October 15th, 2012

Abbas says Olmert was "two months" from peace deal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
October 14, 2012 - 12:00am


RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 14 (Reuters) - In comments that may stir Israel's election campaign, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that he and Ehud Olmert were "two months" away from a peace deal before Olmert had to resign as Israeli prime minister.


Egypt's Islamists play to anti-Israel sentiment
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Aya Batrawy - October 13, 2012 - 12:00am


CAIRO — A fiery tirade against Jews by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's leader highlights one of the foremost diplomatic challenges facing the country's new Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as he balances popular sentiment with the need for security relations with Israel.


US drops Gaza scholarships after Israel travel ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Lauren E. Bohn - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Amal Ashour, 18, loves Shakespeare and American pop music. One of the brightest students in the Gaza Strip, she studied her senior year of high school in Minnesota through a U.S.-government funded program.


US drops Gaza scholarships after Israel travel ban
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
October 15, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Amal Ashour, 18, loves Shakespeare and American pop music. One of the brightest students in the Gaza Strip, she studied her senior year of high school in Minnesota through a U.S.-government funded program.


Israeli Ex-Soldier Recalls Captivity Under Militants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM — Almost a year after he was released from five years of captivity in Gaza, Gilad Shalit, the former Israeli soldier, has revealed more details of how he coped with the ordeal and his fears of being forgotten.


Palestinian militant dies in continuous Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, putting death toll to 5
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 15, 2012 - 12:00am


GAZA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian militant died Sunday shortly after he was injured in the continuous Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza Strip, putting the number of Palestinians killed in the round of violence to five, according to medics.


All-Female Ticket Aims to Be Heard, if Not Seen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - October 14, 2012 - 12:00am


HEBRON, West Bank — The faces of five men in business suits and one woman in a white head scarf beam under the slogan “Modern Hebron” on campaign banners along the streets of this famously conservative city ahead of local elections scheduled for Saturday. Other banners saying “Hebron Independents” feature 12 less formal photos, including three women, with looks more stern than smiling.


October 12th

NEWS:Yedioth Ahronoth claims secret peace negotiations took place between the Israeli and Syrian governments in late 2010. Hezbollah confirms it launched a drone over Israel. Iran and the economy are likely to dominate Israel's upcoming election. A poll suggests a super-coalition of left of center parties could win a majority. Hamas bans the announcement of a new Salafist party in Gaza. The ADL withdraws from an interfaith dialogue group over questions about US aid to Israel. Palestinian university staff in the West Bank and Gaza may go on strike. The PA and Jordan sign agricultural cooperation agreements.Israeli settlers are accused of stealing tons of topsoil from Palestinian land. Israel announces another initiative to establish a special police unit to deal with settler terrorism. A human rights group says the Israeli government is not doing enough to protect Palestinian olive trees from destruction by Israeli settlers. In rare cases settlers are helping and cooperating with Palestinians. Real estate in Gaza has become among the most expensive land in the world.The spiritual head of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says “jihad” is the only way to deal with Israel. COMMENTARY: Shmuel Rosner recounts an ideological Israeli tour of the occupied West Bank that suggests Israel should control the area permanently.Ha'aretz says Israel needs to do more to fight discrimination against Arab women. Adi Schwartz says it is high time that Israel raised the issue of Jewish refugees and migrants from the Arab world. Meron Benvenisti tells other Jewish Israelis to "stop whining" and become one-staters. Ha'aretz interviews released PA prisoner Zakaria Zubeidi. Gilead Sher says both Israel and the Palestinians should engage in “constructive unilateralism.” Tariq Alhomayed says while Hamas leader Mishaal is admitting the organization's failures, it is in fact linked to a generalized governance failure of Islamists. Helmi Moussa says rocket attacks from Gaza challenge Israel's strategy. Gil Troy says he cannot bring himself to vote for PM Netanyahu. Graham Allison says Israel has credibility problems with its talk of “red lines” regarding Iran. Jonathan Schanzer looks at the succession and power struggles in Hamas.

Reality catches up with Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Schanzer - (Opinion) October 12, 2012 - 12:00am


Hamas' long-standing political leader Khaled Meshal was in trouble the moment Western sanctions - punishment for Iran's illicit nuclear activities - began eating into Tehran's funding for its longtime Palestinian proxy. Meshal's job, after all, was to manage the lucrative Iran-Syria-Hamas axis. Then Bashar Assad began mowing down Sunnis in Syria, making it impossible for Hamas to remain there without appearing complicit. When the group pulled its headquarters out of Damascus in February, there was no denying it: Meshal was toast.


Red Lines in the Sand
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Graham Allison - (Opinion) October 11, 2012 - 12:00am


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been campaigning for an unambiguous red line to stop Iran's nuclear advance. In an infelicitous foray into American politics last month, he took to the Sunday morning television shows to insist that Barack Obama act to stop Iran, saying, "You have to place that red line before them now." Smarting from the Obama administration's refusals, he challenged the U.S.



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