Qatari emir to visit Gaza as 'Hamas reward for breaking Assad ties' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - (Analysis) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA CITY // The Qatari emir is to make an official visit to the Gaza Strip this week, in a move analysts say is to strengthen the country's influence with Arab Islamists and reward Hamas rulers for breaking ties with the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani would be the first Arab head of state to officially visit Gaza since the Palestinian Islamist group wrested control in 2007. » Read more

Moving on From Two-State Solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Edward Edy Kaufman, Paul Scham - (Opinion) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am The current Israeli-Palestinian stalemate is as comprehensive as it is unprecedented. All relevant parties — Israelis, Palestinians (both Fatah and Hamas), the United States, the European Union, the Arab world — are preoccupied with their own internal or regional political or economic issues, not to mention the possibility of an Iranian nuclear bomb and Israeli threats to attack. The only good news is that Israeli-Palestinian violence is also largely on hiatus — though by no means gone, as rockets fired at southern Israel occasionally remind us. » Read more

The challenge of statesmanship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Election season is here, and many of us Israelis entertain the fantasy/dream of throwing our hats into the arena and imagining that we could soon be in positions of power in government. If I were prime minister, who would receive my first phone call? It would not be a difficult decision – Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. » Read more

For Israeli Arabs, there's no one to vote for ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Salman Masalha - (Opinion) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am The country is once again abuzz, as the old cliche goes. Color has returned to the cheeks of all the pundits and politicians. Why? Because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to call early elections, and he has leapt at the flattering polls that have fallen into his lap and rushed to inform the nation that the running in place will continue for another four years. » Read more

The Jewish majority is history ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) October 16, 2012 - 12:00am Amid a dry economic report published yesterday in TheMarker lies an official announcement/acknowledgment of unparalleled importance: The government of Israel confirms that between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River there is no longer a Jewish majority. In other words, in the territory under Israel's jurisdiction a situation of apartheid exists. A Jewish minority rules over an Arab majority. » Read more

In defense of academic freedom ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by David N. Myers - (Opinion) October 14, 2012 - 12:00am In August 2009, an Israeli academic and political activist by the name of Neve Gordon published an Op-Ed article in the Los Angeles Times in which he reluctantly called for a gradual international boycott against his own nation. Gordon felt that such dramatic action was required to overcome the deep structural inequities between Jews and Arabs in Israeli society and the occupied territories, and to force the government back toward the goal of a two-state solution. » Read more

South Africa publishes West Bank labeling notice, despite negotiations with Jewish community ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel October 15, 2012 - 12:00am PRETORIA (JTA) — The South African Trade Ministry has published a second notice concerning the labeling of Israeli products, despite working with the Jewish community on a compromise. » Read more

Brave Film Tells Story of Egypt and Its Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Aaron Ross - October 15, 2012 - 12:00am Cairo — Sitting in a Cairo coffee shop, with his boyish face and gaunt physique, Amir Ramses looks at first glance like someone half his age. But the prominent 33-year-old film director has already directed three major commercial films and several acclaimed documentaries. His new film, the independently produced “Jews of Egypt,” Ramses says, is his most important feature film to date. » Read more

Palestinians Cry ‘Feed My Children’ as Abbas Rule Imperiled ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Jonathan Ferziger, Fadwa Hodali - October 16, 2012 - 12:00am In the Palestinian city of Ramallah, protesters thronged the streets this month shouting “feed my children” after the government once again failed to pay 170,000 civil servants their monthly salaries on time. In Hebron to the south, hundreds of demonstrators burned tires in September to protest the economic squeeze, while in Bethlehem residents tore down road signs to show their anger. » Read more

Stifled West Bank economy drains Palestinians' hopes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Yolande Knell - October 16, 2012 - 12:00am The city is the largest in the West Bank and a major commercial and industrial hub, accounting for about one third of the West Bank's GDP. Recently it was also the scene of some of the worst violence during Palestinian economic protests. Locals blame the discontent on high unemployment, low wages and the rising cost of living as well as the heavy burden of consumer debt. "Our economy depends 100% on customers and as you can see, now the customers have no money," says Ayman, a tour guide. » Read more