Why did PM greenlight Gilo housing project? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am A decision by the Interior Ministry in March 2010 during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden to issue a tender for the construction of a new housing project in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, which is over the Green Line, sparked a mini-crisis with the US and brought ties between the two countries to their lowest point in years. » Read more

Are Republican politicians good for Jews? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from My Journal Courier by Steve Hochstadt - (Opinion) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am Some people think Jews are supposed to be smart. A Mitt Romney fundraiser said in August that some Jews are so dumb they think Michele Bachmann, the fundamentalist Christian Republican raised in Iowa, is “the Jewish candidate.” He complained: “It’s a real problem. We’re working very hard in the Jewish community because of Obama’s Israel problem. This was surprising.” So surprising that in one day the story spread across the world, from the New York Post to Fox News to the London Daily Mail to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. » Read more

The American Veto is also an Iranian One ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Zuheir Kseibati - (Opinion) October 3, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas, ever since he put forward the request for membership of the state of Palestine at the United Nations, is facing not only the American veto prepared in advance, as a first look at the developments of “the day after” indicates a trilateral punishment: » Read more

Opposing Statehood Bid, Supporting a New Path to Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Logan Bayroff - (Opinion) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am At college campuses across the country this fall, students are lining up on one side or the other of the most current fault line in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: To support the Palestinian statehood bid, or not? » Read more

Jewish terrorism gaining steam ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am The attack against the mosque in the Galilee on Sunday is a clear escalation – and if proven to have been carried out by right-wing extremists – it will be just the latest sign that Jewish terrorism is gaining steam. The target chosen raises serious questions about the motivations of the alleged perpetrators. While attacks on mosques in the West Bank have sadly become something of the norm in recent years, an attack on a mosque in an Israeli town is quite rare, particularly in a Beduin village like Tuba Zanghariya, whose residents serve in the IDF. » Read more

‘Price Tag’ Vandals Mark Up Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am The escalation in “price tag” attacks on Arab targets and even on the property of the Israeli establishment is a sign of a sense of growing alienation among the Jewish extremist fringe, analysts say. The latest attack suspected of being carried out by Jewish extremist was the torching Monday of a mosque in a Bedouin village in northern Israel. It was the first time vigilantes are believed to have struck inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders rather than in the West Bank. » Read more

Encountering Peace: Yes, but! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 3, 2011 - 12:00am Ah, the status quo, it’s so good, let it only last. September is gone. The UN is behind us. No tsunami, no international sanctions. In fact, Israel came out pretty good from the whole thing. » Read more

Senseless Jewish thugs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Hagai Segal - (Opinion) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am The residents of Tuba Zangaria who woke up Monday to find a burned down mosque can take comfort in one thing: The entire Jewish spectrum of opinion was horrified by this act. With the exception of the graffiti left on the mosque’s wall, we did not read or hear Monday even one justification in Hebrew to the arson in the north. Hence, it is quite clear that the fire at the mosque represents, more or less, the people who torched it with their own hands: A small, thuggish and childish group. » Read more

Palestinian PM: Israel's West Bank separation fence will fall like Berlin Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad Monday said the half-concrete, half fence barrier Israel is building along the West Bank will fall just as the Berlin Wall did. Speaking at a reception at the German Representative Office in Ramallah to mark the Day of German Unity, Fayyad said the barrier, which in places snakes deep into the West Bank, "is going to fall under the will of the Palestinian people just as the Berlin wall had fallen under the will of the German people who wanted to reunite their country." » Read more

Nigeria: Nation Shies On Palestinian UN Bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from All Africa October 4, 2011 - 12:00am Nigeria is refusing to say how it will vote when the United Nations Security Council decides on the Palestinians' request for U.N. membership, as increasing diplomatic pressure mounts on the oil-rich West African nation. Nigeria appears to be a crucial vote as Palestinians try to secure support from at least nine of the 15 council members. The U.S. has said it will veto the request. However, the U.S. could avoid that if Palestinians fail to get those nine votes. » Read more