The Republicans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Less than a month before the Iowa caucuses, the first step in the US presidential nomination process, Republican presidential hopefuls seem to be engaged in an attempt to outdo one another in demonstrations of support for Israel. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives who has pulled ahead of Mitt Romney in recent polls, has been the most outspoken. During a Republican debate held in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday night, Gingrich defended comments he made last week to the Jewish Channel referring to the Palestinians as an “invented people.” » Read more

If Obama goes, so will peace prospects ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Linda S. Heard - (Opinion) December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-nationalistic sidekicks must be praying for Barack Obama’s departure next January. It’s not that the US president has exactly been tightening the screws on the intransigent Israeli leader to return to the table, although unfettered by a reliance on the Jewish and Christian Zionist vote he would probably have taken a much more forceful line. » Read more

Abbas to meet EU foreign policy chief Ashton ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton Wednesday, an aide to Abbas said Tuesday. The talks between Abbas and Ashton will mainly focus on efforts to revive stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and the Palestinian quest to obtain membership in the United Nations bodies, said Abbas's adviser Majdi al-Khaldi. The meeting between Abbas and Ashton will take place when Abbas arrives in Belgium Wednesday, where he will also meet European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. » Read more

Livni blames PM for radicalization wave ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the security forces to take a firm hand against those who hurt IDF soldiers and commanders after settlers pelted the vehicle of a brigade commander and raided an army base in the West Bank on Monday night. "This warrants harsh condemnation. The security forces must be focused on protecting Israeli citizens and not on such intolerable violations of the law," he said. » Read more

Settlers: Barak to blame for rightist riots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roi Mandel - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika has pointed a finger at Defense Minister Ehud Barak following the violent incidents involving right-wing activists in the West Bank on Monday night. "Unfortunately, Ehud Barak acted like a pyromaniac and set the ground on fire intentionally by trying to destroy homes in Ramat Gilad despite the advanced talks aimed at solving the issue peacefully," Mesika said Tuesday. » Read more

Dozens of rightists break into IDF base in West Bank, wound officer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Some 50 settlers and right-wing activists entered a key West Bank military base early Tuesday morning and threw rocks, burned tires, and vandalized military vehicles. The settlers were acting in response to a rumor that the IDF would act to evict a West Bank settlement in accordance with an August Supreme Court ruling. » Read more

Settlers vandalize Israeli military base in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Over 50 settlers infiltrated an Israeli military base near Tulkarem early Tuesday, the army said. Right wing settlers set fire to tires, vandalized vehicles and placed nails along the road at the Ephraim regional division headquarters. They also threw stones at the base commander's vehicle, the army said in a statement. No injuries were reported and the army and Israeli police managed to remove settlers from the area, the military added. » Read more

Israeli lawmaker proposes ban on mosque loudspeakers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - December 13, 2011 - 1:00am The latest installment in a series of controversial legislative efforts in Israel is a proposal to restrict use of loudspeakers in houses of worship, which really means mosques as the other main religions don't use them. Lawmaker Anastassia Michaeli insists her proposal isn't aimed at silencing the Muslim call to prayer for religious or political reasons but for environmental reasons: it's too loud. » Read more

Israel’s president says he’s ‘ashamed’ of bills he says are undemocratic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press December 13, 2011 - 1:00am Israel’s president says he is “ashamed” that lawmakers are trying to pass a string of bills he regards as undemocratic. Shimon Peres’ comments break with the presidential custom of maintaining silence on political issues. In an interview with the Yediot Ahronot daily published Tuesday, Peres singled out bills that would slash funding to dovish groups, silence Muslim calls to prayer and tighten a defamation law in a way that could hobble investigative reports. » Read more

Israeli plan to move West Bank Bedouin stirs controversy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - December 12, 2011 - 1:00am A plan by the Israeli authorities to relocate about 2,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in the desert hills east of Jerusalem is raising concerns among U.N. officials and human rights advocates about Israel’s aims in a strategic area of the West Bank. The hills are dotted with more than 20 encampments of Bedouins, formerly nomadic goat and sheep herders who migrated from Israel’s southern Negev region in the early 1950s to the West Bank. Their hamlets, consisting of groups of corrugated metal and wooden shacks covered with plastic sheeting, are visible from roads crisscrossing the area. » Read more