Netanyahu's ‘big bang’ gambit with Lieberman might blow up in his face ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chemi Shalev - (Opinion) October 25, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to reunite with his former protege Avigdor Lieberman is a gamble of epic proportions, a “big bang” of Israeli right wing politics that Netanyahu hopes will ensure his reelection - but which could very well blow up in his face and achieve the opposite outcome. » Read more

It was fear that drove Netanyahu, Lieberman into each other's arms ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) October 26, 2012 - 12:00am The Israeli political world was shocked Thursday. While everyone was carefully watching the center-left bloc waiting to see what steps Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni would take, suddenly they were overtaken from the right side of the political map by the October surprise of the 2013 election. The option of a merger between Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu was in the air for the past few months, but it was considered somewhere between unfounded speculation and an unlikely possibility. But Thursday it turned into a shocking electoral reality. » Read more

World Bank policies persistently fail Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Alaa Tartir, Jeremy Wildeman - (Analysis) October 26, 2012 - 12:00am The Middle East featured prominently on the agenda of the recent annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Tokyo. But how relevant are these agencies’ policy prescriptions in the context of conflict? In the case of the occupied Palestinian territories they are not only inappropriate but also harmful. » Read more

Hamas brinkmanship masks quiet confidence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Douglas Hamilton - (Analysis) October 26, 2012 - 12:00am GAZA STRIP, Oct 26 (Reuters) - One of 70-odd rockets fired from Gaza into Israel this week hit a chicken coop, critically wounding two Thai migrant workers, innocent bystanders in a deadly game of brinkmanship. If it had killed children on the Israeli farm they work for, Israel and Gaza would probably be at war right now. » Read more

Europe set for closer trade ties with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Ferry Bidermann - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS // The European Union took a step towards closer trade ties with Israel despite tensions over the construction of settlements in the Palestinian territories. European opponents of Israel's settler policy, including NGOs, several political blocs and activists, now pin their hopes on a growing movement towards a consumer boycott of goods from Israeli settlements. The European parliament voted by a large margin on Tuesday to open up Europe to Israeli pharmaceutical products after years of delays caused by opposition to the settlement policy. » Read more

'Israeli attack' on Sudanese arms factory offers glimpse of secret war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ian Black - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am No one in Israel is admitting that its pilots carried out a long-range raid against a munitions factory in Sudan, said to be supplying weapons to the Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But no one is denying it either. Amos Gilad, a senior defence ministry official, ducked a direct question, praising the capabilities of Israel's air force and calling Sudan "a dangerous terrorist state". » Read more

Ahead of Israel election, PA bid in UN may push Netanyahu to harsh unilateral reaction, diplomats say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - October 26, 2012 - 12:00am The Palestinian Authority's bid for UN recognition as a non-member observer state could lead to a new intifada or the PA's collapse, Israeli diplomats are warning countries worldwide as part of an intensive diplomatic campaign against the move. » Read more

In Israel, Arab MKs seek the impossible - voters ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury - October 26, 2012 - 12:00am Today, the Arab and Muslim world will observe Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. The holiday atmosphere has been felt since the start of the week. In recent days, stores and shopping malls in Arab towns and villages in the Galilee and the Little Triangle area of Baka al-Garbiyeh, Taibeh and Tira have been packed. Concurrently, however, support committees operating within mosques report that they are fielding numerous calls for assistance from those lacking the resources to prepare holiday meals. » Read more

UN expert calls for boycott of companies in settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Michelle Nichols - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- A frustrated UN investigator on Palestinian human rights urged a boycott of companies tied to Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land on Thursday, while the United States criticized the call as "irresponsible and unacceptable." Richard Falk, the independent special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, said the companies - which include Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Volvo and Caterpillar - should be boycotted until they adhered to international rights standards and practices. » Read more

Israeli official: Egypt not doing enough in Sinai ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Amy Teibel - October 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM —Israel's vice premier voiced rare public criticism of Egypt on Thursday, saying it isn't doing enough to curb Islamist militants operating in Egypt's Sinai desert. The timing of Moshe Yaalon's comments also appeared unusual, given that Egypt spent the previous day brokering an end to the latest round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after several days of rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli airstrikes. » Read more