December 7th

Palestinian Artist Chips Away at the Wall ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Diana Atallah - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am   In a small gallery in an ancient house in the village of Qalandiya, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, Khaled Jarrar stands alongside his latest art project placed on a podium: a small soccer ball made of cement. But not just any cement – this cement had been cut out of the barrier built by Israel separating the West Bank from Israel. » Read more

What if Gaza and Ramallah get their act together? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ilan Baruch - (Opinion) December 7, 2012 - 1:00am   An examination of national liberation struggles pursued since the end of World War II reveals a mixed record of success by different rebel leaderships in their ability to balance prudently their political and their military (or, if one prefers, terror ) wings, in their fight for political independence. This applies to the organizations that fought for the creation of the Jewish state - Israel. » Read more

The E-1 plan: recycled and oppressive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Menachem Klein - (Opinion) December 7, 2012 - 1:00am   Ehud Barak was wrong. He minimized the cabinet decision on massive construction in Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim as little more than cold leftovers reheated by Master Chef Bibi. On the eve of the national election, he said, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to dress up recycled scraps as a tasty feast for his Likud voters. Don't take him seriously, the defense minister told the Americans. » Read more

Obama and Israel are walking away from two-state solution with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Sandy Tolan - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am The Obama administration’s refusal to support the success » Read more

Why we lost Pacific Islands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am As Israel reflects on losing Europe in Thursday's vote to upgrade Palestine's UN status, mystery shrouds the positions of four Pacific island nations that broke with international consensus and sided with Tel Aviv. » Read more

December 6th

We're going to pay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shimon Shiffer - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am In the past, prime ministers would react with scorn and contempt to the UN and European resolutions against Israel. "Um-Shmum," David Ben-Gurion said angrily (um is the Hebrew acronymic pronunciation for 'UN', and the 'shm'-prefix signifies contempt or irony). "Those anti-Semites," Yitzhak Rabin said of the Europeans. And Menachem Begin said after the Sabra and Shatila massacre: "What does the world want from us? » Read more

Seize the opportunity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ami Ayalon - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am If there is one conclusion that can be drawn from the UN General Assembly vote on accepting Palestine as a non-member observer state, it is that the direct negotiations paradigm failed and has been replaced by a new concept: Constructive unilateralism. » Read more

Netanyahu's Christmas Present ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National Interest by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am Israel's declared intention to build settlement housing in the E-1 area could destroy the possibility of the two-state solution. There are two possible U.S. responses. The first would be akin to President George H. W. Bush's consistent and tough settlements policy. The other would resemble President Bill Clinton's incoherent and soft settlement approach. » Read more

Ben-Gurion already agreed to a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am In the first years of the Oslo Accords the Israeli government didn't question the Palestinian people's right to self-determination in the land of Israel. Israel also expressed this in its mutual recognition with the PLO. » Read more

The real reason Lieberman ousted Deputy FM Danny Ayalon ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) December 6, 2012 - 1:00am One day after the surprising ouster of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon from Yisrael Beiteinu's next Knesset slate, a few details that appear to explain the move leaked out. Highly-placed sources in Yisrael Beiteinu said that party chairman and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman suspects Ayalon of an unforgivable sin - serial leaks to diplomatic reporters. » Read more