October 1st, 2012

Qatar opens diplomatic office in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
October 30, 2012 - 12:00am


GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In a boost to Gaza's Hamas government, the Gulf state of Qatar said on Sunday it opened the first diplomatic office in the isolated territory since the Islamic military group took power five years ago.


Spare a Thought for Bibi’s Medievalists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Daniel Levy - (Opinion) September 28, 2012 - 12:00am


Let’s face it: September 27th, 2012, was not a good day for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office props and graphics department.


Hamas corruption weighs heavily on Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Tamir Haddad - (Opinion) October 1, 2012 - 12:00am


Recently, an official of the Finance Ministry in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip announced that since 2006 the office had not received a single report of corruption. Whether or not this is true, the fact is that Hamas corruption is not only pervasive in Gaza, it has also been detrimental to the greater social and economic good.


Palestinian Authority’s woes are a problem for US, Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) October 1, 2012 - 12:00am


The Palestinian Authority is on the verge of financial collapse — and that’s not just a problem for Palestinians. It is also bad news for the United States and Israel, both of which say they support a future Palestinian state. Unrest is spreading in the West Bank over high prices and delayed salary payments by the Palestinian Authority, the area’s largest employer. Economic woes add to mounting frustration after four years of stalled peace talks.


Snubbed by Obama?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) September 30, 2012 - 12:00am


President Obama did not meet with Egypt's Mohamed Morsi or Israel's


Mitt Romney: A New Course for the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Mitt Romney - (Opinion) September 30, 2012 - 12:00am


Disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater Middle East. In Syria, tens of thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has come to power, and the country's peace treaty with Israel hangs in the balance. In Libya, our ambassador was murdered in a terrorist attack. U.S. embassies throughout the region have been stormed in violent protests. And in Iran, the ayatollahs continue to move full tilt toward nuclear-weapons capability, all the while promising to annihilate Israel.


September 28th

Mideast Peace Mired as Abbas Trades Taunts With Netanyahu
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Bloomberg - September 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged taunts at the United Nations as the world body watched a peace process that has all but slipped away.


NEWS: Pres. Abbas and PM Netanyahu separately address the UN General Assembly. As expected, Abbas asks for an upgrade of Palestine's status to UN nonmember observer state, but most Palestinians seem unimpressed. Netanyahu's speech is widely derided in Israel. Hamas denounces Abbas' initiative. Israelis conclude Netanyahu speech means there will be no war this year. Iran vows to retaliate if attacked. Israeli troops wound two Palestinians in northern Gaza. Four more Palestinians are killed in northern Syria. Gaza smugglers say their tunnel networks are operating at approximately 10 percent. Hamas officials say Egypt has promised to ease border restrictions in the coming days. Hamas bans fruit imports from Israel into Gaza, claiming the area is “self-sufficient.” The BBC looks at Israel's new campaign on Jewish refugees and migrants from the Arab world. Hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem say they face an unprecedented financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Yehouda Shenhav says Israel is trying to use Mizrahi Jews as pawns against Palestinian refugees. Saud Abu Ramadan looks at the politics behind the latest Palestinian UN initiative. David Andrew Weinberg analyzes Netanyahu's “meddling” in the US presidential election. Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff say the security situation on the Israeli-Egypt border has reached a crisis point. The Economist notes that the government of Pres. Morsy has done almost nothing to help Hamas. Jonathan Marcus says Abbas and Netanyahu's UN speeches show they have other priorities than the peace process. Hugh Naylor says the speeches offer little hope for peace. Mark Perry speculates about what an Israeli attack against Iran might look like.

The Entebbe Option
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Mark Perry - (Opinion) September 27, 2012 - 12:00am


While no one in the Barack Obama administration knows whether Israel will strike Iran's nuclear program, America's war planners are preparing for a wide array of potential Israeli military options -- while also trying to limit the chances of the United States being drawn into a potentially bloody conflict in the Persian Gulf. 


Netanyahu and Abbas offer little hope for future peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - (Opinion) September 28, 2012 - 12:00am


JERUSALEM // The Palestinians and Israelis diverge on almost every issue but what they do have in common is that they have done little to satisfy the administration of Barack Obama. In his address at the United Nations yesterday, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, called for world recognition of a Palestinian state while Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, demanded firmer international pressure on Iran.



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