April 24th

Israel to seek deferral of settler evictions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 23, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he would ask Israel's Supreme Court to defer next week's deadline for demolishing five apartment buildings erected illegally for settlers in the West Bank. The court has ruled that the buildings, which house 30 families in the unauthorized Ulpana outpost on the fringes of the Beit El settlement, must be razed by May 1 because they were built on privately owned Palestinian land. Netanyahu said his government is looking for "legal" ways to prevent the buildings from being demolished.


Israel legalizes West Bank settler outposts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Israel legalized three unsanctioned West Bank settler outposts and was trying to save another on Tuesday, infuriating the Palestinians as the chief American Mideast envoy was in the region laboring to revive peace efforts. The decision fueled suspicions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline coalition would try to legalize as many rogue settlement sites as possible to cement Israel's hold on occupied land the Palestinians claim for a state.


Hamas holds secret elections, picks Haniyeh as head of Gaza politburo
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - April 24, 2012 - 12:00am


Hamas recently held secret elections for the leadership of the organization's Gaza political bureau, officials in the militant group told Haaretz. According to the officials, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh won the race by a significant margin. The win in effect makes Haniyeh the Strip's first recognized Hamas political leader since Israel's assassination of Hamas' former Gaza political chief Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004.


April 23rd

NEWS: CBS' 60 Minutes profiles the plight of Palestinian Christians. Egypt cancels the delivery of natural gas to Israel, citing a payment dispute, but PM Netanyahu downplays the development. Israeli commandos raid a Liberian-registered ship searching for arms. The Israeli military says it is increasing covert operations. The EU condemns the eviction of a Palestinian family from their home in occupied East Jerusalem in favor of Israeli settlers. PM Fayyad announces Palestine has joined an IMF statistical agency. The UN says Israel displaced 67 Palestinian refugees last week. Pres. Peres says Israel could reach a peace agreement with Pres. Abbas. Israeli prosecutors are reportedly seeking a plea bargain with FM Lieberman in a corruption case. Medical malpractice cases are almost impossible to pursue in Gaza. Hunger striking Palestinian prisoners are calling attention to Israel's policy of "administrative detention.” COMMENTARY: Ha'aretz says if Netanyahu cannot enforce High Court orders, he should dissolve the government and seek a popular mandate on peace and settlement policies. Zvi Bar'el says Egypt's cancellation of the natural gas contract is a dangerous precedent. The Jewish Daily Forward says its interview with a senior Hamas leader raises both concerns and possibilities. Natasha Mozgovaya asks if it was proper for Israeli Amb. Oren to attempt to influence the 60 Minutes story on the plight of Palestinian Christians. Asharq Al-Awsat interviews PLO official Quray. Elias Harfoush says the criticism of Egyptian Grand Mufti Gomaa's visit to occupied East Jerusalem is unjustified. Kataryzna Lemanska and Stuart Reigeluth say the EU has a important opportunity to pressure Israel on its aggressive policies towards the Palestinians. Randa Haidar says Israel sees the Syrian dictatorship as the lesser of two evils, preferring it to a failed state in Syria. Rashid Khalidi responds to defenders of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on the proposed “Museum of Tolerance” to be built on a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. Yossi Alpher says Kadima leader Mofaz's ideas on peace are an important step in the right direction, but Ghassan Khatib says they show the failings of Israeli mainstream thinking in general.

When Michael Oren irked Bob Simon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am


Israeli Knesset members and diplomats have a long-term grudge against the CBS flagship program, "60 Minutes", over several critical reports that deal with the issues of Jewish settlements, the City of David and the Stuxnet computer worm. But Suday's segment of the program, dedicated to the exodus of the Palestinian Christians from cities like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, seemed to bring about record tensions.


The failings of Israel's mainstream
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am


The election of Shaul Mofaz, former Israeli minister of defense, as head of Israel's Kadima party is not surprising news, at least for Palestinians. Polls continue to show right-wing trends in Israeli public opinion, and despite differences between Mofaz and the Israeli mainstream, there remains a rift between his politics and the international consensus over the basic requirements of a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.


In the right direction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am


Judging by accepted standards for Israeli election or party-primary candidates, Shaul Mofaz of Kadima did something fairly unique. He actually presented a detailed platform to back up his candidacy to lead Kadima in that party's leadership primary in late March. Mofaz, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and minister of defense under Ariel Sharon, defeated incumbent party leader Tzipi Livni by a landslide.


Rashid Khalidi Responds to Avra Shapiro and Gil Troy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Rashid Khalidi - (Opinion) April 20, 2012 - 12:00am


It was disappointing to read Avra Shapiro’s letter on behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Sadly, it was full of red herrings, distortions and falsehoods. Firstly, Ms. Shapiro claims, “the campaign to stop construction of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem was…intended to undermine the sovereignty and authority of Israel and its juridical institutions.” She cites as evidence the role of “a declared Muslim extremist,” in initiating “the petition to Israel’s Supreme Court.”


For Israel, Assad's Regime Lesser of Two Evils
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from An-Nahar
by Randa Haidar - (Opinion) April 20, 2012 - 12:00am


It seems that Israel would prefer that Bashar al-Assad’s regime survive rather than see Syria turn into another “failed state” like its neighbors Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. These states suffer from a weak central authority and the collapse of state institutions as a result of internal fighting, chaos and competition among armed groups over control of political life.


Why Europe should reject Israeli deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Kataryzna Lemanska, Stuart Reigeluth - (Opinion) April 23, 2012 - 12:00am


From tomorrow, the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and International Trade (INTA) at the European Parliament will decide on the fate of the controversial proposed Agreement between Europe and Israel on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA). The meetings end on April 26. Those in favour of this agreement argue correctly that it will bring economic benefits to Europe as it would lift barriers to trade and lower the prices of specific industrial products entering the European market.



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