April 6th

Shin Bet: Action Against Jewish Extremists Has Reduced Attacks on Palestinians in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Shin Bet security service officials say their actions against extreme right-wing activists have led to a significant reduction in violent incidents against Palestinians. Senior Shin Bet officials, from the unit monitoring the activists’ activity in the West Bank, made the statement recently at an internal defense establishment meeting dealing with events in the extreme right. » Read more

Israel Should Not Rejoice About Cornering Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) March 25, 2012 - 12:00am A letter rests on the table of the chairman of the Palestinian Authority (yes, such an entity still exists), Abu Mazen. The addressee is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The letter is biting, explosive, a true hot potato that can burn up the entire room — but it has not yet been sent to its destination. The Palestinians have already showed the letter to the Americans, the Europeans and other entities that are now putting heavy pressure on Abu Mazen to stop or at least delay the message. » Read more

Israeli Army Warns Against Attacks on Israeli, Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz on Thursday revealed a new deterrence policy towards attacks on Israelis or Jews worldwide, which specifically warned Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran. Gantz announced the army's new policy during a conference at an army base near Tel Aviv, the IDF Spokesman's office told Xinhua Thursday evening. » Read more

Iran has saved Bashar Assad (for now) ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Blog) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am The ongoing debate for and against international intervention in Syria has been rendered obsolete by the mounting evidence that at least one nation has already very much intervened. The details emerging over the last few days can leave little doubt that the active campaign of support by the Iranian regime has ensured that President Bashar Assad will remain the absolute ruler of Syria for the foreseeable future. » Read more

Palestinian PM Begins Initial Contacts for New Gov’t Reshuffle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Salam Fayyad, premier of the Palestinian caretaker government in the West Bank, has begun initial contacts to reshuffle his cabinet in a bid to treat an internal deficiency, an official source said Friday. The source in Fayyad's government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Fayyad has finally agreed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reshuffle the government, without setting up a specific date. » Read more

In Israel, small steps toward peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Miami Herald by Frida Ghitis - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Little more than a week from now, after the Jewish holiday of Passover ends, an interesting interaction will unfold between Israelis and Palestinians — at least that’s what the two sides are planning at this moment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will host Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office. Fayyad will hand the Israeli leader a letter from PA President Mahmoud Abbas in which he will blame Israel for the lack of peace negotiations and spell out four Palestinian conditions to restart talks. » Read more

The important message of Peter Beinart ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Don Futterman - (Opinion) April 6, 2012 - 12:00am Peter Beinart has been pilloried because of his call in a recent New York Times op-ed and in his newly published book, "The Crisis of Zionism," for a Zionist boycott of West Bank settlements. Beinart, former editor of the New Republic and founder of the new online forum "Open Zion," is tackling the concealed heart of our government's strategy: its campaign to erase any distinction between the occupied territories and Israel. Beinart has staked out a brave position, particularly in today's Zionist landscape. » Read more

Christians Mark Good Friday in the Holy Land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniella Cheslow - April 6, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Land commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Friday in prayers and processions through Jerusalem's Old City. In the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem, Palestinian Catholics re-enacted Jesus' stations of the cross in their olive groves and vineyards. Father Ibrahim Shomali led the Good Friday procession in Arabic, wearing a white tunic and purple clerical shawl. Dozens of believers followed him, bearing Palestinian flags and olivewood crosses. » Read more

Abbas Urged to Investigate Land Day Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency April 6, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian civil society and activists on Wednesday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to investigate attacks on demonstrators during a rally to mark Land Day. A coalition of NGOs and civil society leaders called on the president to form an "independent and transparent" committee to investigate an attack on MP Mustafa Barghouti, who was injured at a demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah on March 30. » Read more

Israel's Resilient Democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am At 64, Israel is older than more than half of the democracies in the world. The Jewish state, moreover, belongs to a tiny group of countries -- the United States, Britain, and Canada among them -- never to have suffered intervals of non-democratic governance. Since its inception, Israel has been threatened ceaselessly with destruction. Yet it never once succumbed to the wartime pressures that often crush democracies. » Read more