Arab Spring may endanger Mideast peace - Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alertnet by Tom Pfeiffer - (Analysis) October 23, 2011 - 12:00am Arab pro-democracy uprisings spell more regional instability that could complicate peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians but also make it necessary to get the process back on track, envoy Tony Blair said on Sunday. Blair will sit down separately with Israeli and Palestinian officials this week in Jerusalem to try to revive a peace process that broke down more than a year ago because of a dispute over Jewish settlement expansion. » Read more

The real threat to Israel's Jewish character ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shlomo Avineri - (Opinion) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is a Jewish state - this was the international legitimacy it received in the 1947 UN Partition Plan, this is the principle underlying its Declaration of Independence, Law of Return, Citizenship Law and a long list of laws, regulations and customs. All Israeli governments, left or right, followed this, and Israel's social reality is imbued with it. After a few hours in the country, a visitor from Mars would have no difficulty realizing that he had landed in a Jewish state. » Read more

Netanyahu is holding Israel hostage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am When you hugged Gilad Shalit's fragile body to your chest, perhaps you thought of your brother Yoni, who gave his life for the ethos that one doesn't negotiate with terrorists. When you heard the cries of joy in Gaza at the sight of the murderers you had set free, perhaps you recalled the countless speeches you gave, and the book you wrote, about the necessity of waging an uncompromising war on terror: They are what paved your way from a Jerusalem furniture factory to Israel's top job. And one can safely assume your elderly father wasn't enthusiastic over your "capitulation to terror." » Read more

United States needs to reevaluate its assistance to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Walter Pincus - (Opinion) October 17, 2011 - 12:00am As the country reviews its spending on defense and foreign assistance, it is time to examine the funding the United States provides to Israel. Let me put it another way: Nine days ago, the Israeli cabinet reacted to months of demonstrations against the high cost of living there and agreed to raise taxes on corporations and people with high incomes ($130,000 a year). It also approved cutting more than $850 million, or about 5 percent, from its roughly $16 billion defense budget in each of the next two years. » Read more

Egypt envoy: Palestinian reconciliation a top priority ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman said Sunday that reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah is a top priority for the Egyptian leadership. President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Egypt on Friday to discuss implementation of the deal reached on May 4 and brokered by Egypt, but which has yet to be carried out. The Egyptian leadership is willing to focus its efforts on carrying out the reconciliation deal, Othman said, noting that the leadership places great importance on its implementation. » Read more

Hamas: Israel will not release top figures or criminals ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am Israel will not release top security prisoners or common criminals in the second phase of the prisoner swap deal with Hamas, senior movement official Mahmoud Zahhar said Sunday. Under the second phase of the deal reached last week, 550 Palestinians -- who remain unnamed -- will be freed from Israeli jails within two months, coming after the release of 477 prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on Tuesday. » Read more

With Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange finished, attention turns to security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) October 18, 2011 - 12:00am The unprecedented prisoner exchange today between Israel and Hamas will shift attention in the coming months to undermining the possibility of an upsurge in violence in the West Bank, where hundreds of Palestinian prisoners returned today after being released in return for Gilad Shalit. » Read more

New York mayor visits Jerusalem, dedicates first aid station, meets Israeli premier ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Associated Press - (Analysis) October 23, 2011 - 12:00am New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in Jerusalem to dedicate a first aid station and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bloomberg dedicated the station, built with the help of donations from him and other Americans and named for his father, in a ceremony Sunday. Meeting with Netanyahu, Bloomberg gave the Israeli leader a U.S. flag and asked him to pass it on to the family of Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier freed last week in a prisoner swap with Hamas. » Read more

Palestinian Bid for Full Unesco Membership Imperils American Financing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - October 23, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian bid for full membership in Unesco — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — has put both Washington and the organization into an urgent bind. United States legislation dating back more than 15 years mandates a complete cutoff of American financing to any United Nations agency that accepts the Palestinians as a full member. Unesco depends on the United States for 22 percent of its budget, about $70 million a year. » Read more