November 14th

Reducing dangers to Israeli democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Susan Hattis Rolef - (Opinion) November 13, 2011 - 1:00am Many observers, mostly left-wing liberals but not only, are worried about the state of Israeli democracy. The danger, they say, is coming from several directions. First on the list are legislative initiatives allegedly designed to discourage freedom of speech, human rights activities and a settlement of the conflict with the Palestinians based on territorial compromise, and to encourage a change in the make-up of the Supreme Court. » Read more

It's not that Israel is finding new ways to expel Palestinians, it's that no one cares ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am The affair of the rapist president Moshe Katsav is always associated in my mind with my limitations as a journalist. And the mention of the week in which the affair became public (after July 8, 2006 ) brings to mind the Israeli expulsion bureaucracy. » Read more

The anti-Bibi debacle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Deborah Danino Harkham - (Opinion) November 13, 2011 - 1:00am “I cannot stand him anymore,” said S. “He is a liar.” “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!” added O. At first, this seems like an innocuous and banal exchange – albeit petty – between colleagues indulging in gossip for lack of better things to discuss. The problem here is that the characters of this scene are not your average men on the street, they are the heads of state of two of the world’s most powerful countries: US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. » Read more

‘You are fed up with him?’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am With the Internet now everywhere, it has become impossible to suppress news YOU CAN lie to all of the people some of the time, and to some of the people all of the time, but you cannot lie to all of the people all of the time.” » Read more

Why should anyone believe Netanyahu? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am If the law enabled putting leaders on trial for serial defrauding of the public and obtaining support through deception, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be keeping company with Moshe Katsav in prison. The former president has been convicted of raping women who were his subordinates and misuse of his authority. Netanyahu is having his nefarious way with Israeli democracy and using his status in order to lead Israeli society astray, all the way to diplomatic and economic isolation. » Read more

Khaldun Bshara has dodged bullets to preserve Palestinians' heritage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Ruth Eglash - (Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am Most visitors to the Palestinian architectural company RIWAQ would be forgiven for thinking that its building and people are similar to others in the area. With its Arabesque entryway, high ceilings, and tiled floor, the stone structure that houses the firm is a standard Ottoman design common across the region. And the people, busily working behind desks, appear to be like any other office employees. » Read more

Quartet talks unlikely to jump-start negotiations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh, Tovah Lazaroff - (Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am Quartet members arrive in Israel Monday with little hope of bridging the gulf that divides the Israeli and the Palestinian leadership and has prevented the resumption of negotiations. In Ramallah on Sunday, PA President Mahmoud Abbas told US envoy David Hale that the Palestinians would not hold direct talks with Israel unless it froze West Bank settlement activity and stopped construction in east Jerusalem Jewish neighborhoods. In addition, Abbas said, Israel must accept the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution. » Read more

Intel Source: Israel Behind Deadly Explosion at Iran Missile Base ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Karl Vick - (Analysis) November 13, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli newspapers on Sunday were thick with innuendo, the front pages of the three largest dailies dominated by variations on the headline "Mysterious Explosion in Iranian Missile Base." Turn the page, and the mystery is answered with a wink. "Who Is Responsible for Attacks on the Iranian Army?" asks Maariv, and the paper lists without further comment a half-dozen other violent setbacks to Iran's nuclear and military nexus. For Israeli readers, the coy implication is that their own government was behind Saturday's massive blast just outside Tehran. » Read more

Palestinian PM urges agreement for new leader of future government ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Yang Lina - (Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on Palestinian groups to agree on a new premier to replace him in a future unity government. In an interview with the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, Fayyad rejected to be considered an obstacle on the way of reconciliation between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and the Islamic Hamas movement. » Read more

Israeli air strike kills Hamas policeman in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters (Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am An Israeli air strike on a Hamas compound in the Gaza Strip killed one policeman and wounded four others on Monday after Palestinian militants from the coastal territory fired a rocket into southern Israel. The Israeli military said the air strike "hit a terror activity centre in the northern Gaza Strip" after a rocket was fired into Israel hours earlier, causing no injuries. Palestinian medical officials said the strike targeted a naval base used by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip. Israel has said it holds Hamas responsible for any cross-border rockets fired.