August 3rd

Israel realizes: Only US can stop Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ron Ben-Yishai - (Opinion) August 3, 2012 - 12:00am It's a known secret that the IDF and the security establishment have been focused over the past few years on creating a viable military option for a strike in Iran. Israel has invested billions in this endeavor. The goal was to obtain operational capabilities that would serve as the basis for a strike, which, if launched, would set Iran's nuclear program several years back. » Read more

Investment in Settlements Skyrockets Under Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Calcalist by Shaul Amsterdamski - August 2, 2012 - 12:00am The governmental investment in Judea and Samaria skyrocketed under the Netanyahu cabinet by 38% from 2010 to 2011, reaching its high levels on the eve of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Over the period spanning from 2003 to the end 2011, the Israeli governments invested more than $2.5 billion (more than 10 billion shekels) in the Jewish settlements across the Green Line. This sum reflects the overall governmental investment, including economic support for the local authorities, investment across infrastructures and tax benefits entailing loss of state revenues. » Read more

Making art from trash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yitzhak Laor - (Film Review) August 3, 2012 - 12:00am Initially, I was afraid that "Zevel Tov" ("Good Garbage" ), a documentary produced and directed by Ada Ushpiz and Shosh Shlam, would be just another story about the atrocities of the occupation. At the very least, it would be an effort to prove that there is an occupation, despite the argument by emeritus Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, who headed a committee that declared that the West Bank is not occupied territory. » Read more

Israel losing international support, says British ambassador ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - August 3, 2012 - 12:00am The British ambassador to Israel has said international support for the Jewish state among those in the political mainstream is eroding, driven by settlement expansion in the West Bank and continued restrictions on Gaza. There is "growing concern" in the UK over lack of progress towards peace with the Palestinians, and Israel was now being seen as Goliath against the Palestinians as David, said Matthew Gould, in reference to the biblical story. » Read more

As Netanyahu pushes Israel closer to war with Iran, Israelis cannot keep silent ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by David Grossman - (Opinion) August 3, 2012 - 12:00am Here's a possible scenario: Israel attacks Iran despite the strenuous opposition of President Barack Obama, who is practically pleading that Israel leave the work to the United States. Why? Because Benjamin Netanyahu has a historical mind-set and a historical outlook under which, basically, Israel is "the eternal nation" and the United States, with all due respect, is just the Assyria or the Babylonia, the Greece or the Rome, of our age. » Read more

Syria crisis felt in Israel and occupied Golan Heights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News by Yolande Knell - August 2, 2012 - 12:00am The deepening crisis in Syria threatens to have a destabilising effect on all of its neighbours but Israel has a particular set of concerns. Technically, the two countries have been in a state of war since 1948. Israel also continues to occupy the Golan Heights, Syrian territory which it captured in 1967 and later annexed, in a move that is not internationally recognised. Yet under President Bashar al-Assad, there has been a long-standing truce and for the past 40 years the border between the two countries has been relatively calm. » Read more

New NIF head Brian Lurie: 'The occupation is a cancer that is eating us' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) August 2, 2012 - 12:00am Rabbi Brian Lurie, who recently replaced Naomi Chazan as president of the New Israel Fund, has spent most of his professional life at the heart of the American Jewish establishment. Nonetheless, he is a rebel, a nonconformist, a Jewish communal leader "on the cutting edge," as former Forward editor J.J. Goldberg puts it, especially in matters relating to the relations between Israel and the Diaspora. » Read more

Erekat: No date set for next UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency August 3, 2012 - 12:00am PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Thursday that no date was set for next steps at the United Nations, where officials are considering a new initiative to seek membership as a state. Erekat said the timing of a draft application for the General Assembly will be discussed at the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday and after consulting with regional leaders. His remarks followed separate meetings with ambassadors from France, Germany, India, Brazil and the United States, Erekat said. » Read more

Diplomacy: Accord short on fanfare, but not meaning ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Opinion) August 2, 2012 - 12:00am It was a small news item during an active news week dominated in Israel by tax increases, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s visit, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s statements on Iran, and – of course – the Olympics. But Tuesday night’s signing in Jerusalem of an economic agreement on behalf of Israel and the Palestinian Authority by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is not without significance. » Read more

Palestinian women's killings spark outcry over lax laws ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Maher Abukhater - August 3, 2012 - 12:00am Four recent cases of Palestinian women slain allegedly at the hand of relatives have prompted women and human rights groups to demand tougher laws against domestic violence and more stringent enforcement. Several female activists marched Thursday through the streets of Bethlehem in the West Bank demanding justice for women in this patriarchal and traditional society. They also demanded severe punishment for men who kill or batter a female family member. » Read more