October 25th

Time to lift Gaza siege ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sari Bashi - (Opinion) October 25, 2011 - 12:00am In the past five years it was impossible to separate the Gaza siege policy from Gilad Shalit’s captivity. During these years, Israeli decision-makers, who made no progress in negotiations with Hamas, invested their efforts in formulating and implementing a policy that would express the public’s fury and frustration. » Read more

Not relevant to the real issue ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am The best hint the Middle East could provide as to the ramifications of last week's prisoner exchange for the overall conflict came two days after the exchange itself. It was the dramatic death of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. The pace of events in the region, particular in light of the Arab revolutions surrounding Israel and Palestine, is so great and so varied and unpredictable that no single event involving repatriated prisoners could possibly have a lasting effect. » Read more

No impact on a dead process ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ghassan Khatib - (Opinion) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am Perhaps surprisingly to some, the exchange of prisoners negotiated between Israel and Hamas, with Egypt's mediation, might not have any impact at all on the peace process. This deal was most remarkable in its overwhelmingly positive reception by the Israeli and Palestinian publics. Israelis were a little bit cautious but mostly supportive. Palestinians, for their part, considered it a huge achievement. Despite this "win-win" outcome, it is difficult for any deal to have an impact on a political process that simply no longer exists. » Read more

With Shalit free, Israel should end Gaza blockade, which only boosts Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Sari Bashi - (Opinion) October 25, 2011 - 12:00am In the past five years it was impossible to separate the Gaza siege policy from Gilad Shalit’s captivity. During these years, Israeli decision-makers, who made no progress in negotiations with Hamas, invested their efforts in formulating and implementing a policy that would express the public’s fury and frustration. » Read more

The IDF must not be turned into the army of the Lord ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Anshel Pfeffer - (Opinion) October 25, 2011 - 12:00am The most disappointing response to the fact that 100 female soldiers were instructed to sit in a separate section during the traditional celebrations at the end of the Simhat Torah holiday last week at an Israel Defense Forces base came perhaps from a secular officer. "What's the problem? They set up a separate place for them to dance," he said. Even worse was the off-the-cuff remark of another officer, also secular, who said: "That's customary; it's what they did last year, too." » Read more

As 2012 Polls Loom, Caution's the Word for Obama Foreign Policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Barbara Slavin - (Analysis) October 20, 2011 - 12:00am Ronald Reagan quickly withdrew U.S. troops from Lebanon in 1983, a year before he sought re-election, after the U.S. forces there became the target of bombings by Shiite militants. George W. Bush launched the war in Iraq in 2003 in part because he didn't want to start a new conflict a year later. And Bill Clinton waited until almost the end of his second term to make a concerted push for Israeli-Palestinian peace. » Read more

Netanyahu must treat Abbas as a genuine peace partner ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am Haaretz's Barak Ravid reported Monday that the Israel Defense Forces' top officers are crafting a proposal to mitigate the damage to the Palestinian Authority's status caused by Hamas' success in freeing over 1,000 prisoners. In addition to the release of Fatah prisoners in the Shalit deal's second stage, the IDF recommends significant gestures that will allow PA President Mahmoud Abbas to present accomplishments to the Palestinian people. One proposal considers handing over empty lands to the PA (lands that remain under Israel's security authority under the Oslo Accords ). » Read more

Israeli officer loses command, a month after death of protester ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am The commander of an Israeli army unit whose soldiers shot dead a Palestinian protester just hours before president Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations to recognise a Palestinian state has been relieved of his post. » Read more

For the U.S., a forced withdrawal from UNESCO ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Timothy E. Wirth - (Opinion) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian bid for statehood recognition by the United Nations is almost certain to be rejected if it is taken up by the Security Council. But as early as this week, the governing assembly of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization could grant the Palestinians membership in that organization. If this happens, as is widely expected, the United States would have to resign from UNESCO because of a 20-year-old law forbidding the payment of dues by the U.S. to any U.N. body that accepts Palestine as a member. » Read more

'Israel no longer interested in two-state solution' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews (Analysis) October 24, 2011 - 12:00am King Abdulla II of Jordan said on Monday that the prolonged stalemate on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has made him into a pessimist. Speaking to CNN on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea, King Abdulla said the seemingly unbridgeable gaps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority warrant serious doubts over whether Israel is serious about the peace talks. "I am one of the most optimistic people you'll meet in the Middle East, and for the first time I am very pessimistic about the Israelis and Palestinians moving forward," he said. » Read more