August 13th

Netanyahu is burying the two state solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am


Benjamin Netanyahu certainly has remarkable tactical acumen, even though many question his long-term strategic wisdom. In addition he is lucky: he has now found unexpected allies who will make sure that he stays in power for at least another term: Islamic Jihadists in Gaza and Sinai. By the end of his next term, the two state solution will be discarded in the dustbin of history, as he has wished from the outset.


Preferring regional war to chances of peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am


The Arab Spring, it transpires, is not exactly what we thought it would be.


Despite rocky region, Israeli tourism booming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am


It's priming for a risky showdown with Iran over its suspected nuclear program, concerned about neighboring Syria's bloody civil war spilling across the border and dealing with terrorists attempting to infiltrate from Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula. But that doesn't seem to be deterring hundreds of thousands of tourists from flocking to Israel each month. Despite the region's turmoil, Israel is enjoying an unexpected tourism boom, and 2012 is shaping up to be a record year.


A zoning intifada
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) August 13, 2012 - 12:00am


"How can you watch this and keep on using diplomatic language?" I asked, not expecting an answer from the three European Union diplomats in whose car I rode through the southern Hebron hills last Wednesday. By "this" I meant the sickening disparity between the lush green vegetation and the abundance of new homes in the Jewish settlements and the avalanche of demolition orders issued against tents and jury-rigged shanties where Palestinians live on their own land and 30 liters of water per person (because of Israel's refusal to connect them to the water grid ).


After Sinai Attack, U.S. and Egypt Step Up Talks on Security
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Steven Lee Myers, Thom Shanker - August 11, 2012 - 12:00am


In the wake of the attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers near the border with Israel last Sunday, the United States and Egypt are negotiating a package of assistance to address what administration officials described as a worsening security vacuum in the Sinai Peninsula.


August 10th

NEWS: Egyptian troops are moving to restore order in Sinai, testing a key provision of the peace treaty with Israel: demilitarization of the peninsula. Human rights activists say Israeli forces are entering Egyptian territory in the Sinai Peninsula to intercept would-be African migrants. Hamas says Egypt temporarily lifted its closure of the Gaza crossing point, but only to let people back into Gaza. Residents of an Israeli settlement slated for court-ordered eviction are raising funds in an effort to buy the land from its Palestinian owners. Israel frees a hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner. Israeli occupation authorities in East Jerusalem ordered the demolition of 2 trailers provided to displaced Palestinians by the UN. Pres. Abbas forms a committee to study women's rights. Palestinians say they're going to raise their VAT in September. The PA Finance Minister says most public-sector employees will be paid next Monday. An Israeli military tribunal convicts a Palestinian man in the death of an Israeli soldier in 2000. Israel's largest newspaper says PM Netanyahu and DM Barak are mulling a fall strike against Iran. Palestinian refugees in Syria are fleeing to Lebanon. A report into alleged anti-Semitism on UC campuses draws controversy. COMMENTARY: ATFP Pres. Ziad J. Asali gives his take on Palestinian culture. Zahi Khouri challenges Mitt Romney's account of Palestinian circumstances. Ha'aretz says Israel should cooperate with Egypt in every way it can so as to restore order in Sinai. Hussein Shabokshi says Egypt has to change the way it deals with Sinai altogether. Ofer Shelah says following the Sinai attack, Israel must reprioritize its security concerns. Amir Oren says Israel should be extremely concerned about the consequences of an attack on Iran that is not coordinated with the United States. Brent Sasley says the Israeli left is growing more pragmatic. Kathleen Peratis calls plans for the forced eviction of Palestinian villagers in the occupied West Bank a "human rights calamity.”

Susiya: A Human Rights Calamity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Kathleen Peratis - (Opinion) August 9, 2012 - 12:00am


In 2004, Ha'aretz ran the following story: "Last week, the High Court of Justice postponed for four months the state's request to destroy the structures and tents in Susiya, a village of caves in the southern part of the Hebron Hills.”


The Israeli left’s growing pragmatism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Brent Sasley - (Opinion) August 8, 2012 - 12:00am


It’s often said these days that the left in Israel not only is decimated, but it continues to cling to long outdated idealism about how to solve the conflict with the Palestinians and withdraw from the West Bank. Also that it’s out of touch with Israelis’ current preoccupations and the settlers’ successes. Avraham Burg’s latest editorial in The New York Times is taken as illustrative of this.


An Israeli strike on Iran nuclear facilities could endanger Israel's Dimona reactor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amir Oren - (Opinion) August 10, 2012 - 12:00am


A foul wind is blowing over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with weekend gusts toward Caesarea. A wind of pugnacity. Before the eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in the spirit of the chants of which he is so fond ("They are frightened"; "There's no free lunch" ) - it's as if a new sign has been raised high, bearing the words: "Strike now!"


Since Sinai Attack, Israel Must Re-Prioritize
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Ofer Shelah - (Opinion) August 9, 2012 - 12:00am


The foiled terror attack near the Kerem Shalom border crossing [on the Israel-Egypt-Gaza border] on August 5 is no doubt exceptional in terms of the method of operation implemented, the daring displayed and above all, the target chosen for the attack, which was aimed not only against Israel but also directly against Egyptian forces.



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