Jordan King Abdullah's Christmas Eve initiative ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Blog) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am Last week, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh arrived in Bethlehem for the traditional Christmas Eve mass in the Church of the Nativity. Just before services began, Judeh met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and updated him on the recent push by Jordan and the Quartet on the Middle East – which includes the United States, Russia, the EU, and the UN – to organize a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian representatives in Amman. » Read more

The U.N. Should Accept Palestine as a Full Member State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Katy Waldman - (Opinion) January 4, 2012 - 1:00am Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi is gentle and soft-spoken, as befits a Palestinian leader known for his commitment to nonviolence. Currently Barghouthi, a medical doctor, serves as the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party based in the West Bank that seeks to provide moderate Palestinians with an alternative to what many consider Fatah’s corruption and Hamas’ extremism. “Politics can drive you to wrong decisions and wrong feelings, sometimes,” he told me during our phone conversation last week. » Read more

The Granddaddy of Dumb Ideas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am It can’t, won’t, and shouldn’t happen. Such are the sad prospects of the Palestinian plan to achieve statehood through membership in the U.N. » Read more

Rick Santorum’s claim that ‘no Palestinian’ lives in the West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - (Blog) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am “All the people that live in the West Bank are Israelis. They are not Palestinians. There is no Palestinian. This is Israeli land.” — Former senator Rick Santorum, Nov. 21. 2011 A blog on The Jewish Week Web site highlighted this statement on Monday, which was also captured on tape and posted on YouTube. (See clip at the end of the column.) The statement is somewhat reminiscent of former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s comment that the Palestinians are an “invented people.” » Read more

Hillel Neuer: The UN must recognize that Gaza is no longer an occupied territory ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Post by Hillel Neuer - (Opinion) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am GENEVA — The UN’s continued labelling of the Gaza Strip as an “occupied” territory — even after a Hamas leader stated that it’s not — is no longer tenable. Mahmoud Zahhar, the co-founder of Hamas, confirmed that Gaza is not under Israeli occupation, in comments reported Tuesday by the Palestinian news agency Ma’an. Zahhar was casting doubt on whether Hamas would organize anti-Israel marches in Gaza, in conjunction with similar protests that the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority are organizing in the West Bank. » Read more

Rivals who may need each other ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist (Analysis) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am FIVE years after Western governments sought to turn the West Bank into a model of statehood for peace-minded Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority (PA) that runs it is being cast adrift—possibly with dramatic consequences. The cafés of Ramallah, the Palestinians’ fledgling seat of government near Jerusalem, have been bereft of chattering aid workers from the West since the American administration withdrew its support in the wake of President Mahmoud Abbas’s controversial bid for full statehood at the UN in late 2011. » Read more

Israel vs. the NY Times ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Nahum Barnea - (Opinion) December 29, 2011 - 1:00am Don Quixote devoted himself to tilting at windmills: In his imagination he viewed them as a menacing, monstrous enemy that must be destroyed. He is considered a romantic figure, a hero willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of his love and ideas. Yet with all this romance, people sometimes forget that Don Quixote did not fight real monsters, but rather, figments of his imagination. He was a hero, but a pathetic one. » Read more

Pinkwashing’s Complicated Context ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gay City News by Michael Luongo - (Opinion) January 4, 2012 - 1:00am Israel is known as the most advanced country in the Middle East on LGBT rights issues. It has openly gay politicians, a parade and bars in Tel Aviv, open service in the military, and a burgeoning queer film and arts scene. This positive atmosphere, however, is largely useful only if you happen to be Jewish and are living on a certain side of the West Bank separation wall. » Read more

I miss Ariel Sharon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Tzipi Livni - (Opinion) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am Arik Sharon sank into a coma six years ago. All of us followed it and prayed with hope as the ambulance disappeared into the hospital. When today I try to think about the essence of the public longing for Sharon, six years later, it appears that the longing for Arik has turned into longing for a prime minister who does not fear domestic politics and who sees the welfare of the nation of Israel before him when making decisions. » Read more

Israel must salvage its last refuge in the Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am ISTANBUL - The conveyor belt at Istanbul Ataturk Airport spit out only two bags. The Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv was packed full, but only two people got out. The Turkish airline is still used by Israelis, but almost exclusively for connecting flights. They've been boycotting Turkey - a preferred destination until recently - and fearing it. » Read more