March 21st

Israel should notify its citizens before striking Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) March 21, 2012 - 12:00am Will Israel coordinate any attack on Iran with the United States, or at least give it advance notice? What exactly did President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to at their recent meeting in Washington, D.C.? We can at least hope that both leaders know what they signed off on, and there will not be a repeat of the awkward situation in the first Lebanon War, in 1982, when Defense Minister Ariel Sharon claimed to have obtained the nod from U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Both countries agree that Iran should not be allowed to posses nuclear arms. » Read more

‘Extremists Mustn’t Use Palestine to Market Terror’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post March 21, 2012 - 12:00am Extremists must stop marketing their terrorist acts in the name of Palestine, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday, condemning the murder of four French Jews at a school in Toulouse. French Interior Minister Gueant earlier Wednesday said the gunman wanted revenge "for the Palestinian children and he also wanted to attack the French army because of its foreign intervention." "Extremists must stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life," AFP quoted Fayyad as saying. » Read more

Fayyad: Stop Using Palestinian Cause to Justify Terror ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) by Elior Levy - March 21, 2012 - 12:00am Extremists must stop using the Palestinian cause to justify their acts of violence, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Wednesday after a deadly attack on a French Jewish school. "It is time for these criminals to stop marketing their terrorist acts in the name of Palestine and to stop pretending to stand up for the rights of Palestinian children who only ask for a decent life," the Palestinian premier said in a statement. » Read more

March 20th

Decisions in the Interregnum in Palestine and Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ziad Asali - (Blog) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am The year 2011 will go down in history as the year when the two-state solution went into deep freeze. Yet even during this hibernation there is much that can, and indeed must, be done to prevent an even graver crisis. » Read more

Don't Shut the Switch ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am One of the items not transferred to the Palestinian Authority with its creation in 1994 was electricity generation. With the exception of the Jericho area, the PA is not permitted to generate any of its own electricity. In fact, even the PA’s creation of distribution companies in the West Bank is not in accord with the agreement. In terms of electricity for the Palestinians, the Israeli Civil Administration is fully in charge. » Read more

Protecting civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Navi Pillay - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am My visit to Israel and Palestine a year ago left me with a profound sense of the difficult human rights situation faced by many Palestinians and Israelis. Still, the openness of representatives on all sides to engage seriously on the human rights challenges I identified was encouraging. Taking this spirit of constructive engagement as our point of departure, I and my staff have been watching closely for progress on the issues I raised with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv. » Read more

Protecting civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from December 31, 1969 - 8:00pm My visit to Israel and Palestine a year ago left me with a profound sense of the difficult human rights situation faced by many Palestinians and Israelis. Still, the openness of representatives on all sides to engage seriously on the human rights challenges I identified was encouraging. Taking this spirit of constructive engagement as our point of departure, I and my staff have been watching closely for progress on the issues I raised with Israeli and Palestinian authorities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv. » Read more

Iran strike a death wish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yakir Elkariv - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am The sanctions against Iran may accelerate the Ayatollah regime’s end. Once the economic pressure grows heavier, social unrest would grow and may develop into a popular uprising. However, such processes take time, and it’s uncertain whether officials around here would have the patience to wait. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – with the encouragement of loyal journalists – is determined to enter the annals of history as the leader who saw farther than anyone else and saved Israel from the Iranian nuclear threat. However, his eagerness may turn out to be fateful. » Read more

Iran already started a war, a cold one between Israel, U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) March 20, 2012 - 12:00am Who said the home front isn't protected? People who have spoken in recent years with Defense Minister Ehud Barak know he's well aware of the suggestion that he take care of two things before a war with Iran: The return of Gilad Shalit and the sale of his home in the luxury Akirov Towers. » Read more

Playing for time through a strike on Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Richard Cohen - (Opinion) March 19, 2012 - 12:00am Nations have doctrines. The Soviet Union had the Brezh­nev Doctrine and the United States had the Monroe Doctrine, among others. Even little Israel has one. I call it the Maybe the Dog Will Talk Doctrine, and it is based on a folk tale of the rabbi who makes a preposterous deal with a tyrant: If the tyrant spares the lives of local Jews, the rabbi will teach the tyrant’s dog to talk. When the rabbi tells his wife what he has done, she calls him a fool. But, he says, “A year is a long time. » Read more