January 21st

Obama at Half Time: Two Years in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Council on Foreign Relations by Elliott Abrams - (Blog) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am There will be many assessments of what President Obama has achieved in the Middle East during his two years as President, and few will be positive. » Read more

French FM accosted on her way into Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 21, 2011 - 1:00am A crowd of furious Palestinian protesters have tried to block the French foreign minister on her way into the Gaza Strip, jumping on her vehicle and lying on the road. Dozens of protesters surrounded Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie's convoy and tried to block her passage through the Erez Crossing from Israel on Friday. The protesters were relatives of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. They were angry about comments made by Alliot-Marie on Thursday in support of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held by Hamas militants in Gaza since 2006. » Read more

Israel concerned about possible fallout from Lebanon government split ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - January 20, 2011 - 1:00am The Lebanese political crisis, triggered by Hezbollah's departure from government last week, has Israel worried that the situation could become violent and spill over the Israel-Lebanon border. Regional efforts to mediate between Prime Minister Saad Hariri's bloc and the Hezbollah-led opposition failed today, with Turkey and Qatar giving up a day after Saudi Arabia pulled out. » Read more

FBI took long look at AIPAC activities ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Times by Eli Lake - January 18, 2011 - 1:00am FBI agents thought they were hunting a spy for Israel in 2004 when they sought to raid the offices of a top lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by The Washington Times. The 27-page document, which is still under court seal, provides an extraordinary look at what the agents considered to be espionage activity in a nearly five-year counterintelligence probe of one of the pro-Israel lobby's top officials. » Read more

Leader confounds both sides with plans for Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - January 21, 2011 - 1:00am No one seems to know what to make of him. Israelis puzzle over the cleanshaven technocrat who denounces violence. Palestinians see an outsider who never cut his teeth on the tear-gas-choked streets of intifadas. Now, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad hopes to confound expectations even further, pursuing what some see as a quixotic goal of laying the groundwork for an independent country by August. No matter that peace talks are stalled. If Palestinians build the trappings of a state, he believes, a real state will follow. » Read more

Palestinians, America and the U.N. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Hanan Ashrawi - (Opinion) January 20, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinians are well within their rights to bring the issue of Israeli settlements and their illegality before the United Nations Security Council. Our decision to do so follows both Israel’s refusal to cease all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, and America’s failure to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law and existing agreements. The United States should support such a move, not block it. » Read more

January 20th

Is Israel the only possible homeland for Jews? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Jonathan Power - (Opinion) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am Israel allows its settler movement to go on and on claiming more of the West Bank. Is there nothing that can be done? The might of America, combined with the influence of the European Union and the Arab world, have not been able to halt the territorial growth of Israel. » Read more

Is Israel the only possible homeland for Jews? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Jonathan Power - (Opinion) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am Israel allows its settler movement to go on and on claiming more of the West Bank. Is there nothing that can be done? The might of America, combined with the influence of the European Union and the Arab world, have not been able to halt the territorial growth of Israel. » Read more

The lost art of stepping down ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed - (Opinion) January 19, 2011 - 1:00am Former Arab leaders who can peacefully walk the streets of the country they once ruled are something of a rarity. In fact, there are very few former Arab leaders around today. Everyone highlights the example of [Abdel Rahman] Swar al-Dahab, who ruled Sudan for less than one year [1985-86], before voluntarily handing power over to his successor, and returning to his normal life. It is true that al-Dahab is an exception to my earlier statement, but we should not also forget that he came to power via a military coup. » Read more

Does Arab Money Fund Left-wing Israeli NGOs? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - January 19, 2011 - 1:00am In the context of Israeli politics, it is the most incendiary charge made thus far against human rights groups and other left-wing nongovernmental organizations: that some of the money that funds their work comes from Arabs — or even from terrorists. As the Knesset steams ahead with plans to probe the country’s human rights groups, critics of the NGOs are now seeking to advance this charge with a study that purports to supply supporting data. » Read more