September 27th

Inside Out: Barak’s unilateral proposition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jonathan Rosen - (Opinion) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave a lengthy interview to Israel HaYom on Tuesday in which he called on the government and the public to consider a partial unilateral withdrawal from large swathes of the West Bank, in the absence of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Such a withdrawal would involve abandoning Israeli control over dozens of settlements and the creation of a Palestinian state in the vacated areas. » Read more

At UN, Netanyahu must put a stop to Iran 'noise' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am A dark shadow of distrust and suspicion between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama hangs over the prime minister as he mounts the rostrum at the United Nations General Assembly today in New York. The difference of opinion between the two men on the issue of Iran's nuclear program has injected itself into the American presidential election campaign and has become an open rift. » Read more

No Drama at Turtle Bay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Blog) September 26, 2012 - 12:00am At the United Nations General Assembly meeting, the world will be watching -- though with markedly less intensity than last year -- to see what the Palestinians will do. The prevailing mood among Palestinians appears to have assimilated some lessons from last year's experience -- that uncoordinated diplomatic initiatives can produce a damaging deterioration in relations with the West, a devastating reduction of aid, and no improvements in living conditions on the ground, even as they fail to achieve their stated objective. » Read more

Anti-Semitism Fight Hinges on Definition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Seth Berkman - September 25, 2012 - 12:00am When the California State Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution recently, urging state-funded colleges to clamp down on anti-Semitism, the storm that followed sent some of the resolution’s supporters backtracking. The resolution’s wording, critics said, threatened to label as anti-Semitic those who strongly criticize Israel over its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, or advocate measures to oppose its policies. » Read more

UNHRC settlement probe calls for submissions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission into UN Human Rights Council settlements is seeking written submissions with documentation on the topic from all relevant parties. It has made this request of member states, international organizations, national institutions and nongovernmental organizations, according to a letter sent last week by Christine Chanet, the head of the three-person mission, to council president Laura Dupuy Lasserre. » Read more

High Court rejects Gaza students' petition to study in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The High Court of Justice ruled on Monday against four female university students from the Gaza Strip who have been seeking to study at Birzeit University in the West Bank. The court rejected a petition filed on the women's behalf by the Gaza-based Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Israeli group Gisha, which advocates in favor of Palestinian freedom of movement, particularly from the Gaza Strip. A panel of high court judges accepted the state's argument that it has no obligation to accord Gaza residents the right to study in the West Bank. » Read more

Israeli forces detain 2 Palestinians 'attacked by settler mob' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency September 26, 2012 - 12:00am NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday detained two Palestinians who were attacked by a mob of settlers south of Nablus, locals said. Iyad Rashdan and Muhammad Allan were picking olives in fields of Einabus village when a group of settlers attacked them. Israeli forces arrived and detained the two Palestinians, locals told Ma'an. An Israeli military spokeswoman was not familiar with the incident. » Read more

Palestinian smuggler dies in tunnel cave-in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 26, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian worker died when a smuggling tunnel on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt collapsed Wednesday, medical sources said. Medics at Abu Yusuf al Najjar hospital in Rafah city identified the man as Sulieman al-Masri, 24. Two other workers were injured in the tunnel cave-in, the medics added. » Read more

Half of Israelis 'fear for the state's existence' if war breaks out with Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - September 27, 2012 - 12:00am The Jewish New Year that began last week doesn't seem to hold much optimism for Israeli citizens: A majority rates the chance of a war breaking out with Iran in the coming year as "high" or "medium," according to a new Haaretz-Dialog survey. And half of Israelis say they either "fear" or "greatly fear" for the state's continued existence if such a war breaks out. » Read more

Israelis shrug at Netanyahu's urgent warnings on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Christa Case Bryant - September 25, 2012 - 12:00am Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses the United States for “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear development and Iran ramps up its rhetoric, Israelis don’t seem to be expecting a war with Iran anytime soon – and are not frantically preparing for one. » Read more