NEWS: Clerics in Gaza complain that their counterparts in the West Bank did not consult them over changes, designed to protect women from violence, in the Palestinian divorce code. Hamas says three extremists in Gaza were involved in the recent attack on Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula. A Palestinian man in occupied East Jerusalem says he was unjustly and repeatedly tasered by Israeli police in front of his children. Former IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi comes out strongly against an Israeli attack against Iran. A Swiss laboratory reportedly agrees to analyze the remains of the late Pres. Arafat. Egypt's Defense Minister reaffirms the country's commitment to its peace treaty with Israel. US Amb. Schapiro says Israel's investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie is not credible. A senior Hamas official reportedly calls for the killing of Jews and Americans. Palestinians say Egypt has destroyed about a quarter of the smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. FM Lieberman intensifies his attacks on Pres. Abbas, accusing him of “political terrorism.” COMMENTARY: The New York Times hosts a debate on whether support for Israel has hurt US credibility in the Middle East. Charles Krauthammer says Anthony Cordesman has provided the best roadmap for US policy towards Iran. Yossi Verter says PM Netanyahu can probably get a majority in the Israeli cabinet for attacking Iran if he wants one. Bradley Burston says South Africa is right to demand accurate labeling of settlement products. Yehudit Oppenheimer says the recent attempted lynching of a Palestinian by young Jewish Israelis in Jerusalem is the inevitable consequence of Israeli government policies. Hirsh Goodman says Israel should seize the opportunity to work with Pres. Morsy to secure the peace treaty with Egypt. Uri Savir says a second-term Pres. Obama may try to move forward on Palestinian statehood. Ephraim Sneh suggests ways of bridging differences between the United States and Israel over Iran. Felice Friedson denounces bullies in Jerusalem. Marwan Kabalan says the US doesn't have the stomach for world domination anymore. Roni Shaked says Israel needs to do more to combat settler terrorism. Oren Kessler says criticism is focusing on Netanyahu, but it's really DM Barak who is driving the push towards war with Iran.

On Iran: How to Repair the Widening American-Israeli Rift
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) August 24, 2012 - 12:00am

The Islamist takeover in the Middle East and North Africa has created perilous strategic turbulence in the region. Consequently, it is now critically important that the United States and its few allies cooperate closely. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in recent weeks for US-Israel relations regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The disagreement about attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities has turned into ugly bickering, much of it disguised. This is harmful for both Israel and the United States.

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The Decider
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Oren Kessler - (Opinion) August 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Twenty years have passed since Israel first raised the alarm over Iran's nuclear program, 10 years since Iranian dissidents revealed the enrichment plant at Natanz, and roughly two since pundits started predicting an Israeli attack against the Islamic Republic. Today, never have so many Israelis from across the political spectrum agreed that a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could arrive within months.

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Israel Needs to Step Up Fight Against Jewish 'Settler Terrorism'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth
by Roni Shaked - (Opinion) August 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Given the relative lull of Palestinian terror in Judea and Samaria and the fact that the General Security Service, better known as Shin Bet, has less on its plate, one might have expected [Shin Bet chief] Yoram Cohen’s troops to step up efforts to scuttle rampant Jewish terror that could stoke a third intifada.

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US has no stomach for world dominance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Marwan Kabalan - (Opinion) August 24, 2012 - 12:00am

As the US prepares to mark 11 years since the 9/11 attacks, one is tempted to look again at the ensuing shift in US foreign policy and see whether it has made America a stronger world power.

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Jerusalem Bullies Need a Dose of Respect
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - (Opinion) August 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Jerusalem’s Zion Square, located in the city center, where rallies mobilize, concerts convene, street fairs assemble, and pedestrians abound, caught the attention of local media and became the topic weekend table talk when it was learned that 17-year old Jamal Julani, an Israeli Arab from east Jerusalem who went to meet a friend who was working at a local restaurant nearby, nearly died from a savage beating unleashed by a gang of Jewish “tough teens,” who were out cruising the streets, apparently looking for a victim.

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Obama’s 2nd term and the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) August 23, 2012 - 12:00am

In November, we will know if there will be four more years in the White House for the first African-American president, Barack Obama, or if the party of George Bush Sr. and Jr. will succeed in propelling Mitt Romney into the Oval Office. According to recent polls, it seems that while Americans are concerned with the economic situation, unemployment and healthcare costs, they tend to believe, by a margin of 5 percent- 10%, that Obama rescued the American economy after the historic crises of the 2008 recession.

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Morsy’s Egypt and us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hirsh Goodman - (Opinion) August 24, 2012 - 12:00am

The security problems that have developed in Sinai, and the way the Egyptian government is responding to them, could be navigated toward either opportunity or a crisis. Since Mohamed Morsy took office as the country’s fifth president on June 30, relations between Israel and Egypt have been even more precarious and incendiary than ever. In tandem, the security situation in Sinai has deteriorated significantly, with jihadi attacks on Egyptian military and strategic targets there becoming bolder and more deadly than ever.

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Jerusalem lynch not surprising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yehudit Oppenheimer - (Opinion) August 24, 2012 - 12:00am

The cruel attempted lynch in Jerusalem's Zion Square on the eve of Eid al-Fitr was not supposed to surprise us – the writing has been on the wall for a long time. This is why it is so hard to accept the fact that it took police a few days to admit that the attack on a Palestinian teen occurred in the heart of Jerusalem in front of a crowd – part of which egged the attackers on.

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South Africa is right. Labeling Israeli settler products is truth in advertising
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) August 23, 2012 - 12:00am

South Africa has taken a decision that may one day prove to have been a significant step toward peace in the Middle East. Whether this ultimately comes to pass or not, the step has already notched a kink in the juggernaut called occupation. The South African cabinet approved a proposal “requiring the labeling of goods or products emanating from Israeli occupied territories, to prevent consumers being led to believe that such goods come from Israel,” cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said on Wednesday.

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