Obama assures Netanyahu on efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joby Warrick, Scott Wilson - March 5, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama sought to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but their meeting concluded with U.S. officials unsure whether the president had succeeded in persuading the Israelis to hold off on unilateral military action. » Read more

Arab women in Israel face double discrimination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Merav Michaeli - (Opinion) March 6, 2012 - 1:00am In Israel, 17-year-olds are minors for all intents and purposes - except when it comes to marriage. This is not merely theoretical: Every year more than 4,500 Israelis aged 17 or younger marry. The vast majority - around 4,000 - are female. For this purpose, they are not minors. After all, they can already cook and clean; more important, their wombs and all the organs leading to them are ready. The Knesset plenum is to vote today on a bill to raise the minimum marriage age from 17 to 18; there is still a danger that the ultra-Orthodox parties will scuttle it. » Read more

War talk on Iran forces the issue: Is Israel a formal US ally? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor (Editorial) March 2, 2012 - 1:00am According to polls, Americans remain wary of supporting the idea of either Israel or the United States – or both together – attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Perhaps one reason for this hesitancy is the fact that Israel, in a historic choice to rely on itself for defense, has never become an official US ally. America has no treaty obligation to come to Israel’s defense as it does with many countries in Europe and Asia. This little-known fact may loom large in a meeting Monday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Mideast peace, with something short of a deal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Robert Malley, Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) March 3, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will devote little time Monday to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in part because of Iran and election-year politics. But the principal cause is this: A negotiated, two-state solution is running harder than ever against intractable political and psychological realities in Israel, Palestine and the Arab world. These are pushing toward a de facto outcome that will not be negotiated, comprehensive or conflict-ending. » Read more

The legal case against attacking Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Bruce Ackerman - (Opinion) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington has provoked a broad debate over the military and political wisdom of an attack on Iran. But so far, there has been little attention to the legal issues involved, which are crucial. American support for a preemptive strike would be a violation of both international law and the U.S. Constitution. » Read more

Iran, Israel and the United States ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times (Editorial) March 5, 2012 - 1:00am President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel share responsibility for the strains in their relationship. But there should be no doubt about Mr. Obama’s commitment to Israel’s security. When he warns that an Israeli attack on Iran could backfire, and that “there is still a window” for diplomacy, he is speaking for American and Israeli interests. » Read more

Hamas rules out military support for Iran in any war with Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am Hamas will not do Iran's bidding in any war with Israel, according to senior figures within the militant Islamic group. "If there is a war between two powers, Hamas will not be part of such a war," Salah Bardawil, a member of the organisation's political bureau in Gaza City, told the Guardian. He denied the group would launch rockets into Israel at Tehran's request in response to a strike on its nuclear sites. "Hamas is not part of military alliances in the region," said Bardawil. "Our strategy is to defend our rights" » Read more

Power to the People: Gaza and Its Generators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Omar Ghraieb - March 6, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA CITY, Gaza – When Ahmed Ashour finished high school two years ago he knew where his future lay. He decided to not apply to any university, even though his family could easily afford it, and instead went in to the business of selling and servicing small electric generators. » Read more

Two Palestinian children killed in W.Bank explosion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters March 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 6 (Reuters) - Two Palestinian children were killed when abandoned ordnance exploded in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Ramadan Awad, police chief in the city of Hebron, said two 12-year-old boys, Hamza and Zayed Jradat, were killed and three teenagers were injured when an old Israeli mortar exploded. The group had been playing in a field filled with scrap metal in the nearby village of Sier, Awad said. » Read more

Court delays hearing on Abbas' PM role ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 6, 2012 - 1:00am RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A constitutional court in Ramallah on Tuesday postponed a hearing on the legality of President Mahmoud Abbas' appointment as prime minister of a unity government to March 20. Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed that the president will lead a unity government in Doha in February. PLO central council member Abdul-Jawwad Salih submitted a legal challenge to the appointment on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. » Read more