February 8th

Obama's visit to Israel is better late than never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am The timing of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel is no accident. The visit presumably attests to the new order of priorities of Obama's second term, the great importance he attaches to immediate movement in negotiations with the Palestinians, and the close relationship he sees between the peace process and stability in a Middle East undergoing convulsions. » Read more

Chill Out, John Kerry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Republic by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Here we go again.  A recently minted American secretary of state eager to burnish his foreign policy credentials barely a day after his confirmation has already called both the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian president to discuss the importance of trying to resume the peace process and to express America’s commitment to Arab-Israeli peace.  » Read more

The Role of Psychological Resistance ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Alon Ben-Meir - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Brief Synopsis: The most puzzling aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that after 65 years of mutual violence, enmity and suffering, it remains unresolved even when coexistence is inevitable and a two-state solution remains the only viable option. Although there are many contentious issues that must be specifically addressed, it is the psychological dimension of the conflict which directly impacts every conflicting issue and makes it increasingly intractable. » Read more

Welcome, Secretary Kerry! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Uri Savir - (Opinion) February 7, 2013 - 1:00am Congratulations to John Kerry on his taking office as secretary of state of the United States. President Barack Obama could not have made a better choice than a man who was himself close to being in the Oval Office, a liberal democrat from Massachusetts with bipartisan support, a champion of human rights and democracy who understands all too well the might of the United States as leader of the free world, a true American and a cosmopolitan man who fathoms the changing world. » Read more

February 7th

Hezbollah’s Bulgaria Problem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya by Joyce Karam - February 6, 2013 - 1:00am The Bulgarian probe linking Hezbollah to the attack on the Israeli tourist bus in the city of Burgas last July, spells trouble in more than one way for the Lebanese group. The charges could spur the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and thus complicate its funding and diplomatic operations, as well as add pressure on the group within Lebanon. » Read more

Kerry Must Hurry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Yossi Beilin - February 6, 2013 - 1:00am Aaron David Miller is one of the most important American figures in the Middle East peace camp. Having served in the State Department for many years, he—like many of us, has oscillated between short phases of hope and long periods of frustration. However, unlike many of his colleagues, he has never sunk into pessimism but rather solely maintains a healthy dose of cynicism and much caution when advising new Secretary of State John Kerry. » Read more

More Than a Land Grab ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Raja Shehadeh - (Opinion) February 6, 2013 - 1:00am   » Read more

Israelis Love to Argue... ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Natan Sachs - (Opinion) February 6, 2013 - 1:00am President Barack Obama's announced trip to Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank in March appears at once premature and long overdue. Premature because the tangible goals of this trip seem, as yet, unclear. Overdue because -- as many critics have suggested -- his failure to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority in his first term contributed to a sense, among Israelis in particular, of a presidential cold shoulder. » Read more

IDF breaks pledge to remove West Bank fences severing Palestinian land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - February 7, 2013 - 1:00am The Israel Defense Forces broke a pledge to the High Court of Justice, and has not removed two illegal fences around settlements, which prevent Palestinian farmers from reaching their land. The IDF had pledged to remove the fences by the end of 2012, but work has not yet begun and no forecast has been made as to when it might start. » Read more

The Death of Cinema in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Asmaa Al-Ghoul - February 6, 2013 - 1:00am Heavy slabs of concrete seal the doors of al-Nasr Cinema in Gaza City. Not one aperture exists through which you can see the interior of the building, which has been abandoned for decades. Its towering walls loom over the street, stained black from the old fire. In the 1980s, these walls housed one of the largest cinemas in the Middle East, but now new generations in the Gaza Strip grow old having never been inside a cinema. Memories of better times » Read more