September 5th

The Truth About Obama and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Haim Saban - (Opinion) September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

AS an Israeli-American who cares deeply about the survival of Israel and the future of the Jewish people, I will be voting for President Obama in November. Here’s why. Even though he could have done a better job highlighting his friendship for Israel, there’s no denying that by every tangible measure, his support for Israel’s security and well-being has been rock solid.

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Security chief slain in restive Palestinian city
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ali Samoudeh - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Gunmen killed a colonel in the Palestinian security forces early on Wednesday when they raked his car with gunfire in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, local officials said. Hisham al-Rukh was attacked while driving home in the Jenin refugee camp, which has been the focal point of a broad sweep by security forces since May following an upsurge of violence led by criminal gangs and corrupt security officers.

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Israel tries to ease differences with US over Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Josef Federman - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli officials said Tuesday they are in close discussions with the United States over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, seeking to ease tensions that have emerged between the two allies over a possible Israeli military strike against Iran. The dialogue, in which Israel is looking for President Barack Obama to take a tough public position against Iran, suggests the odds of an Israeli attack in the near term have been reduced.

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Israeli PM breaks up Iran meeting, citing leaks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel's prime minister has angrily cut short a key gathering of top security officials, accusing an unnamed participant of leaking details of the sensitive meeting to the media. Netanyahu says the leak occurred after a daylong meeting of his Security Cabinet on Tuesday. The forum was briefed by top security officials about various regional threats.

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September 4th

NEWS: A man in Gaza commits self immolation apparently in an act of economic despair. In response to Israeli prompting, the US is weighing new measures against Iran. Pro-settler vandals attack a monastery near Jerusalem. Egypt appoints a new ambassador to Israel. 300 settlers finally evacuate a tiny outpost after years of wrangling, although some of them are vowing to return. Israeli authorities threaten to demolish a Bedouin school in the occupied West Bank. Occupation forces are increasingly using their new “skunk” weapon against Palestinian protesters. Palestinians are increasingly distressed by the high cost of living in the West Bank. Sweeping new divorce laws empowering wives come into effect in the West Bank. Two people are killed as Syrian government forces again shell a Palestinian refugee camp. Israeli settlers and police begin evicting a Palestinian family in occupied East Jerusalem. Hamas is persisting with plans to censor the Internet in Gaza. Palestinians accuse Israel of pillaging Dead Sea resources. Hugh Naylor looks at the motivations for Suha Arafat's campaign regarding her late husband's death. Egyptian Jihadists claim Palestinians were behind the attack on Egyptian forces in Sinai. Palestinian refugees from Syria are facing harsh conditions in Jordan. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish says Americans have to make up their minds about whether Israeli-Palestinian peace is a vital national interest or not. Paul Thomas Chamberlin says history shows today's terrorists can be tomorrow's peacemakers. Avi Issacharoff says Israel, Egypt and Hamas need to work in an uneasy, unspoken coalition against Sinai extremists. Oudeh Basharat says emerging Arab democracy is good for Israel. Nir Hasson says a united Palestinian electorate could pick the next mayor of Jerusalem. Nahum Barnea says as bad as the current Israeli government is, the next one won't be any better. Herb Keinon says US-Israel differences over Iran are mainly due to the upcoming American election. Leonard Fein says the occupation is corrupting the soul of Israel. Julia Hurley says a new UN report has sounded a wake-up call on living conditions in Gaza. Shai Feldman says Pres. Peres is still important.

Is peace a “vital” American interest?
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

“Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a vital national security interest,” the voice of the American foreign policy consensus has intoned, with its trademark gravitas, for the past decade. “But,” it continues sagely, “We cannot want peace more than the parties themselves.” Around Washington wise heads have nodded grimly at the self-evidence of this hegemonic dictum. 

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Is peace a “vital” American interest?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

“Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a vital national security interest,” the voice of the American foreign policy consensus has intoned, with its trademark gravitas, for the past decade. “But,” it continues sagely, “We cannot want peace more than the parties themselves.” Around Washington wise heads have nodded grimly at the self-evidence of this hegemonic dictum. 

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Why Shimon Peres Still Matters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shai Feldman - (Opinion) September 3, 2012 - 12:00am

Some three weeks ago, on the occasion of his 89th birthday, Israeli President Shimon Peres gave loud and clear public expression to his opposition to a possible Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear installations. This followed two years during which Peres is said to have counseled Israel’s leaders in closed quarters against the ramifications of such an attack. Giving a number of separate interviews on Aug. 16, Peres did not oppose such a strike under all circumstances. Rather, he warned against an attack that would not receive a green light from Washington. 

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Gaza's children in an 'unliveable' siege cannot wait for 2020
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Julia C Hurley - (Opinion) September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

Last week, the United Nations released a report questioning whether or not Gaza will be liveable by 2020, with the conclusion that if the siege continues, then living there will become literally impossible. Gaza's development has been thrown off track, and "de-development" has set in, leaving the UN saying that "even if the political situation were to improve dramatically over the next years, the issues identified in this study would still need to be addressed as a matter of urgency".

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Occupation Corrupts Soul of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) September 3, 2012 - 12:00am

It is tempting to impute retroactive intentionality to yesterday’s events. As Gershom Gorenberg felicitously puts it, we mistakenly assume “that if things turned out a certain way, someone planned it that way.” Looking back now, it may seem a foregone conclusion that Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank (and in Golan, too) was from the beginning an evil design, intended to encroach on Palestinian rights rather than to solve immediate problems. But the effort to draw a straight line of intentionality from then to now obscures more than it clarifies.

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