little understanding of history, economics, or reality. Romney has just enough to be dangerous.

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Romney, Obama show love for Israel in their own separate ways
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

It was a weekend of Israel love politically that highlighted two approaches to showing affection for the Jewish state: Go to Israel, as Mitt Romney did, or go pro-Israel, as the Obama administration did. The pictures told the story, or as it were, stories: Romney in a kipah at the Western Wall on Sunday, Obama in the Oval Office two days earlier surrounded by go-to Jews from Congress and the Jewish organizational world to witness the signing of a bill enhancing U.S. defense assistance to Israel.

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Begging For The Jewish Votes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

The statements of Mitt Romney, the US presidential Republican candidate, during his visit to Israel, stir a certain level of pity for the man more than actual criticism of his positions. He seemed to be begging for the votes of the Jewish American voters in front of Benjamin Netanyahu. He was being more conservative than Netanyahu himself with respect to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and Iran, and Israel’s right to deal a military blow to Iran if necessary.

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Romney’s Truth Telling
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Review
by Rich Lowry - (Opinion) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometimes the world seems a little smaller. Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel was such a moment. Demonstrating rhetorical instincts that should get him booked routinely on MSNBC, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat denounced the Republican candidate as a racist. It was a heartening display of the commonality of Romney critics. Whatever their varied backgrounds or interests, they all speak in one voice when it comes to attributing racial hatred to the former Massachusetts governor.

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Mitt Romney: Pandering on the world stage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times
(Editorial) August 1, 2012 - 12:00am

Like everyone else, we're a bit tired of the gaffe-centric coverage of the presidential race. Every day the two campaigns and the press seem to gin up another small-potatoes controversy designed to send voters into a tizzy, generally without addressing the more serious issues facing the country or the economy.

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Mitt Romney’s less-than-successful trip abroad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Editorial) July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

FOR THE PAST seven days, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke about American foreign policy and traveled the globe, starting with an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nev., then a trip to Great Britain, Israel and Poland. What has Mr. Romney revealed about his world view? Not nearly enough.

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