Egypt and Israel: Within the Realm of Possibilities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Alon Ben-Meir, Amr Yossef - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Over the past few weeks, Egypt and Israel have reached the lowest point in their relations in thirty years of peace. The attack in Eilat and Israel's killing of eight Egyptian policemen on the Sinai border led to a diplomatic blame game that was only exacerbated by the Egyptian mob attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in early September. Top diplomats managed to prevent a disaster at the embassy, but the Israeli and Egyptian concerns over the episodes remains high. » Read more

Sometimes a Deal Is Just a Deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The five-year saga that will likely lead to the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit -- in one of those bizarrely asymmetrical prisoner exchanges that make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so tragic and intriguing -- has all the hallmarks of a John le Carré thriller. » Read more

Indefensible arguments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Editorial) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is busy preparing for a legal battle with the Palestinians over their application for full membership as a sovereign state in the UN. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed his ministry to draw up plans to defeat the Palestinian bid on a legal basis. The Israeli legal grounds against the Palestinians, however, are flawed and cannot withstand a fair legal scrutiny. » Read more

Will Israel bomb Iran without notifying the US? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am In recent weeks, intense discussions have taken place in Israeli military and intelligence circles about whether or not to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Apparently, the key question in the debate was how to ensure that the United States took part in the attack or, at the very least, intervened on Israel’s side if the initial strike triggered a wider war. » Read more

Non-violence is the Palestinians' strongest force ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, which should see the release of 1,027 Palestinians in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, has been hailed as a victory for both sides. It should not, however, be confused with a major political breakthrough. » Read more

The reasons for Hamas’s ‘flexibility’ on Schalit swap ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The framework deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit that the cabinet approved on Tuesday evening – 1,000 for one – is pretty much the same one the German mediator put on the table two years ago. What changed are some of the key names on the list, and where the Palestinian prisoners will go after their release. Until a couple of months ago, Hamas – according to Israeli officials – was insisting that all the names it put forward be freed. » Read more

Israeli society is standing by as settlers take the reigns ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zeev Sternhell - (Opinion) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Like every year during the days around Yom Kippur, the big question arises once again: How is it possible that we didn't notice the signs of the approaching war? But not only wars have early-warning signs - destructive social and political events do not come like a bolt from the blue either. » Read more

In Shalit deal, Israel crossed its own red lines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The unofficial list of names of prisoners to be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, which was posted Thursday on Hamas websites, reveals that Israel indeed crossed red lines in negotiating with Hamas. These are not just prisoners with "blood on their hands." Rather, the list includes some of the founders of the Hamas military wing, such as Zaher Jabarin and Yihya Sanawar, and prisoners involved in some of the most ignoble terror attacks in Israel, including the 1989 attack on bus 405 and the 1994 abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldier Nachshon Wachsman. » Read more

The myth of Hamas' victory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am In the spring of 1996, on the eve of the face-off between Shimon Peres and Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership, the head of Military Intelligence said the Iranians wanted Netanyahu to win. The MI chief sought to convey that amid the wave of Hamas suicide bombings and Peres' peace talks with the Syrians, Bibi was good for the peace objectors. » Read more

Israel does not stand alone ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am The claim of Israel’s isolation, echoed by Democratic and Republican leaders alike, is gaining status as fact. “Israel finds itself increasingly isolated, beleaguered, and besieged,” John Heilemann wrote recently in New York magazine. The Economist reported that “Israel’s isolation has .?.?. been underlined by the deterioration of its relations with Turkey and Egypt.” New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “isolating his country,” while Thomas Friedman described Israel as “adrift at sea alone.” » Read more