April 18th

Hamas leader wants Israeli soldier held until demands met ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua April 16, 2011 - 12:00am The deposed premier of the Hamas government called on the Islamic movement to keep holding a soldier hostage unless Israel accepts Palestinian demands. In a speech in Gaza City, Ismail Haneya also called on the Palestinian people to support his movement to "achieve an honorable swap" in which a number of Palestinian and Arab prisoners will be released from Israeli jails. The Hamas kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid near the Gaza Strip in 2006. Germany and Egypt have mediated to broker a deal between the Hamas and Israel, but the gap between the two sides was wide.

Supporting Israel means questioning its policies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Edgar M. Bronfman - (Opinion) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am Last month, I met with a man who impressed me as none other has over the last 10 years. His name is David Grossman, and he was in New York to receive the National Jewish Book Award for his magnificent novel "To the End of the Land." Grossman, whose talent is enormous, has been fighting for peace in his country for 30 years. » Read more

Netanyahu choice: Cabinet stability or Israel's interests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amir Oren - (Opinion) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am Who was chiefly responsible for the fact that Israel was surprised by the Egyptian and Syrian attacks on Yom Kippur in 1973? Many say that it was the Intelligence branch of the Israel Defense Forces - and in particular, the head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Eli Zeira. The chief of staff during that war, David Elazar, also pointed an accusatory finger upward, to then defense minister Moshe Dayan, while Dayan placed almost all the blame on the lower echelon, leaving it with Zeira. Dayan deflected a little of the excess criticism in the direction of the prime minister, Golda Meir. » Read more

Netanyahu concerned new Egypt government will be anti-Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am Three months into the Egyptian revolution, Israel is concerned that the new government's policy toward Israel could become hostile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told European Union ambassadors last week in Jerusalem. "I am very concerned over some of the voices we've been hearing from Egypt recently," Netanyahu told the envoys. "I'm especially concerned over the current Egyptian foreign minster's statements." » Read more

Turkish Minister: Lieberman still acts like bouncer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews April 17, 2011 - 12:00am Turkish Minister Egemen Bagis mocked Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during a recent Television appearance on a local talk show. Speaking ahead of the upcoming elections in the country, Bagis said "In Israel, they have a foreign minister who flushes the toilet during a radio interview. In his youth, he was a bouncer at a nightclub in Moldova. He still thinks of himself as a bouncer, and can't make the transition into the role of a politician," he said. » Read more

Itamar attack: 'My son was tortured into confessing' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am The families of the two terrorists who confessed to murdering five members of the Fogel family refuse to believe the two committed the massacre. Hakim Awad's mother, Nawef, claimed that her son was at home the night of the murder and never left the house. "Five months ago Hakim underwent a surgery in his stomach and I'm sure he was tortured and forced into confessing." The mother claimed that Israel was trying to cover up for crimes it committed in Awarta last month and noted that their home in the village was very far from the settlement of Itamar. » Read more

Awarta stunned over Itamar attack revelation; 'They're just kids' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am Following Sunday's revelations with regards to the arrest of two Palestinians from the village of Awarta for the murder of the Fogel family in the Itamar massacre last March, villagers in Awarta, the village adjacent to the settlement of Itamar, were stunned to discover that two teens, Hakim Mazen Awad (18) and Amjad Mohammad Awad (19) are the main murder suspects. » Read more

Kassam rocket fired explodes in Sha'ar HaNegev, none hurt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yoni Cohen, Debra Kamin - April 18, 2011 - 12:00am A Kassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council Monday afternoon. Warning sirens sounded prior to the rocket landing. Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld confirmed that the rocket landed near a kibbutz in the area. No injuries or damage were reported. The South has experienced a relative calm for over a week since a tense ceasefire with Hamas was brokered. Last Friday, two Grad rockets exploded separately in the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod overnight. No casualties or damages were reported.

Likud's right gears up to fight 'Bar Ilan 2' speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Rebecca Anna Stoil - April 17, 2011 - 12:00am The Likud’s right wing geared up for a fight before the Pessah holiday, with MK Danny Danon requesting a special faction meeting before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s anticipated trip to the US next month. Danon expressed concern Sunday that “instead of hearing from the prime minister what he intends to tell the Americans from him, we’ll end up hearing it first on C-Span, the congressional television channel.” Netanyahu is expected to address Congress on May 24, in what some are already dubbing “Bar-Ilan II.” » Read more

US-Israel relations: An Interview with Gil Hoffman ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Interview) April 18, 2011 - 12:00am Gil Hoffman is the chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post. I met him in Cincinnati, where he spoke on recent developments in the Middle East. What follows is a synopsis of our interview together (4/5/2011). Q: Netanyahu, Abbas, and Obama all agree in theory on the need for peace through a two-state solution. Why is there currently no progress on this issue? » Read more