NEWS: An eyewitness to the attempted lynching of Palestinians by Israeli youth in Jerusalem posts an account of the attack on Facebook. Several young Jewish Israelis have been arrested in connection with the attack. Jewish extremists are also suspected in an attack on a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank. Rejecting settlers' appeals, Israel's Attorney-General's Office again orders the evacuation of an “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Iranian officials say any attack on their country by Israel would lead to Israel's own “annihilation.” Israeli defense officials reportedly consult a senior rabbi over the possibility of an attack on Iran. Palestinian citizens of Israel fear they lack access to bomb shelters and other protections Jewish citizens have. UN officials say a strong West Bank economy is not enough to ensure stability, and progress towards creating a two-state solution is required. The Egyptian crackdown on smuggling tunnels is being felt by Palestinians in Gaza. The wall Israel is constructing along its border with Egypt is almost complete. COMMENTARY: Shai Feldman says the debate in Israel over a possible attack on Iran is over, and an attack is not going to happen. Aaron David Miller agrees that Israel is not going to attack Iran in the foreseeable future. Reuven Pedatzur says comments by PM Netanyahu undermine the prospect of creating a workable deterrence strategy regarding Iran in the future. Aluf Benn says the debate over whether or not to have a war with Iran has strengthened Israeli democracy. Sefi Rachlevsky says Netanyahu is placing Israel in an exceptionally dangerous situation regarding Iran. Gerson Baskin says Pres. Obama should save Israel from making a mistake on Iran. Bernard Avishai says he doesn't think Iran could provide a “nuclear umbrella” to others in the region. Dov Weisglass says instead of criticizing Pres. Peres and others over the Oslo agreements, Netanyahu should thank them. Michael Cohen says plans by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills are contrary to Jewish values. The Media Line interviews Munib Al-Masri.

Iconic Palestinian Industrialist, Munib Al-Masri, Speaks About Peace, Statehood and Cooperation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - (Interview) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


Munib Al-Masri is an iconic presence in the Palestinian world. After reportedly twice turning down overtures by Yassir Arafat to succeed him as president of the Palestinian Authority, Al-Masri focused his efforts on creating the institutions that would form the infrastructure necessary to support statehood, including the stock exchange, telecommunications company and largest holding company.


The demolition of homes in the Palestinian village of Sussiya
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Michael Cohen - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


Since 1996 the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has brought some 700 Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international undergraduate and graduate students together on its Kibbutz Ketura campus, where they have been provided with the tools needed to learn how to live and to work with each other. We expect our graduates to take the message of environmental cooperation beyond the academic framework into the field and put what we teach into action.


Oslo deal was good for the Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Dov Weissglas - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am


In the first clause of Basic Law: The President of the State, it is written that "a president shall stand at the head of the State." The head of state not only has the right to express his opinion on such an existential issue as the timing of a strike in Iran – he has an obligation to do so.


How and Why the "Nuclear Umbrella" Argument Falls Apart
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


The most subtle argument defending an Israeli aerial attack on Natanz and other Iranian nuclear installations is that an Iranian bomb would create an “umbrella” under which client regimes and terrorist organizations (Syria, or what will emerge after Assad, Hezbollah in south Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza) will grow in strength and consolidate Iran’s hegemony in the region. A nuclear bomb is a thousand times more powerful than any conventional weapon, right?


Obama, don't let us do it!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


An amazing line-up of military experts, retired generals, heads of the Mossad and the General Security Service, former heads of the National Security Council, former defense ministers and prime ministers have all called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to attack Iran without the full support and engagement of the United States.


Netanyahu on the balcony of war
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am


In the summer of 1995, the heads of the security establishment once again warned then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu against involvement in the campaign of incitement against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, under the slogan "With blood and fire, we'll expel Rabin." Netanyahu was warned that he was playing with fire. That it would end in catastrophe. But he covered his ears.


How Iran strengthened Israeli democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak deserve a medal for their contribution to strengthening Israeli democracy. For the first time a broad and noisy public debate is taking place over whether to go to war, with the encouragement and participation of the prime minister and the defense minister. When Israel does attack Iran it will not be a war of deception: The pros and cons have been discussed ad nauseam in the public arena. One can argue about the wisdom of Barak and Netanyahu's policy, but they did not act covertly.


Fear is not a deterrent, Bibi
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Reuven Pedatzur - (Opinion) August 21, 2012 - 12:00am


It is possible to argue about the estimates of the results and implications of a decision to attack Iran. However, it is clear that the prime minister, by his remarks on the Iranian issue, is severely undermining one of the basic tenets of the state's future strategy.


KABOOM
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) August 20, 2012 - 12:00am


Worried about a war with Iran, regional instability, more terrorism, rising oil prices or plunging markets? Don't be -- at least not yet. Think 2013. If Israel can't get assurances that the U.S. is prepared to use force, then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will act later this year or early next. But for now, there will be no war and certainly no deal over the nuclear issue. And the reason for that is pretty compelling: the mullahs, the Israelis, and the Americans all don't want one right now -- and here's why.



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