Reconciliation deal can succeed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am Good news associated with the Palestinians is very hard to come by these days, but February 6 was an exception. A Qatari initiative succeeded in bringing together two bitter rivals in Doha; Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and head of Hamas' political bureau Khalid Mesha'al. The Doha Declaration represented the biggest leap forward on the road to securing Palestinian reconciliation. » Read more

Iran, Israel trade blame over embassy attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by Mark Magnier, Edmund Sanders - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am Reporting from Jerusalem and New Delhi—The technique had a familiar ring. A motorcyclist speeds toward a government vehicle, attaches a magnetic bomb and buzzes away moments before a fiery explosion. Last month, that's how an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in Tehran. And on Monday, Indian officials said such an attack injured an Israeli diplomat's wife and three others in a well-guarded neighborhood of New Delhi near the Israeli Embassy. » Read more

Egyptians renegotiate - with the US, Israel and themselves ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Faisal Al Yafai - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am How much can a country change in a single year? On the anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's fall from power, Egypt is still convulsed daily by protests. Sit-ins in Tahrir Square continue. Relations between "the Square", which is shorthand for the Egyptian public that supports the protests, and the generals of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) are tense and characterised by mutual mistrust. The stability and calm sought by the outside world is a work in progress. » Read more

Overstating Israel’s ‘internal Arab problem’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Oded Haklai - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am In recent months, analysts from diverse ideological persuasions and political stripes have been sounding the alarm bells about Israel’s “internal Palestinian problem.” On the one hand, it is claimed that if Israel does not accede to the political demands of the Arab minority and does not recognize it as a national and indigenous minority with extensive collective rights, Israel’s domestic stability and very democratic character will be undermined. » Read more

Doha Agreement valid despite Al-Zahar’s statements – Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Ali El-saleh - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am London, Asharq al-Awsat- An official from the Change and Reform bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council has stated the remarks by Hamas’s Mahmud al-Zahar concerning the Doha declaration and designation of President Mahmud Abbas, to form a transitional national accord government reflects the Hamas Movement Political Bureau member’s personal opinion. » Read more

'Split in Hamas is frustrating Palestinian unity' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post February 13, 2012 - 1:00am Disagreement within the Hamas leadership over a reconciliation deal signed by leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Qatar is stalling the formation of a unity government, senior Fatah member Nabil Sha'ath said Monday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is waiting to hear confirmation from Hamas that they will stand behind an interim government under his premiership, Sha'ath told Palestinian news agency Ma'an. » Read more

Hezbollah chief's reply to Haaretz ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) February 14, 2012 - 1:00am Is it possible that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reads Haaretz? Not the Hebrew edition, of course. But does he read the English edition online, or is the print edition smuggled to him in Beirut by one of his agents in Israel? Or is it translated to him by one of his aides? » Read more

Hamas chiefs wrestle with split over Abbas premiership ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - February 13, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- The two top leaders of Hamas failed to resolve an internal crisis over a reconciliation pact with the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas at secret talks in Qatar on Sunday, a diplomat in the region said. "(Hamas chief) Khalid Mashaal and (Gaza Premier) Ismail Haniyeh met last night in Qatar to discuss the dispute in Hamas over the Doha agreement," the diplomat told Reuters on Monday. » Read more

The Dilemmas of Jewish Power ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) February 13, 2012 - 1:00am LONDON — Peter Beinart’s “The Crisis of Zionism” is an important new book that rejects the manipulation of Jewish victimhood in the name of Israel’s domination of the Palestinians and asserts that the real issue for Jews today is not the challenge of weakness but the demands of power. » Read more