February 8th

Lapid and Bennett – a love story ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) February 8, 2013 - 1:00am The only thing that I can do better than being foreign minister, says Yair Lapid, is to be chairman of the opposition. Lapid does not fear the opposition. In fact, the opposite might be true. If he were to join the government, it would be hard to meet expectations. He has made promises, and now he would need to follow through with them. In Binyamin Netanyahu’s government, so far not one person has actually kept his or her promise (including Netanyahu himself). » Read more

Abbas meets Jihad leader over national reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 8, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

What's in a name? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) February 8, 2013 - 1:00am Maybe it was an inside joke. Or perhaps the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was simply short on sleep when he mangled the name of his Egyptian counterpart - President Mohammed Morsi - and combined it with that of his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. Either way, the near-blunder was a surreal moment in a country that is just barely dealing with reality. » Read more

Fatah, Hamas to discuss unity government Sunday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Fatah and Hamas officials will meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the composition of a unity government, Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said Thursday. Leaders of the major Palestinian parties are already in the Egyptian capital ahead of series of meeting designed to hammer out the details of the long-stalled 2011 reconciliation agreement. A joint government to oversee fresh elections and reunite the West Bank and Gaza is a key component of the deal. » Read more

Twilight zone of peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoaz Hendal - (Opinion) February 8, 2013 - 1:00am A photo is worth a thousand explanations: The connection between Abbas and Ahmadinejad symbolizes the essence of Israel's obstacle on the road to negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

An Unlikely Path to Palestinian Fatherhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Khaled Abu Aker - February 7, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Obama Complicates Netanyahu’s Coalition Talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am For all the speculation over what President Obama plans to say to Prime Minister Netanyahu when the two meet in Jerusalem in March or April, the important message has already been delivered. By making Israel his first overseas destination, the president has made it the top item on his second-term foreign-policy agenda. And with all due respect to the prime minister’s domestic political constraints, that means the president intends to create some movement toward Israeli-Palestinian peace. » Read more

Obama’s Israel trip is not about Middle East peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Josh Rogin - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Israel next month for the first time in his presidency, but few are expecting him to make a substantive push for real progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. » Read more

Netanyahu aides deny he is considering settlement freeze ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - February 8, 2013 - 1:00am   Sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau denied Thursday that he is considering another freeze on settlement construction in an effort to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

Boosting ties ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am On several occasions during his first term – particularly at times when it seemed that relations between Jerusalem and Washington were strained – The Jerusalem Post called on US President Barack Obama to visit Israel. Now the visit is apparently about to happen and we welcome the US president with open arms. » Read more