Palestinian comments on Holocaust underscore internal divides ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - August 11, 2012 - 12:00am A rare gesture of empathy for victims of the Holocaust has underscored how divided Palestinians are over recognizing what Jews consider the darkest chapter in their history – and also how far apart Israelis and Palestinians remain, not only when it comes to the present conflict, but also the past. » Read more

Bibi and Barak: Enough Chatter, Decide Already! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) August 12, 2012 - 12:00am You can all relax — in the last two weeks, nothing new has happened with regard to an attack on Iran. The cabinet hasn’t convened, the defense minister hasn’t summoned the IDF general staff and no new information has been received. Everything that is known today was known two months ago. » Read more

Bill Mandates Discussion of Sephardi Refugees ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) August 12, 2012 - 12:00am In a rare show of pre-election bipartisanship, lawmakers from both parties are sponsoring a bill that would link the plight of Palestinian refugees with that of Jews from Arab countries. » Read more

New Israeli bill calls to divide prayer times for Jews, Muslims at Jerusalem holy site ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua August 13, 2012 - 12:00am A new bill introduced to the Israeli Knesset parliament Sunday suggested dividing prayer times at the Temple Mount holy site in Jerusalem. The bill was introduced by Knesset member Arye Eldad, from the right-wing National Union party, reported The Jerusalem Post. According to the legal proposal, the bill seeks to implement " freedom of worship for all three religions at Temple Mount." » Read more

Where's Ben-Gurion when you need him? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Eitan Haber - (Opinion) August 12, 2012 - 12:00am I've been a part of the Israeli media and its system of government for over three decades, and yet I'm envious of those who know if we should thwart the Iranian nuclear program with a military strike or hold our fire and await further developments. » Read more

On Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road, an artist evokes mood at time of suicide attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Joel Greenberg - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am It was a tour that could happen only here: a stroll to the sites of Palestinian suicide bombings up and down Jaffa Road, Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare, which has the dubious distinction of being the street hit by the most such attacks anywhere in the world. The guide was a young Israeli performance artist, Yossi Atia, and the tour was an attempt to map the trauma and explore the scars left by the attacks, which have dwindled since their peak about a decade ago, receding from the day-to-day consciousness of most Israelis. » Read more

Netanyahu is burying the two state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu certainly has remarkable tactical acumen, even though many question his long-term strategic wisdom. In addition he is lucky: he has now found unexpected allies who will make sure that he stays in power for at least another term: Islamic Jihadists in Gaza and Sinai. By the end of his next term, the two state solution will be discarded in the dustbin of history, as he has wished from the outset. » Read more

Preferring regional war to chances of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am The Arab Spring, it transpires, is not exactly what we thought it would be. » Read more

Despite rocky region, Israeli tourism booming ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Aron Heller - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am It's priming for a risky showdown with Iran over its suspected nuclear program, concerned about neighboring Syria's bloody civil war spilling across the border and dealing with terrorists attempting to infiltrate from Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula. But that doesn't seem to be deterring hundreds of thousands of tourists from flocking to Israel each month. Despite the region's turmoil, Israel is enjoying an unexpected tourism boom, and 2012 is shaping up to be a record year. » Read more

A zoning intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am "How can you watch this and keep on using diplomatic language?" I asked, not expecting an answer from the three European Union diplomats in whose car I rode through the southern Hebron hills last Wednesday. By "this" I meant the sickening disparity between the lush green vegetation and the abundance of new homes in the Jewish settlements and the avalanche of demolition orders issued against tents and jury-rigged shanties where Palestinians live on their own land and 30 liters of water per person (because of Israel's refusal to connect them to the water grid ). » Read more