Schalit and the Arab Spring ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 11, 2011 - 12:00am The deal to release Gilad Schalit is without a doubt controversial. The main change, though, took place on the Israeli side, which in recent months changed its position on the deal that has retained mostly the same format since Hamas kidnapped Schalit in June, 2006. The big question is what brought about this change. The main answer is the so-called Arab Spring. Israel is concerned that the Arab regimes now in power will not be here tomorrow and that the Egyptian regime currently in power - the deal's main mediator - will not be there in a few months after elections are held in Cairo. » Read more

Hamas boosted, Fatah weakened by deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Lappin - (Analysis) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am The Hamas regime in Gaza will be significantly fortified by the Schalit deal and see its standing in the Palestinian street, and the wider Arab-Muslim world, boosted. Despite Israel’s overwhelming military superiority, Hamas has been able to force Jerusalem to negotiate with it as an equal partner, and has achieved the release of a large number of terrorists – some of whom were sentenced to life terms for personally murdering Israeli civilians. » Read more

UNRWA project breaks down stereotypes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Olivia Alabaster - (Analysis) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am Through increasing communication between young Lebanese and Palestinians, “Dignity for All,” a program organized by the U.N. Refugee and Works Agency, is hoping to combat the danger of stereotyping. En route to visit a refugee camp for the first time, Lebanese schoolchildren are asked how they view Palestinians, of which there are an estimated 400,000 in the country. Many answer that, “We know they are terrorists, and that they sell drugs.’” » Read more

We are a people ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am Recently the English-language website of Al Jazeera featured a long and meticulously argued article by Prof. Sari Nusseibeh under the title "Why Israel Can't Be a 'Jewish State.'" Nusseibeh is not only president of Al-Quds University, a scion of one of the most respected Palestinian patrician families and the most prominent Palestinian intellectual: He is also known for his moderate views and his principled opposition to terrorism, and more than once put himself in danger because of these views. » Read more

Israel razes Jordan Valley mosque for third time ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Agence France Press (AFP) - October 12, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli forces have demolished for the third time a mosque in a remote Bedouin village in the Jordan valley, Palestinian security forces said. The demolition took place in the village of Khirbet Yarza, some five kilometres east of Tubas in the northeastern corner of the West Bank. The mosque has been demolished twice before, once in February and in November 2010, when troops razed the mosque, its much larger extension, and various animal stables. » Read more

Barak apologizes for deaths of Egyptian officers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoav Zitun - October 11, 2011 - 12:00am On the backdrop of reports on a possible breakthrough in a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday issued an apology to Cairo for the deaths of Egyptian border guard patrol officers from IDF fire during the terror attack in southern Israel in August. » Read more

Implications of a Shalit Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations by Robert Danin - (Opinion) October 11, 2011 - 12:00am As of this posting, the Israeli cabinet is still meeting in an emergency session to discuss a deal aimed at securing the release of Gilad Shalit, abducted by Hamas in June of 2006 on the Israeli-Gaza border. Details remain scant. Initial reports suggest more than 1,000 Palestinians, currently held by Israel, would be exchanged in return for Corporal Shalit. While it is early to speculate too widely with so little still known, I will nonetheless venture a few initial conclusions on what such a deal would mean. » Read more

US: Mideast Quartet seeks October 23 talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 12, 2011 - 12:00am The Mideast Quartet seeking a peace settlement in the Middle East has called for Israel and the PLO to resume their talks on October 23 in Jordan, a US official said Tuesday. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said envoys for the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union met on Sunday and called for "a first preliminary meeting of the parties" on that date. » Read more

Prisoner Swap Shows Abbas Weakness ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Dan Ephron - (Opinion) October 12, 2011 - 12:00am For most Palestinians, the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas is a cause for celebration. For President Mahmoud Abbas, it’s shaping up as political blow and a security headache. » Read more

Abbas falls short of Colombian support for UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 12, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas left Colombia empty-handed Tuesday after failing to secure support from President Juan Manuel Santos for his bid to gain state recognition at the United Nations. "We want the Palestinian state to exist. But this can only come as the result of a (UN) vote or resolution. It must be the product of negotiations (between Israelis and Palestinians) because this is the only way to achieve peace," Santos said after meeting Abbas in Bogota. » Read more