October 18th

If Netanyahu wins ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am On Monday, the Israeli Knesset did Benjamin Netanyahu’s bidding by dissolving itself and going for an election on January 22. Netanyahu decided to opt for an early election because his right-wing government could not agree on an austerity budget and his Likud bloc is certain to win in 2013 with an increased majority. » Read more

For Ehud Olmert, it's now or never ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Analysis) October 12, 2012 - 12:00am A day after announcing an early election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got into his armored car and made the short trip from his office to the official residence of President Shimon Peres. Veteran Government Press Office photographer Moshe Milner took their picture sitting side by side and having a cozy chat. Yet just two months ago, Netanyahu had his confidants rebuke Peres for daring to make public his opposition to the idea of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities before the U.S. presidential election and without coordination with Washington. » Read more

Israel’s upcoming elections: No hope we can believe in ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s next elections will take place in a bit more than three months, and there have been some interesting developments. Aryeh Deri’s return to the helm of Shas might turn this party from an appendix to the anti-democratic right-wing policies of the current coalition into a more productive contributor to urgently needed social policies. » Read more

Israeli center-left can't challenge Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Adam Gonn - (Opinion) October 18, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A possible comeback by former prime minister Ehud Olmert has hit a snag as the State Prosecutor' s Office on Tuesday announced that it will appeal Olmert's acquittal in a recent corruption case. » Read more

Divided Palestinians hold municipal elections without Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Jihan Abdalla - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am RAMALLAH, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Palestinians in the West Bank go to the polls on Saturday in long-delayed municipal elections that have already highlighted deep divisions in the occupied territory and stoked complaints about a lack of leadership. The Oct. 20 ballot will hold up a cracked mirror to a political landscape clouded by financial crises, failure to reconcile the major Palestinian factions and stalemate in peacemaking efforts with Israel. » Read more

'A-G Weinstein opposes adoption of Levy Report' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein opposes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's supposed intention to seek government approval for the "Levy Report," which calls on the government to transform West Bank outposts on state land into legal settlements, Israel Radio reported Thursday. The Prime Minister’s Office said that they did not know of any formal decision to bring the report to either the Ministerial Settlements Committee or the cabinet, after rumors that Netanyahu intended to do so next week sparked condemnation from the Left on Wednesday. » Read more

Shalit-prisoners exchange: One year on ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Yolande Knell - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am At the Free Gilad campaign tent erected by his parents on the pavement outside the prime minister's official residence, school children tied yellow ribbons around a tree and passers-by would sometimes break down in tears. Tens of thousands joined a 12-day march from his home in northern Israel to Jerusalem in 2010 to focus attention on his plight. The ordinariness of Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old corporal on mandatory military service, when he was wounded and seized by militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006, meant that many Israelis could easily identify with him. » Read more

Hamas opposes Holocaust study at UNRWA schools ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - October 17, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas on Wednesday reiterated its strong opposition to teaching about the Holocaust in Gaza Strip schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency. The Refugee Affairs Department of Hamas said that teaching the Holocaust was a “crime against the issue of the refugees that is aimed at canceling their right of return.” The Hamas statement came in response to unconfirmed reports in a number of Arab media outlets that UNRWA was planning to reintroduce the Holocaust into its school curriculum. » Read more

Meshal set to make first official visit to Gaza visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am Arab VIPs including the emir of Qatar are expected to visit the Gaza Strip next week to "completely and officially end the Israeli blockade of several years," Hamas' television station reported Wednesday. There were also unconfirmed reports that Hamas leader Khaled Meshal will accompany the emir for his first official visit. The station said Qatar is launching a huge reconstruction project in the Strip, for which building materials will be transferred through the Rafah crossing, which hitherto has been open for people only. » Read more

Jerusalem street to be named after Egypt's Umm Kulthoum ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 16, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – After decades of refusal, the Israeli municipal council of Jerusalem has agreed to grant names to more than 100 roads in East Jerusalem starting Wednesday. One of the roads will be named after famed Egyptian singer Umm Kulthoum in a ceremony Wednesday at the entrance to the street, near Abdul-Hamid Shoman Street 20. Palestinian singer from Israel Nisreen Kader will sing one of Umm Kulthoum’s most popular songs Inta Umri (“you are my life”) during the ceremony. » Read more